vilakins | Knitted dish cloths and plastic bowls

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Knitted dish cloths and plastic bowls

I wonder if some Americans can enlighten me. I'm puzzled by how many of you knit dish cloths--and give them away as gifts. There are lots of patterns around for them, many of them wonderfully geekish, but please tell me why they're so popular and how you use them?

Are they used for washing dishes in a sink? For drying them? I can't imagine wool or acrylic working well in either case. And are wash cloths another sort, or used for the face?

Here are two popular patterns.
Here's one pattern.
And a Dalek one

And this is what finally sparked this query.

This is for people from the UK. Why do you wash dishes in a plastic bowl in the sink rather than directly in the sink? Is it to save water, to keep the sink clean, to be able to toss debris over the side, to protect dishes from hard metal, or for some other reason?

Just so people know my dish-washing habits, I rinse dishes to get loose food off and put them in the dishwasher. I wash delicate glassware (only used for dinner parties or special occasions) in the sink with a microfibre cloth, and pots and pans with a brush which goes through the dishwasher when it needs it. I dry any hand-washed dishes with a tea towel, and no, I don't know why it's called that. "Dish towel", as cited by an American, makes more sense.

The only reason I'm asking about dish washing is because of seeing so many knitted dish cloths on a knitting site. It's not normally a subject that exerts any fascination.

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It is usually with the idea to save water, as the bowls are smaller. It started back in '76 I think.

However now the washing up bowls are getting too small to be really useful we've switched back to washing in the sink.

Though if the dry spells continues I might buy a plastic bowl in order to water the plants.It being easier to transfer the water, than using a jug to bail out the sink.

people were doing them at my sewing group. They are for washing up with, instead of a sponge or a bought dish cloth, which I guess you don't have down your way. I've never used them, but my mother does

I have never encountered them in my journeys through America. In terms of vocabulary, I think my family says, "dish towel" for something to dry dishes with and "wash cloth" for something you bathe with.

Wash cloths are indeed something else, and used for the face or body (f'rex I use them to apply and rinse off foamy shower gel). I think people knit dish cloths out of string or other kinds of cotton.

I don't know, I've never seen one. It would be really weird to get one as a gift.

Glad you asked, I've wonder the same thing.

I thought they would be an equivalent to our pot holders, a heavy duty square to protect your hand when grabbing a hot saucepan or kettle handle. I still have a couple knitted in string, plain garter stitch, given to me by an old lady we used to give a lift to church.

I wouldn't want to wash dishes with a knitted cloth, it feels unhygienic. I use one of the synthetic non-woven cloths that are easy to rinse clean in hot water. But I'm in the UK.

I am a sponge person myself (they don't get smelly and you can throw them away when they do) but my mother has always chrocheted her own dish cloths. They get put in bleach once a week when she cleans the kitchen.

I've seen all the patterns too, but have never actually seen anyone make or use them. When I learned to knit in first grade (don't laugh) we started with a wash cloth for bathing. As far as I know, no one ever actually used those either. Maybe everyone's mother's framed them. Mine turned out a bit lopsided, my motor skills weren't up to par yet :) First and last washcloth I ever did.

I've never heard of a knit dish cloth. :/ They sound more like pot holders to me. Dish cloths are usually very thin cotton/linen type material. Dish towels, for drying are also cotton/linen/terrycloth.

Can you post a picture of what you're talking about? that'd let me better understand what exactly it is and what I'd do with it as a gift. I can say that I've seen a lot of kitchens (and bathrooms) with what I'd basically call a "decorative wash cloth" that might be used to dry wet (clean) hands, but otherwise just hangs on a peg or stove to look ornamental. I've seen some neat embroidered Daleks/TARDISes before that I would use in that way. I don't use a cloth for dishes in any event. I'd use a brush or a sponge (and dishwasher). I might use a cloth to dry them, in which case it wouldn't get ruined. I also sometimes use a cloth spread on the counter to put a large handwashed item that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, or things that need to air dry.

I also know people who use dish clothes to carry hot plates/pots/whatnot, or to use them on the table/surface so that the hot pot doesn't burn through the table. (That might damage the dish cloth, but generally not, and certainly is better than damaging a hardwood table.)

Alternately, if the cloths DO get ruined in a year, well . . . that could explain why they're an annual present? Ruin one knitted cloth and get a new one next Christmas?

I'm a bit taken aback. I've never bought or knitted a dish cloth. Any cotton tee shirt, tea towel or sheet that becomes past use is usually used for dishes and any other house hold cleaning chore.

They get used once and then washed with the tea towels until they reach a state where they are literally falling apart. After which, they are earmarked for a really dirty job and then chucked.

I've made several as gifts, and they've all been decorative.

You could use the yarn to make a cosy for an electronic device or a drawstring bag. I make lots of drawstring bags for the husband.

I've seen patterns for knitted dishcloths around the place and have been similarly puzzled, so thank you for asking :)

I can't imagine trying to knit with string. I would have thought it wouldn't stretch enough, which would make it very hard work.

A friend made a couple for me. Acrylic does work, actually, as yarn is a bit rough and spongy textured for wiping things off, and then it dries quick.

I never knitted a dish cloth, although when I was teaching myself to knit (still don't do it beyond beginner level) a lot of the old instruction books/pamphlets I had recommended starting out with a wash cloth as 'something quickly done and useful, or makes a nice gift for your mother'. I didn't know anyone who would use one, or want one as decoration.

We used sponges for washing plates & flatware, a 'mop' of gathered sponge fingers for glassware, and either Brillo or a plastic scrubber for pots and pans. (Then later we got a dishwasher which always seemed pointless to me- you had to wash the stuff nearly clean before loading it, so where was the labor-saving?)

I think the first thing I did knit was a doll. :^)

I've actually never heard of knitted dish cloths... don't know anyone who uses them either. I don't think I've seen them in stores here in the city. But maybe they're a regional thing? I use a sponge to wash dishes and flour-sack towels to dry at home.

Wash cloths are generally used for the face. Or at least that's what I use them for. :o)

I remember we used to knit them when was child at Brownies and guides. I think we used a special sort of wool (or other thread?) but they were expected to be used for washing up dishes. I think nice ones like the dalek one I have a pattern for is intended as a keepsake though.

Knitted dish cloths became "the thing" in the Korean community a couple years ago, because it's sturdy enough to take away grime, and yet it keeps away bacteria... I heard the yarn used for making this cloth is made of some special material that keeps bateria away. We use it at our house.. it's good because unlike sponges, they dry very quickly, so it's bound to keep away mold and bacteria much better than a sponge... it looks prettier too~

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Knitted Dish Cloths