Square dishtowel with centered FUCK in knits and purls

Finished size: approx 10.7" (27 cm) square (worked at the gauge below). The design is made by using knit stitches for the letters on right-side rows and purl for the background on right-side rows so the word stands out in bold, two-stitch-wide letters, centered on the cloth.

Materials

• Yarn: worsted-weight 100% cotton dishcloth yarn. Total required about 140 yards (128 m) — one 100 g skein (approx 140 yd / 128 m) is usually enough.
• Needles: US 7 / UK 7 (old) / 4.5 mm straight or short circular needle (16" / 40 cm or longer to comfortably hold 48 sts).
• Notions: tapestry needle for weaving ends, blocking board or towels, stitch marker (optional).

Gauge

18 sts = 4" (10 cm) and 24 rows = 4" (10 cm) in stockinette when using the listed yarn and needles. This gives a finished square approx 10.7" (27 cm).

Abbreviations

• K = knit (on the right-side rows for the letter cells)
• P = purl (on the right-side rows for the background cells)
• Ktbl = knit through back loop (not required here)
RS = right side, WS = wrong side

Notes

• The towel has a garter edge of 6 stitches at each side that is worked in knit every row to create a clean garter border that won't curl.
• Work the chart only on RS rows as written (K for letter stitches, P for background). On WS rows work all stitches 'as they appear' (knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches) so that the letter columns form stockinette that reads on the RS while the background becomes reverse stockinette.
• Letters are two stitches wide in each stroke; the chart below shows the central 36-stitch panel. Always knit the 6 edge stitches at beginning and end of every row.

Pattern Overview

Cast on 48 sts (6-st garter border + 36-st central panel + 6-st garter border).

1. Garter border: Work 12 rows (knit every row) to form a top garter band.
2. Centering space before chart: Work 11 rows of the central panel background (on RS rows, within the central 36 sts purl across; on WS rows work as they appear), keeping the 6-st garter edges knitted on every row.
3. Chart: Work rows 1–17 of the chart below (these are RS-row patterns for the central 36 sts). On WS rows, work stitches as they appear. Continue to always knit the 6 edge sts at the very beginning and end of each row.
4. After finishing the 17-row chart, work 12 more rows of the central panel background (same treatment as the 11 rows before the chart) to vertically center the chart in the cloth.
5. Bottom garter border: Work 12 rows knit every row to match the top garter band.
6. Bind off loosely in knit. Weave in ends. Block gently to square if desired.

Central-panel chart (36 sts wide). Follow each listed row on RS; on WS rows work stitches as they appear. Always k6 at beginning and end of every row for the garter edges.

Row 1 (RS):  K K K K K K K K P  K K P P P P P K K  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P P P K K P
Row 2 (RS):  K K K K K K K K P  K K P P P P P K K  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P P P K K P
Row 3 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P K K P
Row 4 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P K K P
Row 5 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row 6 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row 7 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row 8 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row 9 (RS):  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K P P P P P
Row10 (RS):  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K P P P P P
Row11 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K P P P P P
Row12 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K P P P P P
Row13 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row14 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row15 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P P P P K K  K K P P P P P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row16 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K K K K K K  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P K K P P P
Row17 (RS):  K K P P P P P P P  K K K K K K K K K  K K K K K K P P P  K K P P K K P P P

How to read each row: work k6 for garter edge, then work the 36 central stitches exactly as written for the RS row (K = knit on RS to make the letter stitch; P = purl on RS for the background), then k6 garter edge. On the WS row that follows, work every stitch as it appears across the row so the knit columns become knit on WS (i.e. purl when looking from RS) and the purl columns become knit on WS.

Finishing

• Bind off loosely in knit. Weave in ends. Wet-block or steam lightly to smooth and square up the towel; press gently if desired.
• Care: machine wash warm, tumble dry low or lay flat to dry for longer life.

If you want the letters taller or larger, increase the number of rows allocated to the chart or use a thicker yarn and larger needles; adjust cast-on accordingly to keep the garter edges proportional.

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