I live in Manchester in the United Kingdom, home of the Manchester worker bee. The Manchester bee has become even more of an icon in the last few years. Because of that, it’s brilliant (and poignant) to see it in so many places all over our city. So the Manchester bee, along with my current obsession with anything mustard yellow in colour, inspired my design for this beautiful cotton honeycomb wash cloth, FREE CROCHET PATTERN.
In addition to the Manchester inspiration, re-usable, non-plastic products are so popular at the moment. So this is a great alternative to lots of things you might buy in the supermarket. You can make them in different colours to suit your home. They are also even pretty enough to use as a mat or doily, therefore they would make a lovely gift – light weight and easy to post.
If you’re a more experienced crocheter or you want to learn something new, take a look at my post My top 10 favourite tricks to make your crochet awesome. The pattern sticks to the regular/easier options. But for this piece I would crochet into the back bumps of the starting chain. Alternatively, you could use a foundation double crochet for ROW 1. I also use a starting double crochet (treble in UK terms) instead of the chain 3 at the beginning of each row.
Let’s get started…
If you would prefer to buy an ad-free, printer friendly, professionally designed PDF version of this pattern, you can find it here on Ravelry or find it here on Etsy. The paid for version features more photographs and a full pattern chart!
Honeycomb wash cloth, free crochet pattern
Materials
I used some beautiful Scheepjes Cotton 8 (from the magical Black Sheep Wools in Culcheth). But you can use any washable cotton or yarn of your choice to make this pattern. Just remember to use the appropriate hook and that the finished size might be different.
50g approx. of Scheepjes Cotton 8 in Ochre (shade 722)
10g approx. of Scheepjes Cotton 8 in Light Grey (shade 700)
2.5mm crochet hook
Needle for sewing in ends
Scissors for trimming
Size and gauge
Gauge is not important for this project, but using the materials listed my finished cloth is approximately 25cm wide by 28cm tall
Abbreviations (US crochet terms)
ch – chain stitch
dc – double crochet
st – stitch
Notes
Begin every row with chain 3, which counts as 1 dc.
Next, work your first actual dc (the second stitch of the row) into the second to last stitch of the previous row.
The last dc of each row is worked into the top of the ch 3 you started the previous row with
Depending on the pattern of the row below, you will work either into the top of a dc, or into a ch 1 space
Instructions
First of all, using the mustard yarn and a 2.5 mm hook:
ROW 1
ch 57, dc into the 4th ch from the hook and then in each st across [55 stitches], turn
ROW 2
ch 3, dc 4, [ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 7, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 9] x 2, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 7, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 5, turn
ROW 3
ch 3, dc 3, [ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 9, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 7] x 2, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 9, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 4, turn
ROW 4
ch 3, dc 2, [ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 11, (ch 1 skip 1 st then dc) 3 times] x 2, ch1 skip 1 st, dc 11, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 3, turn
ROW 5
ch 3, dc 3, [ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 9, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 7] x 2, ch1 skip 1 st, dc 9, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 4, turn
ROW 6
ch 3, dc 4, [ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 7, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 9] x 2, ch1 skip 1 st, dc 7, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 5, turn
ROW 7
ch 3, dc 5, [(ch 1 skip 1 st then dc) 3 times, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 11] x 2, (ch 1 skip 1 st then dc) 3 times, ch 1 skip 1 st, dc 6, turn
Continue by repeating rows 2-7 four more times, but on the final repeat, instead of the ROW 7 pattern, just dc all the way across (to mirror ROW 1). 31 rows in total
BORDER
Continuing with the yellow yarn, sc all the way around the piece to create a border. 1 sc in each stitch along the top and bottom, and approximately 2 per row down the sides. Work sc, ch 2, sc in each corner to create four neat points. Slip stitch into the first sc to complete the round. Fasten off.
Finally, go around the border again with a row of sc in grey (sc, ch2, sc in the corners, slip stitch into the first sc to complete the round) to finish your piece off nicely. Sew in the ends and you’re done! You have a beautiful cotton wash cloth you can keep or gift.
Let me know what you think in the comments below, or if you have any questions, I’ll help if I can.
Finally, I’d love to see your makes if you share them on Instagram – tag me or #clairesmadeit
Hello I love this cloth and have been looking for a new project. I’m an advanced beginner so hopefully I can do this. My hook is a 4mm as my yarn is a cotton 8ply or DK. Can I make this smaller? Would it be an odd number if stitches? Thank you for this lovely pattern 🙂
Hi Lindsey, thank you so much for your message. I’m sure you will be able to make a lovely Honeycomb Wash Cloth. You could make the design smaller if you do it across 37 stitches (so start with a chain of 39) and only crochet the row instructions in the square brackets once instead of twice. I hope that makes sense? Then see how you get on with the number of rows, finish with a row of double crochet when you’re happy with the size. Let me know how you get on 💛
Hi, When I started row 3, the instructions seemed off. At the end of the last ch 9, there were more than 4 chains left. I had to add ch 1, skip 1, dc 7, ch 1, skip 1, dc 4 to finish row. Could you check this out for me, before I go further. Thanks
Hi there, many thanks for your message and for choosing my pattern. I’ve just had a look and I think the instruction for row 3 is right. There should be 9 dc before the chain space and the final 4 dc at the end of that row. You could maybe zoom into the photo of the full wash cloth to refer to? Hope that helps! Best wishes, Claire