Free Cardinal or Blue Jay Dishcloth or Afghan Square Knitting Pattern

By popular demand, our latest creation is a free knitting pattern for a cardinal or blue jay bird square! 

When I started making this square I didn’t really know much about cardinals or blue jays so I did a little research and found out some quite cool stuff. I was quite surprised to find out that the two birds aren’t related to each other (despite looking similar and both being native to America.

The cardinal is the state bird of lots of states too – Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, and both birds have quite a few sports teams named after them. I also discovered that cardinals symbolize loyalty and faithfulness and a beautiful Cherokee legend of how the cardinal got his red feathers which you can read here .

Blue jays are intelligent, loud birds. One of the most interesting facts I found is that the blue jay’s feathers are not actually blue, they are brown. Instead, the feathers have properties that reflect blue light so it is what our eyes see – there’s more information about this phenomenon here.

This square would work great as a washcloth or dishcloth (weather you choose blue for blue jay or red for cardinal or another color entirely!), 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

Even Rows 10-12: K1, P1, K1, P1, K37, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 14: K1, P1, K1, P1, K9, P4, K2, P4, K18, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 16: K1, P1, K1, P1, K11, P1, K5, P1, K19, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 18: K1, P1, K1, P1, K12, P1, K5, P1, K18, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 20: K1, P1, K1, P1, K13, P1, K4, P1, K18, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 22: K1, P1, K1, P1, K13, P7, K17, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 24: K1, P1, K1, P1, K9, P14, K14, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 26: K1, P1, K1, P1, K8, P25, K4, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 28: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P21, K9, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 30: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P16, K15, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 32: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P14, K17, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 34: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P12, K19, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 36: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P9, K21, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 38: K1, P1, K1, P1, K5, P8, K24, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 40: K1, P1, K1, P1, K3, P10, K24, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 42: K1, P1, K1, P1, K5, P7, K25, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 44: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P5, K25, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 46: K1, P1, K1, P1, K8, P3, K26, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 48: K1, P1, K1, P1, K9, P2, K26, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 50: K1, P1, K1, P1, K10, P1, K26, P1, K1, P1, K1

Even Numbered Rows 52-56: 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.