If you Google Image “Peaches & Creme Ballband Dishcloth” you’ll see hundreds of cheerful dishcloths on your screen. Here is an example:The “brick and mortar” pattern is achieved by knitting horizontal ridges in Stockinette and Reverse Stockinette stitch AND by slipping certain stitches until the time comes to knit them off.

You always repeat these three rows: (knit, purl, knit). The first two rows are knit in Colour A and the next four in Colour B, which makes the strips change colour.Once you know what you are doing (slipping stitches with yarn in back or yarn in front) it is so easy!

I realize, however, that slipping all those stitches requires a lot of concentration of a new knitter. So I have changed the pattern using another technique to create a similar effect.

Five easy rows and one row with “deep stitches” that require attention… I worked up two swatches. The bottom swatch starts with the slipped stitches and ends with the deep stitches; the top one only has the deep stitches. See how much wider the bottom swatch is at the top?

Dishcloth, Colette’s easier version, BRICKS or CHAINS:

 

 

DS = Deep Stitch: insert the needle into the corresponding stitch of Colour A 4 rows below (this is below the reverse Stockinette section of Colour B) and pull up a loop*. Knit the next stitch and pass the loop over this stitch. One Deep stitch made.

(*Optional: change the orientation of this loop, so it will make a “V” that’s not twisted. You can do this by changing it after the loop has been drawn up, or simply by wrapping the yarn in the opposite direction when making the stitch.)

Note: If you want to knit a swatch first, cast on 15 sts (or another multiple of 6 + 3) and see if you can make it work.

Using Colour A, cast on 45 stitches loosely.
Set-up rows: knit row 1 (if you used the long-tail cast on, this counts as row 1), purl row 2 .
Start of pattern:
Using Colour B, knit row 3 and 4, purl row 5, knit row 6.
Switch back to Colour A: Pattern row (row 7): K4, DS, *k5, DS, repeat from * to last 4 sts, k4.
Purl row 8.
Switch to Colour B: knit row 9 and 10, purl row 11, knit row 12.
Switch to Colour A : Pattern row (row 13): K1, DS, *k5, DS, repeat from * to last st, k1.
Purl row 14.
Repeat rows 3-14 five more times (or as many times as needed to reach a length that suits the user’s hand), then repeat rows 3-7. Bind off loosely on the wrong side (instead of row 8).

Why I named this reversible dishcloth Bricks or Chains:

 

The original Peaches & Cream Ballband Dishcloth pattern is here: