Nai-Nais Favorite knittaforlife

I love giving wash cloths as gifts. They are quick, and add a little touch of heartfelt luxury to the
morning ritual. This one was for a friends birthday, and doubles as wrapping for a piece of
handmade soap. I cant really say that I wrote the pattern; Im more like a scientist, splicing the
genes of two compatible knits: the Chinese Waves Dishcloth, and the classic Grandmothers
Favorite. I love the Chinese Waves stitch pattern, but knitting it in a plain old rectangle never
seemed to have that well-finished look that the diagonal knit Grandmothers Favorite has, while
the usual garter stitch of the latter lacks the satisfying weighty thickness of Chinese Waves.
Because Chinese Waves has some intrinsic diagonal lines to it, the end result almost looks like it
wasnt knitted on the diagonal at all (at least to the untrained, un-knitters eye). As an added
bonus, for all you purl-shy, this is a no-purl pattern.
Nai Nais* Favorite Dishcloth
Gauge: really not critical. Just knit to your desired diagonal width, or until youve used half your
yarn, whichever comes first. Sample was made with Knit Picks Comfy Worsted on #7 needles,
but you should use whatever yarn you have handy (cotton is best) on whatever size needles make
a nice solid fabric.
Pattern notes:
kfb knit into the front leg, and then the back leg of the same stitch before dropping it from the
needle
yo yarn over needle, from front to back
sl1 slip one stitch purlwise, with yarn to the back of the work
k2tog knit two stitches together as one
ssk slip next two sts as if to knit, transfer them back to the left hand needle, and knit them
together through their back loops. If youre just starting out and dont know this decrease yet, its
no big deal to substitute a k2tog for the ssks in this pattern.
centered decrease: sl1 as if to knit, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over. Beginner alternative: k3tog
(knit three stitches together).
Directions:
Cast on 3 stitches
Row 1: knit 3
Rows 2&3: k1, kfb, k to end
Row 4: k2, yo, k1, yo, k2
Row 5: k3, sl1, k3
Row 6: k2, yo, k to last 2 sts, yo, k2
Row 7: k3, (sl1, k1) to last 2 sts, k2
Repeat rows 6&7 until desired diagonal width, ending with row 7. In the wash cloth shown, I had
65 sts at the maximum width.
Row 8: k1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k to last 5 sts, ssk, yo, ssk, k1
Repeat rows 7&8 until 9 sts remain, ending with row 7.
Row 9: k1, k2tog, yo, centered decrease, yo, ssk, k1
Row 10: k3, sl1, k3
Rows 11,12,13 & 14: k1, k2tog, k to end
Draw yarn through remaining sts and fasten off.
*Nai-Nai is Chinese for grandmother
Excerpted from Nai-Nais Favorite knittaforlife
http://knitta.net/2011/03/09/nai-nais-favorite/