Philoxenia Guest Towels

Philoxenia is the Greek word for hospitality, so it’s an apt name for these small personal guest towels. They are easy to make: You need one 50g skein of cotton yarn for each and you only need to know how to knit, purl and slip the first stitch.

Abbreviations

k: knit

p: purl

sl1p: slip one stitch purlwise

RS: right side

WS: wrong side

sts: stitches

Measurements

Approx 27 x 27cm.

Yarn

1 skein (50g) of DK cotton (approx 120m/50g) for each towel. 

Needles

I like a tight tension for towels, so I use 3mm needles.

Towel With Vertical Lines

Instructions

Cast on 57 sts.

Rows 1 to 5: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 6 and all even-numbered rows up to row 92: Sl1p, k3, [k1, p3] 12 times, k5.

Row 7 and all odd-numbered rows up to row 93: Sl1p, k3, [p1, k3] 12 times, p1, k4. 

Rows 94 to 99: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Cast off and weave in ends.

Seed Stitch Towel

Instructions

Cast on 57 sts

Rows 1 to 5: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Rows 6 to 93: Sl1p, k3, [p1,k1] to last 5 sts, p1, k4.

Rows 94 to 99: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Cast off and weave in ends.

Basketweave Towel

Instructions

Cast on 57 sts.

Rows 1 to 5: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 6 (RS): Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 7 (WS): Sl1p, k4, [p2, k4], 8 times, k4.

Row 8 (RS): Sl1p, k3, [p4, k2] 8 times, p1, k4.

Row 9 (WS): Sl1p, k3, p49, k4.

Row 10 (RS): Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 11 (WS): Sl1p, k3, [k4, p2] 8 times, k5.

Row 12 (RS): Sl1p, k3, p1, [k2, p4] 8 times, k4.

Row 13 (WS): Sl1p, k3, p49, k4.

Repeat rows 6-13 another 10 times (93 rows completed in total).

Rows 94 to 99: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Cast off and weave in ends.

Mistake Rib Towel

Instructions

Cast on 57 sts.

Rows 1 to 5: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Rows 6 and all even-numbered rows up to row 92: Sl1p, k4, [p2, k2] 12 times, k4.

Row 7 and all odd-numbered rows up to row 93: Sl1p, k3, p1, [k2, p2] 12 times, k4.

Rows 94 to 99: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Cast off and weave in ends.

Broken Rib Towel

Instructions

Cast on 57 sts.

Rows 1 to 5: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 6 and all even-numbered rows up to row 92: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Row 7 and all odd-numbered rows up to row 93: Sl1p, k3, [p1, k1] to last 5 sts, p1, k4. 

Rows 94 to 99: Sl1p, k to end of row.

Cast off and weave in ends.

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You are welcome to share your work on social media and to tag me (@annaplexis.knits on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, @annaplexis on TikTok, X, Mastodon, tumblr and YouTube). I’d love to see your work 🙂

Hashtags #annaplexis and #PhiloxeniaTowels

Tutorials

Long tail cast on:

You can weave in the first tail in advance:

Make sure to taper the yarn end first:

Slip the first stitch purlwise with the yarn in front:

Cast off loosely using regular cast off:

When you get to the last stitch, cut the yarn and pull it through the stitch:

Weave in the end:

And if you REALLY want to be a perfectionist, you can cut the fibers of the yarn at different lengths to prevent the ends from peeping through: