No Such Thing as a Free Knitting Pattern?

OK, so the title of this post is going a bit far, of course there is such a thing as a free knitting pattern (in fact there are loads - hurrah for Knitty) but when you are a beginner, you can't tell which ones are correct and which ones contain mistakes - until you knit them!

So for another project (more on that later) I am knitting wash cloths (or posh flannels). I found several patterns online which looked cute, printed them up and then bought a range of Sirdar 100% cotton and sat down with some 4mm needles in the hideous heat of Sunday...

The pattern was for a Waffle Face Cloth, but after knitting the first 6 rows of this pattern I realised that when it says:

Rows 1-5 K5, P5 (all the way)
Rows 6-10 P5, K5 (all the way) Repeat all rows (1-10) twice
Repeat rows 1-5 one more time

It should say:

Row 1: k5, p5
Row 2: P5, K5
Row 3: K5, P5
Row 4: P5, K5
Row 5: K5, P5

Row 6: K5, P5
Row 7: P5, K5
Row 8: K5, P5
Row 9: P5, K5
Row 10: K5, P5

And that it is actually these rows that set the pattern!!!

So after writing this down just so that I was clear, I churned out 2 lovely cloths, one in white and one in a pale pink colour that Sirdar call Flamingo. I think they look really good and I like the checkered pattern, and I'm even proud of myself that I knew what the pattern should say, but I'm disappointed it wasn't right in the first place.

Then I set out to knit a Bobble Wash Cloth, which is cute and a bit more intricate. Although this pattern is correct (which is a bonus), for a beginner (which lets face it you probably are if you even need a pattern to knit a wash cloth!), I think instead of saying:

Bobble Pattern: Row 1: (Right Side) K5, Purl until last 5 sts, K5.
Row 2: K5, *(K1, P1, K1) in next stitch, P3tog*, repeat between *'s to last 5sts, K5.
Row 3: K5, P to last 5 sts, K5.
Row 4: K5, *P3tog, (K1, P1, K1) in next stitch, * repeat between *'s to last 5 sts, K5.

It would be easier if it said:

Row 1: (Right Side) K5, Purl until last 5 sts, K5.
Row 2: K5, *(K1, P1, K1) in next stitch, P3tog*, repeat between *'s to last 8sts, P3tog, K5.
Row 3: K5, P to last 5 sts, K5.
Row 4: K5, *P3tog, (K1, P1, K1) in next stitch, * repeat between *'s to last 6 sts, K1, P1, K1 in next stitch, K5.

I'm probably being pedantic, but its nice to know that the rows of bobbles end differently to the way they start i.e. if they start with 'P3tog' they end with 'K1, P1, K1 in next stitch'.

Anyway, wash cloths make really relaxing knitting! And if you are at all interested, this site is the cutest (read kitschest) site I've found for patterns!