Tutorial Thursday: Spring Cleaning Scrubby

Hello! Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday Thursday! The next few weeks are all about Spring Cleaning! Not so exciting perhaps, unless you consider cleaning out your yarn stash equally as necessary as scrubbing down the kitchen, which I do.

So to start with, you can clean out the stash AND clean the house with these lovely scrubbies! One in knit, the other in crochet, depending on your preference. Now you have an excuse to go for the yarn stash before scrubbing!


I am using my scrubbies for doing the dishes, in place of a sponge. My sponge is scratchy all over, and the soft sponges I've used in the past get stinky really fast. I wanted something to clean more delicate and easily scratched items with (like my good flatware), so I decided to try a cotton scrubby.

I used Lily Sugar n Cream cotton for both of these scrubbies, but you could use any worsted cotton, or even acrylic,* if you like.

Lets start with the knit scrubby:

Materials
Lily Sugar n Cream worsted weight cotton
US size 7, 4.5mm needles
Tapestry or yarn needle
Scissors

Method
- Cast on 17 stitches.
- Work every row in seed stitch (k1, p1, etc, always starting the next row with the same stitch as you finished the previous row with. In this project, each row will begin and end with a knit stitch).
- Cast off once your project is a square, about 4-1/2" each way.
- Sew in ends, and begin using your scrubby!


Next, the crochet scrubby:

Materials
Lily Sugar n Cream worsted weight cotton
US size 1/9, 5.5mm hook
Stitch marker (I use a paperclip)
Tapestry or yarn needle
Scissors

Method
R1: Chain two, make six single crochets (SC) in the second chain from the hook. Mark your last stitch.
R2: Two SC in each stitch around(12). Mark your last stitch
R3: Two SC in the first stitch, one SC in the next stitch. Repeat around, 2SC followed by one SC (18). Mark your last stitch.
R4: Two SC in the first stitch, one SC in the next two stitches. Repeat around, 2SC followed by one SC in the next two stitches (24). Mark your last stitch.
R5+: Continue on as before, starting with 2SC in the first stitch followed by three stitches, the next round four, then five, etc. until you reach about 4-1/2" across or desired size.
Finish with a slip stitch, cut the yarn, pull it through, and then sew in the ends from your beginning and ending stitches.



These can be used to wash dishes (what I have been using them for), to scrub the kitchen and bathroom, even to scrub your face and body with, in place of a wash cloth or loofa! I find that they also clean up my iPad screen pretty well. You can make them bigger or smaller, depending on your preference. I really like this size for dishes...

Considering all of the uses, these would be great as part of a house warming gift, hostess gift, spa basket, or charity donation. Try them out around your house and see what you think!


Enjoy!

Stephanie



* Now, my step moms mother, Grandma Chio, has been making pot holders similar to the crochet scrubby for years, using primarily Red Heart acrylic. Right after I finished whipping these up to wash my more delicate flatware, my step mom told me that one of my old college friends started using Grandma Chio's pot holders to wash his dishes - he says that they last longer than sponges and they don't get stinky. The cotton also stays pretty fresh, if you let it dry out, otherwise it gets dingy, but not as fast as a sponge. Now, if you do choose to use acrylic, you might not want to use that for washing your face - it could be a little too abrasive - but for cleaning, they would be great!