How to add an i-cord hanging loop to knits

If you’ve been over on my blog for a bit, you know by now that I am all about learning to knit by focusing on the basics and training hard while knitting useful items like dishcloths and washcloths. But what you may wonder is, how to add an i-cord hanging loop?

Well, you’re in luck! I’m going to teach you how to make the I-cord loopy holder thingie so that your washcloths can hang from a hook in your shower. Or your dishcloths/towels can hang from a hook in your kitchen and get nice and dry (and therefore not stinky). 

In order to make an i-cord, you will need double pointed needles. (There’s a work around for this using straight needles, and I’ll show you how you can do that too. It may take a bit longer, but knitting an i-cord is pretty simple so it won’t be too cumbersome–I promise!) 

Attached i-cord hanging loop prerequisites

Before we knit the I-cord, you will want to be at the end of knitting a dishcloth or washcloth. You will bind off all but the final 2 stitches of your knit item, and then knit those stitches as normal. This will leave three remaining stitches on your needle. We will be using these final three stitches to create our i-cord. 

Some quick notes: This tutorial assumes that you can switch to double pointed needles. You can use circular easily enough. What’s more, we can do a work around with the straight needles. I will go over these workarounds at the end of the basic tutorial. 

The Instructions

How to add an i-cord hanging loop to anything.

First, switch to Double Pointed Needles (DPN’s) by slipping the stitches from the RH needle to the LH needle. .

Second, knit the three stitches. Be careful to pull the working yarn that is attached to the third stitch on the needle, to be knit into the first stitch on the needle. You want to pull tight enough that you close the gap between the first and third stitches. However, be careful that you are not pulling too tightly. This is what will make your knit an I-cord and not just a flat knit piece.

Third, take the three stitches you just knit and slide them to the other end of your double pointed needle. 

Repeat steps two and three until your i-cord has reached your desired length. 

Bind off the stitches. 

Finally sew in the end of your icord to the beginning of the icord so that it forms a loop. Weave in your ends. (OR what I like to do is sew my ends through the interior of the i-cord. This hides the ends really well and is super easy. And it ads reinforcing to your loop! 

Straight needle workaround to add an I-cord hanging loop

So, what do you do if you don’t have DPN’s, or don’t want to switch needles?

Well, obviously, you can’t slide the stitches to the other end and knit, so instead, you will just slip the stitches from your RH needle to your LH needle, knit, and repeat.

See, it’s not so hard!

Want to knit your own garter stitch dishcloth?

Here’s a simple free pattern that you can access. Instructions to add an I-cord hanging loop are not included, but you can use this tutorial to add one yourself!

I can’t wait to see all your loopy washcloths/dishcloths/towels hanging elegantly by hooks in your showers/kitchens! Tag me if you post on SM, or send me a quick pic in email.