This is a crochet pattern review of the Buco Hanging Towel pattern by designer Christa Co Design. Review done by A Stitch Shy of Normal for EyeLoveKnots.
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Find the crochet pattern review below, click here for the free pattern on the Christa Co Design blog or purchase the PDF of the crochet pattern on Ravelry.
I know spring is the season that most people associate with cleaning. And I understand why–you finally get to open the windows and experience some sunshine, and you want to go through your house and get some of the junk and dust out to feel free and light as the warm weather sets in!
But I’ve always had a strong association between cleaning and fall weather. It’s mostly due to my mom’s obsession with fall-scented candles, I think. (Does that make no sense? Stick with me!) As the weather cooled down and we could turn off the air conditioning but didn’t yet need to start using the heater, we’d open the windows and the house would feel so lovely with a nice breeze. On the weekends while everyone was free, as a family we would deep clean the house. And at the end of the night, as we settled down onto the couch to watch a movie, Mom would light a candle that was almost always something with apple and/or pumpkin. So because smell is one of the senses most strongly connected to memory…fall brings feelings and memories of a cool breeze, a pumpkin candle, and cleaning products.
If that’s weird, I’m okay with being weird! I’m weird with a clean house at least. I’ve been doing a lot of deep cleaning this weekend since we have family coming into town on Friday afternoon. I can try to keep the house clean for a few days but I was not going to be able to fully clean it in the evenings after work! Today I did one of those amazing kitchen cleanings where you take apart everything, you climb into the cabinets and scrub deep inside, etc. And last night I had just so happened to finish a cute new kitchen towel, and it felt so GOOD to hang that on my clean oven! (Don’t judge me from the pictures, this is a very old house so a lot of the character does not go away with elbow grease…yet. I keep trying!)
I love freshening up decor with fun accessories we can make ourselves. If you’ve wanted to switch up your kitchen decor or just want to make a cute new towel, check out this pattern for a quick and simple project that gives you such a satisfying result!
It’s me, Abigail with A Stitch Shy of Normal.
Visit with me on Instagram @astitchshyofnormal for all kinds of awesome crochet makes and inspiration!
What Materials Do I Need to Crochet a Dish Towel?
- 250-300ish yards of a medium #4 weight cotton, I used Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Aqua, Rose and Purple (partial skeins of each)
- G6/4.0mm hook
- Scissors and yarn needle for finishing
- Buco Hanging Kitchen Towel pattern, available to view for free on the Christa Co Design blog or buy the PDF of the crochet pattern on Ravelry! (The free version is the full pattern, it’s what I ended up using.)
Material Notes:
I love 24/7 Cotton, you know that already from my Dafne Granny Stripe Bag, Bobble Stitch Hot Pad, Crossbody Canteen Bag and the loads of projects I’ve been sharing on Instagram. That’s why I had piles of it in my stash. My son is in daycare and I’m trying to come up with a little gift I can give the staff that shows I appreciate them without being weird about it, but still keep it affordable! I happened upon a quick and easy pattern to make a little keychain, and it works up so fast. So I’ve made 12 of them already and that left me with a few partial skeins of this cotton. What could I do with three colors of this yarn, when I wasn’t exactly sure how much of each color I had?
I came across this adorable striped hanging dish towel pattern in my Ravelry scrolling one evening, and I realized this would be a super cute way to use this cotton up! Rather than counting rows to intentionally stripe my colorways, I could work until a color ended at the end of a row and end up with more of a colorblock look. (If I tried to stripe it on purpose, one color might run out sooner than the others since they weren’t equal partials!)
I think it worked seriously well. This yarn gives such a gorgeous stitch definition to any stitch I’ve ever tried with it, and this was no exception. These colors go well together as a retro vibe with bright cheery colors as well. I did not measure gauge but I ended up with a decent size for my towel anyway. And I’ve used it to mop up a couple spots in the kitchen already today, and it works…as a towel probably should!
So no complaints here. I see that Crystal (the designer) used Big Twist Cotton as well as WeCrochet Dishie, both of which I’ve used before and find to be very nice choices. I just didn’t want to buy anything for this if possible and I had plenty of partials in this 24/7 Cotton. All three of these are pretty comparable in weight, as well as most medium cottons. It’s a wide range and you can probably find the color(s) you’re wanting in at least one of these choices! I would recommend picking one that holds up to machine washing, though, since you’ll likely want to toss the towel in the laundry if needed.
How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Dish Towel?
This was a very quick project. I was able to work this up over a couple of evenings. Maybe 4-6 hours in total of stitching, and there’s very little to the finishing besides weaving in however many ends you might have.
Gauge & Measurements:
I did not check gauge before this pattern, I was going to work with whatever size it ended up. Checking it after the towel is complete, I’m reasonably close but not exact.
Pattern gauge: 4″ = 16 stitches or 14 rows
My result: 4″ = 18 stitches and 12 rows
What does this mean for my sizing? I have more stitches in my width, so my towel might end up skinnier than intended since the same number of stitches as the pattern will take up less space. My row gauge had fewer rows, so my stitches are also taller than the pattern.
So I would expect the result to be that my towel is a little smaller in width, but I did work the project to the listed height rather than count rows. And this is correct because the suggested width is 12″ while mine comes out around 11.25″. But I did work it to 16″ as listed before the handle, so my towel is the same height. Just a bit skinnier.
Pattern Notes:
I loved this project. It’s a simple stitch of half-double crochets and slip stitching, worked in a pattern that gives these cute little bumps to the texture but doesn’t get you stuck with tiny little slip stitches for hours. It’s easy to play with colors, as this pattern could be worked in one solid shade or whatever size of stripe you like. The designer does list how to stripe it like they did, but I did whatever I wanted and just used up each of my skeins or stopped when I felt I had enough of that color. I might have gotten one more row out of my pink but I felt it had enough pink in it, and then the aqua was all I had left and I stopped the purple when the whole towel was at the listed height.
I like when a pattern is a really cool stitch like this and it doesn’t try to be anything fancy. There’s nothing complex to this, even the hanging loop at the top is very simple. I was able to stitch away on this project while watching videos or chatting with my family, and all I had to pay attention to was counting my stitches each row to make sure I didn’t miss a slip stitch from working it too tight! I’m not a fan of slip stitching and never have been, but it’s a necessary stitch in this craft so I’ve learned to live with it. And for texture like this, it’s worth it.
I think this towel would make a really cute gift, as we get closer and closer to the holiday season. You could personalize them in any colors for each person, or just get a whole bunch of neutrals and work up a cute collection of them. A basket of these towels would be a cute housewarming gift, or this towel plus a couple cooking utensils! I’m considering doing one of these towels wrapped around a jar of cocoa mix or something for my work Secret Santa this year, since they work up so quick and two-ish skeins of medium cotton is not a bad investment for a gift.
I always like to bring up something that could potentially be improved in the pattern, but I’m struggling to come up with anything which is a compliment to this designer! The instructions are clear, the stitching is simple enough to understand, and the pattern worked up fast. I’m very pleased with my result and I hope you will be too when you make a whole pile of these for yourself and others.
I would for sure make this again and I think these cute little towels will make up a large part of my holiday gifts this year! Now I just need to start the long process of deciding colors. I’d love recommendations on your favorite medium cotton yarn! I have several ones I like to use, so that’s the struggle–how do I pick? I’d love to know which one you always turn to for gifts and home items like this!
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