Hanging Dish Towel Instructions

Some have asked that I post the instructions for the towels I've been making.  I took some pix a few months back when I was making Halloween towels, so I will post a few of those, too, to make my points clearer for those that like photos to help get a point across.

MATERIALS:

ONE KITCHEN DISH TOWEL, CUT IN HALF.
WORSTED-WEIGHT YARN.
CROCHET HOOK G OR H.
AWL OR SHARP-POINTED SCISSORS TO PUNCH/CUT HOLES IN THE TOWEL.
2 BUTTONS TO FIT (3/4", 7/8" OR ONE-INCH WILL WORK).  YARN STRETCHES TO FIT.
THREAD TO MATCH YARN FOR SEWING ON THE BUTTONS.

PATTERN:

PUNCH 41 HOLES ACROSS THE CUT-SECTION OF THE DISH TOWEL, KEEPING THEM EVENLY SPACED.

ROW 1:  SINGLE CROCHET (SC) ACROSS. (YOU SHOULD HAVE 41 STITCHES (STS) ACROSS, CH 1, TURN.

ROW 2:  SC ACROSS (41 STS), CH 2, TURN.

ROW 3:  DOUBLE CROCHET (DC) ACROSS. YOU SHOULD HAVE 41 STS ACROSS COUNTING THE 1st CH 2 WHEN TURNING).  CH 2, TURN.

ROW 4: DC ACROSS, (YOU SHOULD HAVE 41 STS ACROSS), CH 3, TURN.

ROW 5.  TREBLE CROCHET (TR) IN FIRST SPACE.  *SKIP 1 SPACE, TC 1, REPEAT FROM * ACROSS.  (YOU SHOULD HAVE 22 STS ACROSS COUNTING THE 1ST CH 3).  CH 3, TURN.
NOTE;  FOR THE TR ROWS YOU ARE STITCHING IN THE SPACES BETWEEN THE STITCHES, NOT IN THE STITCHES THEMSELVES.

ROW 6:  TC IN 3RD SPACE, REPEATING THE SAME ACROSS AS 5TH ROW.  (YOU SHOULD HAVE 11 STS ACROSS COUNTING THE 1ST CH 3).  CH 2, TURN.

THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS TO HAVE THE CORRECT NUMBER OF STITCHES ACROSS.  IF YOU NEED TO TWEAK AT THE END OF A ROW, DO SO.

ROW 7:  DC ACROSS.  ( YOU WILL NOW BE WORKING WITH 11 STS ACROSS EVERY ROW).  CH 2, TURN.

REPEAT ROW 7 THRU ROW 15.  (YOU WANT 9 ROWS OF DOUBLE CROCHET FOR THE HANGING STRIP).

ROW 16:  DC ACROSS 5 STS, SKIP 1 STITCH (FOR BUTTON HOLE), DC IN THE LAST 5 STS.  CH 1, TURN.

ROW 17.  SC SCROSS, ENDING WITH FASTENING OFF AND CUT.  WEAVE THE TAIL THRU SOME OF THE STITCHES SO THEY DISAPPEAR.

SEW BUTTON IN CENTER OF ROW 8.

A FEW TIPS:

I use binder clips to section off for every 5 stitches.  I tried pins but they slipped out too easily and also nicked my fingers.  Binder clips don't slide.

You can fold towel in half and clip mark every 5 stitches for the first 20 stitches, then do the other half.

An embroidery scissors makes great cuts in the towels with their fine points.  I only cut 5 stitches at a time, then single crochet them, then do the next 5 to keep them even.

The chain 2 or 3 at the end of each row is always counted as the first ST of the next row.  The 2nd ST is taken in the very next stitch you can see from where I'm pointing with my pencil.

For the TREBLE CROCHET rows, you work in the SPACES, not the stitches themselves.  At the end of the first row of TC, you should have 22 stitches.  If you need to, tweak to get that number.

For the 2nd TC ROW, you will TC IN THE 3RD SPACE as noted in the photo above.

The hanging strip of crochet should be 11 stitches across.  You want to end up with 9 rows of the 11 DC across.  For the next (10th) row, you skip one ST in the center for the buttonhole.  Sew the button to the middle crochet stitch on the 2nd row of the band.

A finished pair from one dish towel shown above.

I hope my pix and notes make it clearer for those needing that info.  I know it always helps me to have something to see when I'm learning something new.

Good luck and have fun making up these towels for gifts and for yourself.  Every Holiday thru the year can be noted with scene-appropriate towels so enjoy them.

Have a good day.