Free Ship’s Wheel Dishcloth or Afghan Square Knitting Pattern

Our latest creation is a free knitting pattern for a Ship’s Wheel Square!

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. There are many nautical themed squares, including whale, lighthouse, mermaid, octopus, seagull, narwhal, fish, whale’s tail, seashell, crab, starfish, shark, penguin, clam shell, boat, turtle, palm tree, anchor, dolphin and seahorse. You can find all of the nautical themed squares here – together they would make a fantastic nautical themed afghan!

This post contains affiliate links, which are links to products that I personally use and recommend. By using these link, and at no extra cost to you, I may earn a small commission which helps to support the production of more free patterns and the purchase of yarn for several charity knitting groups I belong to.

For this square, I used Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Yarn in Skyline Blue– I absolutely love this yarn, it’s 100% wool, machine washable AND can be tumble dried (so great for baby blankets)! The wool is also very soft, and knits up with wonderful stitch definition, which is fantastic for these squares. If green isn’t your choice of colour, no worries, as 220 Superwash comes in an amazing 135 different shades! One ball makes 3-4 squares using 3.5-4.0 mm needles.

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

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). I highly recommend Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Yarn in Skyline Blue.

With Worsted Weight yarn and and 4.5 mm knitting needles (US size 7, UK size 7) finished square is approximately 26 cm x 26 cm (10 inches x 10 inches). I highly recommend Cascade 220 (Aran) in Skyblue

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 Numbered Rows: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P35, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 10: K1, P1, K1, P1, K17, P3, K17, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 12: K1, P1, K1, P1, K16, P5, K16, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 14: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P2, K7, P5, K7, P2, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 16: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P4, K3, P11, K3, P4, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 18: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P25, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 20: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P7, K3, P3, K3, P7, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 22: K1, P1, K1, P1, K8, P6, K3, P3, K3, P6, K8, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 24: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P8, K2, P3, K2, P8, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 26: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P3, K1, P5, K1, P3, K1, P5, K1, P3, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 28: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P3, K4, P11, K4, P3, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 30: K1, P1, K1, P1, K3, P31, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 32: K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P33, K2, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 34: K1, P1, K1, P1, K3, P31, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 36: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P3, K4, P11, K4, P3, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 38: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P3, K1, P5, K1, P3, K1, P5, K1, P3, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 40: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P8, K2, P3, K2, P8, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 42: K1, P1, K1, P1, K8, P6, K3, P3, K3, P6, K8, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 44: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P7, K3, P3, K3, P7, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 46: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P25, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 48: K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P4, K3, P11, K3, P4, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 50: K1, P1, K1, P1, K7, P2, K7, P5, K7, P2, K7, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 52: K1, P1, K1, P1, K16, P5, K16, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 54: K1, P1, K1, P1, K17, P3, K17, P1, K1, P1, K1

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

Rows 57-63: Work 7 rows of (K1, P1) to last stitch, K1

Cast off, weave in ends and block.