This is Jana Trent’s a/k/a the eLoomanator’s variation on the traditional dishcloth I know as “Grandmother’s” dishcloth. In the original, you leave out that very pretty center square of yarn overs and knit-two-togethers and just do the edge increases and decreases. We knitters have made a least a zillion of them. Where would kitchen cotton companies be without grandmother having taught all of us the basic pattern?

Trent’s version is especially well thought out. The center panel creates a nice serviceable scratchy surface. And when the dishcloth shrinks because we all throw these things in the washer and then throw them in the dryer (don’t we?), the yarn-overs create enough space to keep the cloth looking less tired for a longer time. These two are knit in Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream worsted weight cotton, on US size 7 needles.

The pattern is a free one, available for download on Ravelry. Look for “eLoomanator’s Diagonal Dishcloth” in a pattern search. Or run a Jana Trent search in the Ravelry designers.