An Earth Day Tradition: Two Towel Patterns (+ a Recipe!)
The tradition continues … for the eighth year now! I'm so excited to be celebrating my favorite annual tradition - the release of two special towel patterns, free for three days only, in honor of Earth Day. This year I opted for simple colorwork that produces a modern, on-trend windowpane effect, and I’ve included a favorite recipe for good measure. Scroll down to find the recipe for my “house” dressing and the new Frame and Gridline Cloth patterns for free through Thursday, April 24th, 2025 at 11:59pm EST, after which they will return to normal pricing and join my Purposeful Patterns initiative whereby $1 from the sale of each pattern will be donated to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).
While making responsible changes to our daily habits and routines will always be a way to reduce harm to our planet (see below for a few updates I’ve made in my own life), we are at a major tipping point right now with an administration in the US that is hell-bent on destroying it all for their own greed and egos. Trump has signed numerous executive orders and rolled back more than 125 environmental rules and policies that will gravely affect the health of the planet and the human race. By withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, releasing protected lands to commercial logging and fishing, firing critical staff at national parks, targeting renewable energy efforts, expediting permits to drill on public lands that will annihilate endangered species, and now moving to take away tax exemption status from environmental nonprofits, our Earth is under attack from all angles. On March 12 alone, the EPA announced 31 new actions to remove a host of environmental protections, including restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and vehicle emission standards. I believe one of the greatest threats to our planet in this moment is Donald Trump, and fighting against him is of the utmost importance.
Personally I have felt pretty powerless and disheartened by Trump’s apparently totally unfettered ability to destroy everything with a flick of his sharpie, but I do continue to call and email all of my reps and demand someone step in to stop him. If you’re looking for an easy way to do this, the website 5calls.org is a great resource. You can enter your address and it will provide the contact information for your reps as well as a script if you’re not sure what to say. You can choose from dozens of issues that are important to you and it will tailor the script for each one. I hope that if enough of us speak out, these elected officials who are literally working for us - we are their bosses - will have to do something to reign in this vile administration.
I chose the NPCA as the Purposeful Patterns recipient for the Frame and Gridline Cloth patterns this year because their mission is to protect and enhance America's National Park System for present and future generations, and this cause is extremely important to me. I want my son to be able to breathe fresh air and drink clean water and experience the gift of a healthy planet and I believe his right to do so is infinitely more important than a billionaire being able to make even more money from unrestricted industries.
Since the daily news of the constant war against our planet can be completely overwhelming and paralyzing, in addition calling my reps I have also tried to focus on small ways I can make a difference. Here are a few:
Trying to avoid single use items as much as possible. I always have a stainless steel water bottle with me to refill as necessary. I have purchased maybe bottles of water in the past 3 years. I also keep a couple sets of silverware in my car to avoid needing plastic cutlery if I need to get food on the go. I live in a very rural area and there isn’t a single restaurant that delivers to me, so I’ve also been able to avoid take out containers and unnecessary food packaging.
Opting for reusable “paper” towels. I am obsessed with these Swedish dishcloths and have started gifting them to everyone I know. They are more absorbent than paper towels, they can be washed more than 50x in either the washing machine or the dishwasher, and they are compostable!
Overhauling my cleaning products and beauty products. This is something I am super passionate about because choosing more sustainable and non-toxic items helps the planet and directly affects my family. I love these cleaning products, this dish soap, this stain remover, this detergent, this body wash, and this makeup.
Shopping secondhand. This is a work in progress for me. As someone who loves fashion, it’s really hard not to want the cool new item, but it’s also super fun to thrift and dig for gems (it’s truly a treasure hunt!). All fashion styles go through cycles and come back around, so I also like to use this as an excuse to never get rid of any clothing, haha.
Avoiding AI at all costs. Did you know that 1 search on chatgpt uses 10 times the amount of energy as a simple google search? Training 1 AI model uses the same amount of carbon dioxide as 300 round trip flights between NYC and SF and 5 times the lifetime emissions of a car. These technologies require astronomical amounts of energy to run, and then even more astronomical amounts of energy and water to keep the servers that host the technologies cool. I know AI is the “wave of the future” but it seems pretty unnecessary and wasteful to me. I absolutely do not need to generate a fake action hero image of myself or ask chatgpt to write my next knitting pattern, that’s for sure!
Always having a reusable bag on hand. This is probably one of the most obvious and common ways to reduce your trash footprint, and what’s more fun than making your own?! Here are some of my favorite tote patterns:
While my Earth Day towels might not be as functional for messy cleanups as the Swedish dishcloths I linked above, they are still one of my favorite ways to cozy up my kitchen in an eco-friendly way. My inspiration for these typically comes from a particular place, but this year I simply wanted something modern and on-trend. I have spent months pouring over .
Read about the inspo behind the previous four years' towels here:
2018: Alsace and Marseille Tea Towels
2019: Barrow and Waverly Hand Towels
2020: Brimfield and Berkshire Dishcloths
2021: Bistro and Mercantile Kitchen Cloths
2022: Cottage and Cabin Cloths
As per tradition, these patterns will be available for free here on the blog for three days from 4/22/24 through 4/24/24. Starting on 4/25/24, they will only be available for purchase as printer-friendly, ad-free PDFs as part of my "Purposeful Patterns" initiative.
