Free Koala Dishcloth or Afghan Square Knitting Pattern

Our latest creation is a free knitting pattern for a koala square. I’ve had a few people contact me lately about using my patterns to fund raise, particularly for the wildlife in Australia due to the devastating fires there. As always, everyone is more than welcome to make items from my patterns for charity or as fund raisers – it’s such a wonderful thing to help others in need and one of the reasons I make my patterns available for free is in the hope that they will be used to make items for charity.

You can sell items you make from my patterns too. All I ask is that you don’t copy my patterns – rather link back to my website if you want to share them.

If you like this pattern and have a dollar or two to spare, a donation to one of the wildlife organisations working hard in Australia would be wonderful ( https://www.zoo.org.au/fire-fund/ or https://www.wires.org.au/).

This square would work great as a washcloth or dishcloth, or you could put it together with some of the other squares to make an afghan or blanket (all my squares are the same size). Finished square approximately 22 cm x 22 cm (8.5 inches x 8.5 inches)

If you would prefer a PDF version of this pattern or you would like to help support Daisy and Storm to continue to make free patterns, you can purchase a PDF version of this pattern from ETSY by clicking here

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Size and Materials

Size depends on yarn and needle size used – with DK/Light Worsted Weight yarn and 4 mm (US 6, UK 8) knitting needles, finished squares are approximately 22 cm x 22 cm (8.5 inches x 8.5 inches)

Any sized needle and yarn can be used (please refer to yarn label for recommended needle size), however different needle and yarn sizes will produce different sized squares, so if you plan to make an afghan or a set of these it is best to use the same needle size and yarn for each square.

Chart Instructions

On Right Side: Knit white squares and purl black dots

On Wrong Side: Purl white squares and knit black dots

Cast on 45 stitches and start at bottom left hand corner of chart with a wrong side row.

Written Instructions

Cast on 45

Work 7 rows of (K1,P1) to last stitch, K1

Row 8: K1, P1, K1, P1, K37, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 9 and all odd numbed rows: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P35, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 10: K1, P1, K1, P1, K19, P6, K12, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 12: K1, P1, K1, P1, K18, P5, K14, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 14: K1, P1, K1, P1, K17, P4, K16, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 16: K1, P1, K1, P1, K14, P9, K14, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 18: K1, P1, K1, P1, K11, P14, K12, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 20: K1, P1, K1, P1, K10, P16, K11, P1, K1, P1, K1

Even rows 22-24: K1, P1, K1, P1, K9, P18, K10, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 26: K1, P1, K1, P1, K12, P15, K10, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 28: K1, P1, K1, P1, K11, P16, K10, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 30: K1, P1, K1, P1, K10, P17, K10, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 32: K1, P1, K1, P1, K10, P16, K11, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 34: K1, P1, K1, P1, K10, P15, K12, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 36: K1, P1, K1, P1, K9, P3, K4, P9, K12, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 38: K1, P1, K1, P1, K8, P3, K4, P11, K11, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 40: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P3, K2, P17, K8, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 42: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P3, K2, P19, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 44: K1, P1, K1, P1, K5, P3, K3, P19, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 46: K1, P1, K1, P1, K4, P3, K4, P19, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 48: K1, P1, K1, P1, K3, P3, K6, P4, K2, P5, K2, P4, K8, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 50: K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P3, K32, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 52: K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P2, K33, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 54: K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P1, K34, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 56: K1, P1, K1, P1, K37, P1, K1, P1, K1

Work 7 rows of (K1, P1) to last stitch, K1

Cast off, weave in ends and block.