A Beginner’s Foray Into Knitting: Knitted Cat Dish Cloth

I’ve known how to knit for years, but I only ever learned a basic knit stitch.  I’ve made lots of scarves, but they were always just simple rectangles with stitch after stitch of knits.  In other words, I never learned how to purl, and thus never learned how to read a pattern.  I was a permanent beginner.

The only way to make progress is to bite the bullet and try.  I decided to put a manageable knitting project on my list of crafty projects to complete before I’m 30, a dish cloth with a raised design made out of simple purl and knit stitches.  This project is small so not super intimidating for beginners, and would teach me how to purl and how to read a pattern.

The Target Knitting Project – Purrfect!

I chose this project as my dream dish cloth – the Purrfect Dishcloth by Elaine at Down Cloverlaine. You can download the pattern from her website.

Now, as an absolute beginner, I needed something easier to start with a more forgiving design.  Something where my mistakes would be easier to cover up so my kitty wouldn’t end up with a dislocated leg or some other disaster!

The Gateway Knitting Project – Ramen Noodle!

Hoo boy, are there ever a lot of mistakes in this project of mine, but I eventually got the hang of counting my purls properly.    This is my sloppy execution of Tomato Lady’s Ramen Noodle pattern.  You can get the pattern here on Ravelry.  I love the texture that this pattern makes.  I made the bulk of this dish cloth on the train during my commute to work.

My Purrfect Dish Cloth

I chose a beige handicrafter yarn by Bernat that had little flecks of purple, blue, and pink.  I think next time I would choose something with less colour to keep the raised design from being buried.  But here is my extremely-difficult-to-photograph dish cloth featuring a cheerful kitty cat.  In the pictures following you can see the design a bit better in the shadows.

Doing this project makes me feel more confident about trying to find some other beginner patterns and practice my newly learnt purling skills.  I ordered a new set of knitting needles so I’ll have them on hand for when the desire to knit strikes.  Darn, I guess I should have put more knitting on my 30-before-30 list.