At the end of last year, I made a llama granny square out of kitchen scrubbie yarn. And it actually came out pretty nice! It was a good size and the multiple layers helped with various levels of cleaning. My initial approach to using this yarn was to make any pattern I found with it. This was a bit of a challenge at first (as evidenced by my failed sheep granny square with this yarn).
A visual synopsis of my initial scrubbie yarn trial of is in this video below:
But, I have an update! Since then, I’ve learned there are actual kitchen scrubby patterns that exist. I spent one Saturday making some using free crochet patterns. I’ve compiled the list and my efforts here! My Youtube video explaining all the below with more visuals is embedded at the end of this post.
Kitchen Scrubby Yarn
Here’s my collection of Lion Brand Stitch Soak Scrub yarn:
Free Crochet Scrubby Patterns
Free Red Heart Crochet Rubber Duckie Scrubby Pattern
First up is this rubber duckie pattern from Yarnspirations. The yellow yarn I had was going to be PERFECT for this pattern!
Here’s my version. It turned out great! It’s a really good size. It’s so cute!
The pattern was easy to follow, but there were certain steps I had a hard time with due to the yarn’s translucency. I had a hard time counting stitches because of how hard it was to see each individual stitch, so I think i miscounted one of the rows’ decreases. I also didn’t do the eye because of how hard it is to weave in ends: one reason being how hard it is to see the stitches, but also because the yarn isn’t very stretchy, so it’s hard to weave yarn through.
It still looks like a duck though, so I don’t miss it! Spoiler alert: this is my favorite pattern out of all the ones I made this day because of how cute it is.
Kitty Crochet Face Scrubbie
This pattern is made for a face scrubbie, so to be made from cotton yarn. I wanted to see if I could make a kitchen scrubbie with this pattern. My version is below!
There’s also a strap for your hand on the other side which was one of the things about this pattern that appealed to me.
Made in the color graphite because I wanted to make a black cat, my version was not as cat-like, unfortunately ☹️ I just don’t see a cat here. I think the biggest benefit here that the cotton yarn provided is opacity maybe? The scrub yarn is a little see-through so the shapes of the stitches are hard to see, which I think makes or breaks this pattern when it comes to the ears. I feel like this pattern is distinctly composed of the circle for the face and two triangles for the ears, and that doesn’t quite come out using this scrubbie yarn.
Overall, I would recommend the pattern (and measuring twice before you sew on the strap at the back so it’s not crooked like mine is 😅 I blame the yarn, I couldn’t count the stitches!) but stick with cotton yarn.
Easy Crochet Washcloth, Star Washcloth
This is another pattern that called for cotton yarn that I wanted to make with scrubby yarn. Worked in the round, you can make it any size you want!
This pattern in scrubby yarn was much more successful than the cat attempt:
I chose to make this star in the Rose color and I’m actually really happy with it! It’s so cute, it looks like a starfish. FYI if you are thinking of making this: the ridges are made with back post double crochets (BPDC), so if you don’t already know that stitch, this is a good one for you to practice on.
It was at this point though that my hand started hurting from working with this tough (“tough” as in not soft) yarn. Also, a certain area of my right palm started to become raw from the constant friction from the crocheting motions. This doesn’t happen with standard yarn because regular yarn is more flimsy and folds over more readily, whereas this yarn is more stiff so it tends to keep its shape more, even if it means sticking out to the right where my hand is going in and out. This is where I learned that working with this yarn is more tiring than working with other yarn!
I still kept at it though, because I had patterns to complete! Next up:
Crochet Scrubbie Free Pattern (Unroll to Clean)
This one’s a unique and interesting one. It is this netted type of scrubbie that rolls up.
I already messed up in the beginning because the round after the foundation chain has you inserting single crochets after a certain number of chains, which means counting — something I have such a hard time with with this yarn. That being said, my version didn’t come out half bad!
You might notice my version is much, much shorter. I admit, I was definitely “over it” at this point, with the toughness and stiffness of this yarn, and all the chafing. To add to that, this pattern is very repetitive. You work in the round making chains and single crocheting into the chain from the previous round. My result from this at this point was to stop early, but I feel that the shorter scrubbie is still effective at cleaning. It still rolls up as well, so functionally, I don’t think I had to give up anything there!
Free Red Heart Crochet Splash of Citrus Scrubby Pattern
As you could tell from the product photo, this scrubbie could be made in different colors to represent different fruit! I love that the finished product is of something you’d find in the kitchen as the real thing 😆
I used orange yarn to make an orange slice and I didn’t quite size check myself as I was making it, so in my opinion, the scrubby came out comically large:
Given how tired I was and how much my hand was hurting at this point, I wish I stopped the orange rounds and went to the white rind round sooner, but I still like the end result. I like how densely packed the stitches end up, as it means more surface area to scrub with. It’s an easy pattern, very recognizable end product, and flexible on size since it’s just made in the round. I would recommend this pattern!
Summary
Although I missed my original goal of crocheting 7 kitchen scrubbies in one day by 2 for a total of 5, I feel that I put my collection of Stitch Soak Scrub yarn to good use. I can see these making really cute and thoughtful gifts as well, maybe as a housewarming present!
I would recommend the duck, citrus slice, and star patterns with this yarn. Just a caveat: plan to take longer than you would with a traditional yarn, and take breaks to curb that hand fatigue!
