Saturday, December 28, 2019

Dachshund Cloths - On Their Way

Frank and Phoebe, 
the Dachshund Cloths I knitted for my son and daughter-in-law are on their way as a late holiday gift. Since Max, another mini-doxie, joined their family, it looks like I have another Dachshund Cloth to knit!

My project page tells a little about how I wrote the pattern. I had to test-knit several designs to get the body shape and the face I wanted with textured knitting in garter-stitch ridges on a stockinette background.

I use these little cloths to save on paper towels. I like the rectangular shape and they're the perfect size for wiping up spills or drying and polishing glassware. I hope my son and his wife like their cloths!

Update 1/3/2020: Darling Son and Daughter-in-Law say they love their "Weenie-Dog Cloths"!

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Double-Knitting Adventures - The Chess Set - Knights!





“Knights! – Champions of Honor” is the second pattern release from my Chess Set of double-knitting patterns. You can knit hot pads or coasters with these patterns, or you can use the charts to embellish larger projects.  
Other patterns in the Chess Set:

These are my size estimates for some suggested yarns and needle sizes:
  • worsted-weight yarn,
at a gauge of 21 stitches and 30 rows in 4 inches
(about 5.25 st/in and about 7.5 rows/in),
with U.S. size 3 (3.25 mm) or 4 (3.50 mm) needles
will produce a hot pad measuring about 6 ¼ inches square.
suggested yarns –
Hobby Lobby “I Love this Cotton” (100% Cotton)
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (100% Wool)
  • fingering-weight yarn,
at a gauge of 30 stitches and 38 rows in 4 inches
(about 7.5 st/in and 9.5 rows/in),
with U.S. size 0 (2.00 mm) or 1 (2.25 mm) needles
will produce a coaster measuring about 4 ½ inches square.
suggested yarn –
Cascade Heritage (75% Wool, 25% Nylon)

Choose 100% cotton or wool yarns to make your Chess Set squares heat-resistant and moisture-absorbing. 


Knitters have many techniques for casting on, binding off, and finishing edges in double-knitting. The Double-Knitting Group on Ravelry is a helpful resource of ideas.

My worsted-weight sample, pictured to the left and below, used Sarah E. White’s “Two Color Cast-on for Double-Knitting,”  and Sockmatician’s “Slip-Stitch Edges for Double-Knitting.”

I like combination knitting to help achieve even double-knitting tension. Ellen, “The Chilly Dog,” has a fantastic article and video on combination knitting that explains why you would want to use the technique and shows how to do combination knitting for both English-style and continental-style knitters.

I used a simple sewn bind-off – instructions for this method follow: 
For Row 47 (not shown on the charts) you will be knitting the front and back layers together. You start Row 47 with 33 dark/light pairs (33 double stitches), then knit a dark stitch and light stitch together (k2tog) across, so that you end Row 47 with 33 single stitches.

To finish binding off, use Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Sewn Bind-off, as described at the end of Knitty’s  Summer 2006  “Techniques with Theresa” feature, on binding off in knitting.

Complete your project by hiding yarn ends in between the front and back layers. For Chess Set squares in kitchen cottons, be sure to treat for color fastness

Block as appropriate for your yarn, shaping your hot pad or coaster into a square or nearly-square shape.

This “Knights? – Champions of Honor” double-knitting pattern is available as a pdf for immediate download. The pattern includes written instructions, links to tutorials, and front and back charts for knitting. You may use the pattern to knit for yourself, for gifts, or for charity. If you sell items made from my pattern, please credit Janet Bailey Designs. You may not sell the pattern itself, or give it away. Thank you for supporting my designs!

Instant pdf download on Ravelry.
Instant pdf download on Etsy.

I hope you enjoy knitting and using your "Knights!" and I would love to see your project photos on Ravelry!

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Double-Knitting Adventures - The Chess Set - Pawns! (free pattern)

Pawns!” is a free pattern from my Chess Set of double-knit patterns. You can knit hot pads or coasters with these patterns, or you can use the charts to embellish larger projects.

Other patterns in the Chess Set:
§  “Bishops and Rooks – Shields of the Realm”

These are my size estimates for various suggested yarns and needles:
§  worsted-weight yarn,
at a gauge of 21 stitches and 30 rows in 4 inches
(about 5.25 st/in and about 7.5 rows/in),
with U.S. size 3 (3.25 mm) or 4 (3.50 mm) needles
will produce a hot pad measuring about 6 ¼ inches square
suggested yarns –
Hobby Lobby “I Love this Cotton” (100% cotton)
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (100% wool)
§  fingering-weight yarn,
at a gauge of 30 stitches and 38 rows in 4 inches
(about 7.5 st/in and 9.5 rows/in),
with U.S. size 0 (2.00 mm) or 1 (2.25 mm) needles
will produce a coaster measuring about 4 ½ inches square.
suggested yarn –
Cascade Heritage (75% Wool, 25% Nylon)

Choose 100% cotton or wool yarns to make your Chess Set squares heat-resistant and moisture-absorbing. 

