Control user interface for laundry appliances

A control user interface for laundry appliances, such as a clothes dryer or washing machine, enables a user to control multiple modes of operation and a variable associated with at least one mode of operation by manipulating a single control element. In one arrangement, the variable is time and multiple time increments are associated with at least one mode of operation. One embodiment includes a rotatable single control knob. Upon detecting the rotation of the control knob, a determination is made whether the currently selected operation mode has associated operation times to be presented to the user. If no associated operation times are presented, the user interface display is updated to reflect the next mode of operation. The operation mode and operation times may be part of different display region within the dryer control user interface. Thus, multiple menus and submenus can be traversed and selected from using a single control knob, without the need for secondary buttons or a base cycle position to control the mode operation and time settings.