Help please with cotton dish cloths

[rhonda2245]

I have never worked with cotton thread before but purchased some to make some dish cloths. They will be washed in warm or hot water and dried in the dryer. How much will the cotton thread shrink? Do I need to make the dish cloths larger and if so, how much? Or do I need to wash the thread first and if so, how do I do that? Won't it ravel out? Thanks in advance.

[magiccrochetfan]

I haven't noticed that mine have shrunk...if they did, it wasn't by much. What brand of thread did you get?

[Robi]

I crochet pretty loosely so when mine shrink it really does not affect the dishcloth. A friend of mine made me one in Single Crochet and she crocheted pretty tightly. I have washed it a couple of time and it is getting all wonky. Luckily it is JUST a dishcloth. I still LOVE it because she made it for ME.

[strandjss]

Hi Rhonda;

I do a lot of crocheting with cotton thread all weights and have not noticed much shrinking. It does seem to get a little thicker and more absorbent but I think you will be very happy with the results. I tend to crochet rather tightly so I always use a hook one or two sizes bigger than the recommended hook size.

 

I love crocheting with cotton because it feels so good in my hands. Many acrylics have a scratchy feel to them - but I really just love natural fibers because they are pure and well....just natural I guess.

 

J

[crocheting turtle]

I crochet many dishcloths, and I use cotton thread. I haven't noticed any shrinkage after putting them through the laundry. I have noted that the ones in which I have used double crochets are thicker and feel nice to the touch. I don't think that you have anything to worry about. Just crochet away and launder later.

[bailey]

Doesn't matter if they shrink a little - when wet they stretch back out again. In fact, I don't like to make mine too big because of the stretching when using.

 

I agree - crochet away and launder later; no need to wash the yarn first!

[Needle Arts]

Watch the darker colors, they may run when washed. I've heard to soak them in a vinegar/water solution before washing which will help set the color. I usually line dry/or lay flat to dry my cotton then throw in the dryer to soften up. Dishcloths will be more absorbent if no fabric softener used in washer or dryer. I've noticed some shrinkage but not a problem for dishcloths.

[rhonda2245]

Thanks so much everyone! I can't wait to get started. I will do as you say: crochet now and worry about laundering later.

[SDJ]

I made a 9 and 1/2 square dishcloth using the lemon peel stitch. I laundered in cold and dried medium high. It came out wonky and measuring 6 and 1/2 inches. 85%cotton, 15% polyester.

[Granny Square]

Welcome to the 'ville, SDJ.  Sorry it came out wonky, but the dishes won't care!  I use all-cotton yarn for bath washcloths; I make them about 8", they grow a lot when they get wet, so your 6.5" ones will probably 'grow' again when you wash the dishes.

[AmySolovay]

With dishcloths, shrinkage isn't a huge concern; like everyone else pointed out, a dishcloth that shrank a bit will still get your dishes clean. Where it gets to be a problem is if you're doing large cotton projects like sweaters that need to fit someone precisely. In that case, the best approach is to make a gauge swatch and then launder it. Work off the laundered swatch for figuring out your gauge.

I used to work in the textile industry, and I learned that it is pretty typical for cotton knits to shrink. Usually the shrinkage was greatest in the length and not so pronounced in the width. Ribbed fabrics tended to shrink the most of all that I remember observing. My company had standards for how much shrinkage they'd allow and if they couldn't get the shrinkage for a particular design below that percentage, they wouldn't run production on it. I can't remember but I think the standard was something like 5%. There were a lot of styles we scrapped because we couldn't get the shrinkage low enough. But I haven't run into the same problem to a huge degree with crochet. Of course, most of the projects I crochet are kitchen projects that can shrink a bit without it making any problems.  When I design a dishcloth or potholder pattern, I'll frequently make it a row or 2 longer than it is wide just to allow for a bit of shrinkage.