Crochet Pattern: Star Washcloth in Two Sizes

By Erin Burger – 22 Comments

Vintage Crochet Pattern Series: Week 2

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”-Henry Ford

This pattern was originally a giant mercerized cotton oven mitten, made with 6 strands of heavy weight cotton and a heavy fiber lining, this oven mitt would have weighed a good five pounds!   In keeping with the theme of modernizing vintage patterns the following pattern is now for a soft and adorable star washcloth, while still using the basics of the original pattern.

Fun for a child’s bathroom or in the kitchen, a set of these washcloths, a bottle of baby soap and a ribbon would also be a great baby shower gift!   The pattern below uses sport weight 100% organic cotton, but since gauge and color isn’t important please feel free to experiment with colors and yarn weights! Keep in mind cotton (or bamboo) are the best types of yarn for bathroom and kitchen use!

Skill Level: crochet skill level easy

Finished Size: Baby Washcloth in photo is 6″ (15.24 cm)  across, Large Washcloth is 8″ (20.32 cm) across

Materials:
Sport Weight Yarn (preferably cotton)
approx. 16 yards for baby washcloth, 20 yards for large washcloth
Crochet Hook E (3.50 mm)
crochet yarn size 2

Gauge: isn’t important to this pattern.  If you’re going to make a set of washcloths, make sure you use the same hook so they are uniform.

Need help understanding the abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart!

Crochet Pattern: Star Washcloth in Two Sizes

Round 1: ch 2, 10 sc in 2nd ch from hook, join with a sl st to first sc: 10 sc

Round 2: ch 2, sc in first sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc, (2 sc in next sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) four times, skipping last sc join with a sl st in top of ch-2: 9 sc, 5 ch-1

Round 3: Skip 1st ch-1 space, (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in each ch-1 space around, join with sl st in the sc before the first ch-1: 20 sc, 5 ch-1

From here until the end of the pattern, do not join at the end of a round.  Use stitch markers (see All About Stitch Markers for more info) at the beginning of each round if needed.

Round 4:[(2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in next ch-1, sc in next sc, skip 1 st, sc in next sc] four times, (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in last ch-1, sc in next sc, skip sc, sc in last 2 sc: 31 sc, 5 ch-1

Round 5: [(2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in next ch 1, sc in next 2 sc, skip 1 st, sc in next 2 sc] four times, (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in last ch-1, sc in next 2 sc, skip sc, sc in last 3 sc: 41 sc, 5 ch-1

For Baby Washcloth repeat Round 4, increasing the sc’s between ch-1’s by 1 (as is shown in Round 5) until Round 11.

Round 11: sc in each sc around, skipping all ch-1 spaces, sl st in first sc made joining to beginning of round, finish off: 79 sc

For Large Washcloth repeat Round 4, increasing the sc’s between ch-1’s by 1 (as is shown in Round 5) until Round 14.

Round 14: sc in each sc around, skipping all ch-1 spaces, sl st in first sc made joining to beginning of round, finish off: 94 sc

Have any questions or comments? Please ask and comment away!  Also, if you attempt this pattern share photo with us on the Crochet Spot Facebook Page!

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22 Comments

  1. Vick says:

    Cute! thanks for the pattern!

  2. Sallie says:

    I love these! I am going to do them in Christmas colors for gifts!

  3. Liza says:

    I love it! Especially with your suggestions for a baby gift with accompaniments. Thanks again!

  4. delphinium says:

    These are really cute! Thanks for sharing the pattern!

  5. Renee says:

    These look awesome! Thanks for sharing the great vintage updates. 🙂 I’m amassing such a collection of washcloths I’m going to run out of dirty dishes soon!! 🙂

  6. D Ward says:

    Would you tell me what the following means, “:41,5 ch-1”? I see this at the end of a few rounds for this pattern and I don’t get what that “,5ch-1” means! These star washcloths are so sweet and I want to make bunches!

