Valley Yarns Hydrangea Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Hydrangea Facecloth

Project Overview

The Valley Yarns Hydrangea is a 10" x 10¼" square facecloth designed by Julie Turjoman, perfect for daily skincare routines including morning cleansing and makeup removal. This knitted homeware piece features an allover eyelet texture that provides visual interest while maintaining functionality. The generous size and practical design make it an ideal accessory for bathroom or vanity use. An optional cord loop can be worked into one corner for convenient hanging storage.

Techniques and Construction

This facecloth is worked flat on straight needles from the bottom up, making it accessible for knitters developing their skills. The construction method involves seamless knitting, eliminating the need for finishing seams and creating a polished final product. The design incorporates lace techniques throughout, specifically an eyelet stitch pattern that creates decorative openwork while maintaining the fabric's structural integrity.

The eyelet stitch pattern repeats over a multiple of 10 stitches and 12 rows, featuring yarn overs and central double decreases (CDD) that form the characteristic lace openings. The pattern alternates between right-side and wrong-side rows, with the right-side rows showcasing the decorative yarn overs and decreases that create the eyelet texture. Knit through the back loop (k1 tbl) and purl through the back loop (p1 tbl) stitches add textural variation and help define the stitch pattern.

For knitters choosing to add the optional I-cord loop, double pointed needles are used to create this functional hanging detail, which is worked into one corner of the finished facecloth.

Stitches Used

• Eyelet Stitch: The primary stitch pattern combining yarn overs (yo) with central double decreases (cdd) to create decorative openwork
• Knit (k): Basic knit stitch forming the foundation of the fabric
• Purl (p): Reverse knit stitch used throughout the pattern for texture and shaping
• Knit through the back loop (k1 tbl): Twisted knit stitch adding definition and preventing distortion
• Purl through the back loop (p1 tbl): Twisted purl stitch providing textural contrast
• Yarn over (yo): Lace technique creating intentional holes in the fabric
• Central double decrease (cdd): Slip 2 stitches together knitwise, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over the knitted stitch—a two-stitch decrease used in the lace pattern
• Slip, slip, knit (ssk): Left-leaning decrease technique
• Slip 2 stitches, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over (s2kp2): Alternative two-stitch decrease
• Cast on (CO) and bind off (BO): Edge techniques for starting and finishing the facecloth

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: Valley Yarns Leverett, a premium cotton-linen blend composed of 70% Pima Cotton and 30% Linen. One 50-gram ball containing 109 yards is required for this project. The Waterfall/Silver colorway is featured in the pattern. This fiber blend offers crisp stitch definition essential for showcasing the eyelet pattern, while providing durability and breathability ideal for a skincare facecloth.

Needles: US size 4 (3.5 mm) straight needles for the main facecloth construction, with US size 4 (3.50 mm) double pointed needles reserved for the optional I-cord loop corner detail.

Additional Materials: Stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and construction points, and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends and assembling the optional cord loop.

Gauge: 20 stitches and 28 rows measured over 4 inches in the eyelet stitch pattern when blocked. Achieving proper gauge is essential for obtaining the finished measurements of 10" x 10¼".

Skill Level

Rated as Adventurous Beginner, this project serves multiple purposes for developing knitters. While the construction methods are straightforward—flat kn