In the quest to rid my home of disposables, I was left with a sponge. I prefer sponges to washcloths when it comes to dishwashing, so I searched around on the net until I found a wonderful pattern for washable cotton sponges at Gherkin’s Bucket. So, if you do not crochet, and never wish to crochet, go to her etsy store and buy some.
For everyone else, I will loosely demonstrate (see her pattern for the numbers) how to create a two-step gift from the initial sponge pattern. First, it’s a soapsaver. And when the soap is gone…it’s a washable cotton sponge. MAGIC!
1. Chain the sponge width you’re interested in and single crochet your way back.
2. Chain one and turn. Half double crochet across using only the front loops….
3. Turn and crochet back to the beginning using the back (now front to you) loops.
4. Join with a slip stitch. Chain one and turn.
5. This is where it gets a bit weird. And it’s the fuzziest picture. (yay.) Half-double crochet all the way around again using the WAY BACK loops of the previous row.
If you use the somewhat back loops, you get a one line scrubbing ridge on your sponge, but if you use the way back loops, you get what looks like a chain across the front, which is more scrubby. (I have such a command of crochet technical vocab, no? See pic in step 8 to see what I’m talking about.)
6. Join with a slip stitch.
7. Chain one and turn.
8. Repeat 5. and 6. until it looks like you could fit your bar of soap in there.
8. Drop in soap.
9. Chain one and single crochet across the top joining the WAY BACK loops of both sides, leaving that chain-ridge-thingy again.
10. Slip stitch across the top, fasten off, and pull in your ends.
And when the soap’s all gone…..
(Not that you can tell from this pic, but trust me. It’s empty.)
Ivory
What a great idea. 🙂 This type of a project will be great for my daughter to crochet. She’s 14 and is looking to make small gifts for Christmas. Thanks!
I love crochet dish clothes so this will fit right in to the collection.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I’d like to include this in my round up http://almostfrugal.com/holidays-by-hand/ on November 18th.
Love this blog! My family and I live in a crowded Dallas suburb. I have two laying hens out back, make my own soap and put the clothes out to dry when weather permits and stuff like that. I’m going to try this Cotton sponge for sure. Any way of being self sufficient is a great idea! “)
Garden4life, I was just like your daughter. Always making little gifts for parents, friends, Santa and his elves….I’m glad you think she’ll like it.
Kelly, certainly! We’d love to be included.
One Woman, I feel exactly the same way. Hurray for self-sufficiency!
‘Voila’
Not ‘waa-laa’
That isn’t a word.
Vraiment.
This seems like another really great idea! I wish I could crochet!
I know this is an old post, but I wanted to say thanks for it! Also, if you make these out of jute twine–I think that’s what it’s called, the brown pokey stuff you find in the dollar hardware section–they make great scrubby sponges.
Thanks again, have a great day! 🙂
Do you have any recipes to make solid soap for dishwashing? I’m moving into a house with no dishwasher *gasp* and we don’t plan to install one for some time. These would be a great money saver if we could put soap that would be appropriate for washing dishes inside. And my boyfriend might even think it’s fun! (Hey, a girl can dream…) 😀 Also, how do you feel about finishing that edge and sewing a couple small, plastic snaps on it? That would make it reusable for the same purpose and wouldn’t be harsh on dishes like metal snaps, zippers, buttons, velcro, etc. Thanks!
love this website and the crafts. I learned to crochet from my grandmother. I love making practicle gifts to give my family and coworkers at Christmas and through out the year! Thank you so much for the pattern ideas. I do some of my own also but am always looking for new ones. Thanks again. Recer in Alabama