My husband’s Grandmother had a stockpile of bath mitts she had created by taking facecloths and sewing them in half. She left the one side open to allow you to fit your hand inside. I had never seen this done before I saw the cloths she made – but it is rather a genius idea (I think).

I know the reason she created these was because her arthritis had made it difficult to hold on to the facecloth and use it to wash…but after attempting to bath my babies in the small basin of water in the hospital I realized they sure were slippery little monkeys! and I began thinking of ways to ensure I would not lose my grip on their tiny, wet and soapy bodies while I was giving them their baths.

Any new Mom or Dad (Grandma or Grandpa) will appreciate one of these bath mitts – they are helpful for holding onto slippery and squirmy infants and babies – until they are able to sit upright themselves in their tubs.

You can easily modify the size of these mitts to your liking – or even leave a few stitches out to allow your thumb to pop out the one side.

They work perfectly to allow you to get a grip on slippery babies 🙂 and to wash yourself when you find it difficult to grip the facecloth due to arthritis pain.

Andrew insisted on a bath mitt of his own – so a second size is included in the post – for toddler/small child sized hands.

I have updated the post (March 6, 2018) to add a 3rd size perfect for washing dishes AND for anyone who likes to have their thumb free of the mitt.

Please scroll to the end of the post for the Dishcloth Mitt Pattern.

Mama and Tot Bath Mitts and a Dishcloth Mitt!

Supplies

• Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn – Medium Worsted Weight [4] Yarn. Solids: 50 g / 1.75 oz, 73 meters / 80 yards
• Yardage Used for Dishcloth Mitt: 28 yards or 31 m (19 g or .7 oz)
• Hook: 5 mm (H) Orange Osage Hook
• Scissors, Yarn Needle, Stitch Marker (optional)

Difficulty Level

Easy

Finished Size

see sizes listed below in pattern instructions

Gauge

approximately 3.5 sts per inch
approximately 3.6 rounds per inch

You can substitute any yarn and hook for this stitch pattern – just remember when you substitute if your gauge is different, the finished size of your project will also be different.

Abbreviations

US Terminology used

BL – back loop
ch – chain
FL – front loop
R – round
rem – remaining
rep – repeat
sc – single crochet
sk – skip
st/sts – stitch/stitches
* – Repeat the instructions between the asterisks the number of times indicated. This repeat will contain of multiple instructions.
() – Repeat the instructions between the parentheses the number of times indicated.
[] – at the end of the row – the total number of stitches

Helpful Tutorials

Stitch Anatomy

Invisible Join

Helpful Video Tutorials

Join with a Single Crochet Stitch (Standing Single Crochet)

Quick Stitch Guide 

Slip Knot and Starting Chain

Notes

• this project is worked in continuous rounds – this means you do not slip stitch to join at the end of each round, instead mark your place with a stitch marker and continue working in rounds
• this simple stitch pattern works on a multiple of 2 stitches
• I finished my dishcloth mitt with 1 rounds of slip stitches to make the top a bit tighter since we will be pulling it on and off our hands frequently while washing dishes.

Free  Pattern 1: Bath Mitts – Mama’s

Size: 5.25 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall

R1: Ch 18, starting in the 2nd ch from the hook work 1 sc in each of the next 16 chs across, work 3 sc in the last ch, rotate your work to crochet along the bottom edge of the chain stitches (see diagram below the bonus pattern Dishcloth Mitt at the end of the post). 1 sc in each of the next 15 chs (remember you already worked 3 sc in the end ch you don’t need to work anymore in that one), 2 sc in the last ch. [36]

Note: From this point forward, you are working in continuous spirals. Do not sl st to join. You may wish to use a stitch marker to mark your place at the beginning of each round.

R2: 1 sc in the BL of the first st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st. *1 sc in the BL of the next st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st**. Rep from * to ** around. [36]

R3-31: Rep R2

R32: Optional: 1 sl st in each st around. Finish off with an invisible join and weave in ends.

If you would like to change the color (as I did) for a few rows – you may wish to use this technique (see this tutorial – How to Join with a Single Crochet Stitch ) to join new yarn with a sc stitch – just remember to do so in either the BL or FL of the stitch depending upon where you choose to change color!

Free Pattern 2: Bath Mitts – Tot’s

Size: 3.5 inches wide by 6 inches tall

R1: Ch 12, starting in the 2nd ch from the hook work 1 sc in each of the next 10 chs across, work 3 sc in the last ch, rotate your work to crochet along the bottom edge of the chain stitches (see diagram below the bonus pattern Dishcloth Mitt at the end of the post). 1 sc in each of the next 9 chs (remember you already worked 3 sc in the end ch you don’t need to work anymore in that one), 2 sc in the last ch. [24]

Note: From this point forward, you are working in continuous spirals. Do not sl st to join. You may wish to use a stitch marker to mark your place at the beginning of each round.

R2: 1 sc in the BL of the first st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st. *1 sc in the BL of the next st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st**. Rep from * to ** around. [24]

R3-22: Rep R2

R23: Optional: 1 sl st in each st around. Finish off with an invisible join and weave in ends.

If you would like to change the color (as I did) for a few rows – you may wish to use this technique (see this tutorial – How to Join with a Single Crochet Stitch ) to join new yarn with a sc stitch – just remember to do so in either the BL or FL of the stitch depending upon where you choose to change color!

BONUS PATTERN

Dishcloth Mitt

Size: 4 inches wide by 5 inches tall

R1: Ch 14, starting in the 2nd ch from the hook work 1 sc in each of the next 12 chs across, work 3 sc in the last ch, rotate your work to crochet along the bottom edge of the chain stitches (see diagram below). 1 sc in each of the next 11 chs (remember you already worked 3 sc in the end ch you don’t need to work anymore in that one), 2 sc in the last ch. [28]

Note: From this point forward, you are working in continuous spirals. Do not sl st to join. You may wish to use a stitch marker to mark your place at the beginning of each round.

R2: 1 sc in the BL of the first st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st. *1 sc in the BL of the next st, 1 sc in the FL of the next st**. Rep from * to ** around. [28]

R3-18: Rep R2

R19: 1 sl st in each st around. Finish off with an invisible join and weave in ends. [28]