A Little Luxury

I had a bit of organic cotton left over after knitting sweaters for my nephew and decided to put it to some good (and selfish) use. I ended up with a loopy, lovely, luxurious spa-style washcloth:





Materials:
-about 45 grams sport-weight cotton
-size US 4 needles
-scissors
-tapestry needle
-crochet hook in similar size to knitting needles (optional)

Gauge:
-6 sts/inch in stockinette . . . But really, it's a washcloth, so don't worry! If you're getting a nice fabric and it's washcloth-size, shouldn't you just be happy?

Finished size: About 10" x 10"

Note: I used an organic cotton yarn known for shrinking, particulary losing height. To end up with a square washcloth, I knitted an additional 15% in height. (For a 10" square washcloth, I knit until work measured 11.5".)

Instructions:
Cast on an odd number of sts. I used 51.
Work in seed st for five rows: *k1, p1*, ending with k1.
Row 1: *K1, p1* twice, k1, *k1 and leave st on LH needle, bring yarn to front and wrap clockwise around L thumb to make a loop, bring yarn to back, k into back of same st and remove from needle as per normal knitting, k1* to last four sts, *p1, k1* twice.
Row 2: *K1, p1* twice, p1, *p2tog, p1* to last four sts, *p1, k1* twice.
Row 3: *K1, p1* twice, k2, *k1 and leave st on LH needle, bring yarn to front and wrap clockwise around L thumb to make a loop, bring yarn to back, k into back of same st and remove from needle as per normal knitting* to last six sts, k2, *p1, k1* twice.
Row 4: *K1, p1* twice, p2, *p2tog, p1* to last five sts, p1, *p1, k1* twice.
Repeat rows 1-4 until work measures almost 11".
Work in seed st for five rows.
Bind off but do not cut yarn. Use crochet hook and chain 3", then attach back where chain began to form a loop for hanging. (This could also be done using DPNs and knitting I-cord.)

I'm working on worsted-weight version, too. All the same principles, of course, but I'm using size US 8 needles and casting on 31 stitches.