An easy crocheted scrubbie pattern

We've enjoyed lots of family over the holidays, and I'm still not quite ready to let Christmas go. One of the small gifts I made several of this year is this crocheted scrubbie, enormously practical, free to make if you have any kind of acrylic yarn stash at all, and universally appreciated. My niece actually plans to use hers as a cat toy, so there's another idea. She also thought about hanging it on her tree. It takes about an hour to make. The only tricky thing is that when you crochet the back side, you will notice it starts to fold back in and at the end of the back you will be working with a very small number of stitches to form a tiny hole in the center.

Crochet scrubbie pattern

This scrubbie is so much better than a sponge—it resists getting that moldy smell, and you can throw it into your washer and dryer with your laundry and it comes out fresh. You can personalize it any way you want by using variegated yarn, making stripes of different yarns, or embroidering the front before you crochet the back. I chose to keep mine plain because I made a bunch of them from leftover yarn from my mom’s stash and gave them to family members as little Christmas gifts. Plus, it's a scrubbie--I didn't see much point in making it too pretty!

Materials: Use worsted weight or heavier acrylic yarn and a hook sized to give you a fairly tight crocheted fabric.

Front side of scrubbie:

Ch 4, join to form a ring.

Round 1: ch 1, 12 sc in ring, join.

Round 2 and all following rounds should be worked in the back loop to make a ridge on the front of the scrubbie that will help create friction to remove stuck-on food and stains.

Round 2: ch 1, (1 sc, 3 sc in next st) 6 times, join.

Round 3: ch 1, 2 sc, 3 sc in next st, (3 sc, 3 sc in next st) 5 times, 1 sc, join.

Round 4: ch 1, 3 sc, 3 sc in next st, (5 sc, 3 sc in next st) 5 times, 2 sc, join.

Round 5: ch 1, 4 sc, 3 sc in next st, (7 sc, 3 sc in next st) 5 times, 3 sc, join.

Round 6: ch 1, 5 sc, 3 sc in next st, (9 sc, 3 sc in next st) 5 times, 4 sc, join.

Round 7: ch 1, 6 sc, 3 sc in next st, (11 sc, 3 sc in next st) 5 times, 5 sc, join.

Back side of scrubbie:

Round 8: ch1, 6 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (11 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, 5 sc, join.

Round 9: ch1, 5 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (9 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, 4 sc, join.

Round 10: ch1, 4 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (7 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, 3 sc, join.

Round 11: ch1, 3 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (5 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, 2 sc, join.

Round 12: ch1, 2 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (3 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, 1 sc, join.

Round 13: ch1, 1 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook, (1 sc, pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook) 5 times, join.

Round 14: ch 1, (pull up a loop in each of next 3 sts, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook), 4 times, join.

Cut thread and tie off. Use your hook to pull the thread end inside the scrubbie.

Hanging loop (optional):

Attach thread to one of the six corners of the hexagon, ch 8, attach both ends of the chain together and to the corner of the hexagon. Use your hook to pull the thread ends inside the scrubbie.