I love displaying my handmade towels in my home, especially whilst entertaining. And when entertaining, my go-to menu item is always a salad with my “house” dressing, which is essentially a balsamic shallot vinaigrette that I have fine-tuned over the years. Every time I serve this I am asked for the recipe, and while I usually measure with my heart, I finally took the time to test it and dial in the exact measurements of each ingredient for the perfect result. I use this dressing for so many things but my favorite is just a classic and simple arugula salad with some cherry tomatoes and maybe a sprinkle of parm. I hope you love it as much as I do! You can find the recipe at the bottom of the post.
And now, without further ado …
Please enjoy the following patterns !
The Frame Cloth
Beautiful texture and easy slip stitch colorwork come together in this stylish and practical dishcloth, perfect for a host/hostess gift any time of year.
Purchase the printer-friendly, ad-free PDF here.
Materials:
1 skein Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Hay Bale for color A
1 skein Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Ecru for color B
(worsted, weight 4; 186yds/170m per skein)
Size US 6 (4mm) knitting needles
Tapestry needle
Gauge: 21 sts x 32 rows = 4”/10cm in pattern
Dimensions:
Sizes: One size
Width: 14”/35.5cm
Length: 18”/46cm
Abbreviations:
*All Two of Wands patterns are written in standard US terms
CO – cast on
K – knit
P – purl
Rep – repeat
RS – right side
Sl – slip
St(s) – stitch(es)
WS – wrong side
Wyib – with yarn in back
Wyif – with yarn in front
NOTES
Towel is worked flat from the bottom up. All stitches are slipped purlwise. Carry the unused color up the side of the work.
PATTERN
With color A, CO 73.
Set up row (WS): P.
Change to color B.
Row 1 (RS): Sl 1 wyib, *K 2, sl 1 wyib, rep from * across row.
Row 2 (WS): Sl 1 wyif, *K 2, sl 1 wyif, rep from * across row.
Change to color A.
Row 3: K.
Row 4: P.
Rep rows 1-4 until work measures approx. 18”/46cm, ending with a row 3.
Bind off in purl. Do not cut yarn, and do not pull through last stitch of work.
HOOK LOOP
Finger chain for approx. 3”/7.5cm. To do this, hold the working yarn in your left hand and use the thumb and middle finger of your right hand to reach through the loop of the last stitch, grab the working yarn, pull a loop through the last stitch and pull it taught. Then reach through that loop, grab the working yarn, pull through another loop and pull it taught. Continue in this manner until the chains measure 3”/7.5cm.
Cut the yarn and draw the tail through the final loop/chain. Thread tail onto tapestry needle, and secure to base of chains to form a loop at the corner of the towel.
Secure and weave in all ends.
The Gridline Cloth
With a modern and on-trend windowpane checker stitch pattern, this dishcloth is the perfect host/hostess gift any time of year.
Purchase the printer-friendly, ad-free PDF here.
Materials:
1 skein Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Ecru for color A
1 skein Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Hay Bale for color B
(worsted, weight 4; 186yds/170m per skein)
Size G/6 (4mm) crochet hook
Tapestry needle
Gauge: 18 sts x 13 rows = 4”/10cm in pattern
Dimensions:
Sizes: One size
Width: 14”/35.5cm
Length: 18”/46cm
Abbreviations:
*All Two of Wands patterns are written in standard US terms
Ch – chain
Dc – double crochet
Rep – repeat
Sc – single crochet
St(s) – stitch(es)
NOTES
Towel is worked flat from the bottom up in back and forth rows - turn at the end of each row. Tapestry crochet is used to carry the alternate color so that it is available for the following stitch or the beginning of the following row. To do so, lay the unused color on top of the previous row and work over it with the current color. To change colors, work the last yarn over of the previous stitch in the new color. To avoid twisting yarns, when changing colors always hold color A to the back of the work and color B to the front of the work.
PATTERN
With color A, ch 65.
Row 1: Starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc across row into the back bumps of each ch. (64 sts)
In the following rows, use tapestry crochet to carry the alternate color, except on the 1st and last sts of each row.
Row 2: Ch 1, dc 1, change to color B, dc 2, *change to color A, dc 1, change to color B, dc 2, rep from * to last st, change to color A, dc in last st without carrying color B.
Row 3: Ch 1, sc 1, then sc across row carrying color B to the last st, sc in last st without carrying color B.
Rep rows 2 and 3 until work measures approx. 18”/46cm. There is no need to carry color B on the final rep of row 3.
Do not fasten off.
HOOK LOOP
Ch tightly for approx. 3”/7.5cm. Cut the yarn and draw the tail through the final loop/chain. Thread tail onto tapestry needle, and secure to base of chains to form a loop at the corner of the towel.
Secure and weave in all ends.
My House Dressing
Pair this shallot balsamic dressing with any number of salads for a savory and sweet punch of flavor!
INGREDIENTS
1 medium to large shallot, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
2 t honey
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 t salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
METHOD
Add shallot, balsamic, dijon, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a glass jar and whisk to combine. Slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking simultaneously to emulsify the dressing.
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The patterns and photographs of items on this site are the property of Two of Wands and are for personal, non-commercial use only. These patterns files are protected by US copyright, and you may not distribute or sell them electronically or physically. Small batch sales of finished pieces made from these patterns are permitted, but seller must use their own photographs and credit must be given to Two of Wands as the designer.