Knitters have many techniques for casting on, binding off, and finishing edges in double-knitting. The Double-Knitting Group on Ravelry is a helpful resource of ideas.


My worsted-weight sample, pictured to the left and below, used Sockmatician’s “Alternating Two-Color Long-Tail Cast On” and “Slip-Stitch Edges for Double-Knitting.”





I like combination knitting to help achieve even double-knitting tension. Ellen, “The Chilly Dog,” has a fantastic article and video on combination knitting that explains why you would want to use the technique and shows how to do combination knitting for both English-style and continental-style knitters.

To keep your Chess Set squares looking looking like new, be sure to treat kitchen cottons for color fastness and block them to shape!

I had fun designing “Pawns!”  I hope you enjoy knitting and using them.

If you are on Ravelry, you can add the free pattern to your Library and link it to your Projects. Here is a link to the free pattern on Ravelry.

If you are not on Ravelry, you can use this link to download the free pattern from my Google Drive. (Updated 12/29/19.)

"The Knights - Champions of Honor" will be released soon.
(Update: "Knights" was released on 12/26/2019.)







Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Bowl Mat in Textured Picture Crochet - Free Pattern


The Bowl-Mat for Mulligan pattern uses Groundhog Peggy’s technique, a version of tapestry crochet, for crocheting a picture afghan. A video for the technique was formerly available on Groundhog Peggy’s channel,


This picture afghan technique is worked in blocks of six stitches:
     one row (the “odd row”) follows a dc, sc, dc repeat,
     the next row (the “even row”) follows a sc, dc, sc repeat.

For every row, work stitches over a second strand of yarn as in tapestry crochet.

The sample was crocheted in cotton worsted-weight (standard weight 4) yarn using a size 8-H (5.00 mm) hook. Gauge is not too important, but you want your stitches to be dense to make a sturdy cloth. Use a hook that is comfortable for you with the yarn you choose. For the sample, my gauge was 14 st = 4 inches (14 block = 12 inches). At that gauge my bowl mat was about 17” wide and about 9” tall.

This bowl mat is useful for sopping up spills from our over-eager eaters!

I hope you enjoy making and using Mulligan's Bowl-Mat. You can download the free pattern here:

Bowl-Mat for Mulligan Crochet Pattern - Free Download on Ravelry.com


Colorfast Treatment and Blocking for Kitchen Cottons

I like to keep my handmade cloths fresh and bright. To avoid fading, I soak them for an hour in a solution of white vinegar, Epsom salts, and water.

For one recipe, I mix one cup each white vinegar and water with 2 tbsp Epsom salts.

(A double recipe would use two cups each white vinegar and water, and 1/4 cup = 4 tbsp Epsom salts.)

After soaking in the vinegar solution, I rinse the cloths in clear water and block them to shape.

For textured picture cloths, pressing down on the stockinette stitches helps to emphasize raised purl stitch designs.

A Dachshund Cloth in Textured Knitting - Free Pattern


Designing pictures in textured knitting is challenging. Horizontal purl stitch rows pop out against the stockinette background (as they do in welting), but vertical purl stitch columns recede (as they do in ribbing). What looks good on a chart may translate as a different image when knitted.

The design for this dachshund cloth was test-knitted and revised several times. I wanted my dachshund’s body, feet, and tail to be in scale with each other, and I wanted a wagging tail with at least an indication of ears. The dachshund’s face was challenging since one stitch difference on nose or ears can make the design look like a mouse or a bunny! You can see two versions of the face on the gold and brown dachshunds in the photo. The chart is for a face more like the gold dachshund.

The samples are knitted in cotton worsted-weight (standard weight 4) yarn on size 6 needles (4.0 mm) needles. Gauge is not too important but you want your stitches to be dense so that the design shows clearly. For the samples, my gauge was 5.5 st/in and 8.5 rows/in (22 stitches and 34 rows in 4 inches). At that gauge my cloths were about 10 ½” wide and about 5 ¼” tall.

You might want to go up to size 7 needles if your worsted cotton is more like an aran-weight. Or you might want to make a smaller cloth in dk-weight cotton on smaller needles. Have fun with your dachshunds!

Dachshund Cloth in Textured Knitting - Free Pattern Download on Ravelry.com

To keep your dachshunds looking frisky, be sure to treat kitchen cottons for color fastness and block them to shape!