  7. Erin says:

    Hi D,
    At the end of each row in most of my patterns I list a ‘stitch count’ so 41 sc and 5 ch-1 means there are 41 single crochet stitches and 5 ch-1 spaces in that particular row of the pattern.

    • Knittynatalie says:

      That simply means you have completed 41 sc, and 5 ch-1’s in that round! Helps to keep you on track in case you miss a stitch somewhere…hope this helps!

  8. stacey says:

    ive tried making this like 4 or 5 times now and every time i try, i get lost somewhere in round 4. when im making my way around i dont have the extra stitch to skip. am i doing something wrong? i cant seem to figure this out. and its starting to frustrate me…

  9. Laurie says:

    Tried making this cloth about 3 times, and as stacey said…I too am having trouble with understanding the pattern and around line 4 my crocheted piece of ‘something’ gets unravelled and I start over….Then the same thing happens. HELP PLEASE!!

  10. Erin says:

    Hello Stacey and Laurie,

    I worked the pattern and got the star just fine. There was something about the 4th round that seemed a bit confusing to me as well, but I wrote it the only way I thought I could to properly convey the whole round.

    It says ‘(2sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in next ch-1 space’ at the very beginning of the Round and I wish there was some way to convey that the first (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) goes in the first ch-1 a st after the joining sl st. I suppose someone could accidentally skip that first ch-1 space and go to the next one, misreading it?

    The second suggestion I have is that sometimes the (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) covers up or hides the first sc and if you miss that sc then there wouldn’t be space for the skipped st.

    Check these two things out and let me know if the suggestions were any help.

  11. Stacey Mancilla says:

    Hi Erin. I still can’t seem to get it. Do u think u can do a visual breakdown of this so I can see WHERE exactly I keep messing up at? I’m getting waay to frustrated to keep attempting it on my own. Please and thanks!

  12. Erin says:

    Hi Stacey,
    I just got home from a day on the beach so first thing tomorrow I’ll work on some step by step photo of this pattern for you. I’ll get in touch with Rachel and ask her if I should write a star washcloth tutorial or if I should just send the photos to you.

  13. Stacey Mancilla says:

    Thanks Erin! Sounds good! I’ll keep checking to see what u guys decided! Thanks again! :]

  14. Stacey Mancilla says:

    Hi Erin. I just now finished a washclot. I had to tweak it a little so I could have that skipped stitch. I put a photo up on the Crochet Spot facebook page if you want to check it out. I’d still like to see what I was doing wrong tho if you don’t mind still doing what you said. Thanks for this cute washcloth!
    Have a good day!

  15. Laurie says:

    Still having trouble with this pattern too. I have been just too busy the last few days to attempt it again. I’d also really appreciate a step-by-step tutorial on this as well (with pictures). This is such a lovely pattern and want to make it for some holiday gifts.

    Thank you….

  16. Erin says:

    Hi Stacey and Laurie again!

    I started doing the tutorial for the washcloths from my own notes when I realized the posted pattern was using Rounds 5 and 6 from my written notes instead of 4 and 5! I am so sorry for any frustrations this may have caused you. I’ve fixed the pattern and it will be much easier to work up now!

    Sorry again!

    -Erin

  17. christine says:

    Love the star pattern. Is the pattern in american stitch. I live in the UK.

  18. Anja says:

    I have used the pattern and it’s easy to follow. Thanks!
    I have made a few more rounds to make my cloth a bit bigger.

    • Cheryl says:

      Anja, how did you add rounds? I need to make this star about 4 inches bigger than the pattern for the large washcloth.

      Thanks!!

      Also, to anyone who could help explain, if I am not joining at the end of the round, am I just continuing around and around?

      Thank you!

  19. Melanie says:

    I have tried a few times and I can’t get the pattern to work. I keep ending up with a SC that is skipped before each ch1 space, which makes the star lopsided. Please help!

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