Soap Sock

So what the heck is this do-hicky? This nifty little pouch is a soap sock. It can be used with bar soap or liquid soap. For bar soap, place the soap bar into the pouch and pull the string to close the opening, get wet and scrub away the day!

For liquid soap, simply apply your desired amount onto the soap sock and lather up as you like! What I love about this though, is I can use my favorite soap in bar form and not feel that icky sticky feeling of soap on my skin after. The scrubby yarn takes it right off!

This is one of my favorite patterns for so many reasons. It is easy to make. It uses the hdc, my favorite stitch. And the outcome is an item that is functional and help to clean up our planet by taking one more plastic loofa out of the landfill.

Don't worry I wont go on and on about how liquid soap is hurting our water supplies, or that loofah and other disposable hygiene tools are going into our landfills. I will mention, however, that a soap sock is washable and dryable so you can use it over and over. Personally, I have a few that I have been using for over a year and they are still going strong!

The Story That Made It Happen

Lets see... How did the soap sock come to be?..

I was at one of my first craft fairs and a customer asked me if I had any plans for making a bar soap pouch. I really didn't have plans for much at that point. I was in the beginning stages of my business working through the surveying stage. Doing the craft fairs was one of the ways I tested my product and skills to determine if what I was offering as a services was something that would be sustainable as a business.

I informed the customer that I was not aware of the item she spoke of but that it sounded like a great idea!

Honestly, it did take a few tries before I was truly happy with the final pattern for the soap sock. I knew I wanted it to be easy so even beginner crocheters could whip these up too. I also wanted there to be little to no seaming at the end. Scrubby yarn is hard enough to work with, never mind having to sew edges together (blahhh). In the end I am very happy with the pattern. They are fun to make and anyone I've given one to says they love them and use them all the time!

What makes this pattern unique?

The Soap Sock is worked all in ONE piece! Yup, that's right, and just a small seam at the end that you can use a slip stitch for insead of having to sew.

The closing cord is another neat feature of this Soap Sock. It is incorporated into the the beginning stitches of the first round so there is not having to thread a piece of yarn or string through your stitches at the end!

What you will need

Yarn: 1 skein Scrub-ology cotton yarn; #4 weight, 100% cotton, 3oz, 125yrd

Hook(s): 5mm H-8

Yarn needle: for weaving in ends

Scissors

Let's talk fiber!

Recently I did a column for Happily Hooked Magazine where I really dug in deep on this very topic. Click the link to see what I had to say.

When it comes to scrubby yarn for soap socks most are pretty the same. I find there are two types.

There is scrubby cotton which you can see here. For scrubby yarn it is soft and gives a nice exfoliation feeling when you wash with it.

Then there is this... 100% polyester, peel your top 3 layers of skin off yarn. Now, don't get me wrong, I use both of types. Choosing the right scrubby yarn for your purposes is important and must be weighed and measured for the outcome is the end game. (I'm being very sarcastic here).

To put it short, if you are wanting a nice bath or shower that will leave you feeling clean and refreshed then the 100% cotton in any brand is the way to go.

However, if you want to take your exfoliation to the next level then the 100% polyester is your new friend.

Both work great for the Soap Sock and both work amazing in the bath or shower.

What you will look for between labels when substituting yarn,

Is the weight the same?

Are the fibers similar, such as acrylic, wool, alpaca, nylon, etc.?

Is the gauge similar or close enough to make it work?

Are the recommended hook sizes the same?

Another piece of information you can look for is the number of wpi (wraps per inch). This information is not always available so may be more difficult to compare.

Finished measurements

Length- 5"/ 10.5cm

Width- 3.5"/ 9cm

Do you know these stitches and abbreviations?

Check out this amazing amiture video of working the half double crochet

Other things you should know before starting...

Numbers within < > represent the total number of stitches per row. 

Check out these other Green Living patterns

Okay, lets get to the pattern!

Row 1: We will begin with crocheting onto the cinching cord.   To do this, make your beginning slip knot with your scrubby yarn. 

• Holding the tail of the scrubby yarn knot and the cotton cinching cord, yo with the scrubby yarn, go under the cotton cinching cord with your hook, yo, pull up as you would normally,

•  yo pull through all loops. 

• Continue to hdc across the cotton cinching cord for an additional 24 stiches. 

• Slst to the beginning, DO NOT TURN

Pat yourself on the back that was hard!  I like to put my bead on now to keep the stitches from sliding off. 

Pull both ends of the cotton cinching cord through the bead and tie off with a knot.  Test the knot to be sure it does not pull through the bead.  Adjust knot size accordingly

Rnd 2-15: hdc around, (25 stitches per round)

Finishing:

Tie off at the end of round 15 leaving a long enough tail to slst the bottom together.  Turn right side out, insert soap and enjoy!

Download Disclaimer

This pattern and its pictures are the property of Knottie Hooks. You are welcome to sell your finished items from this pattern in any manner you choose. However, do not copy, share, or redistribute the pattern itself in any way. Please provide a link if you sell your finished items online back to the original pattern source. Use #knottiehooks and tag me @knottiehooks. (If you change the name when you sell your item, please mention the pattern name in the link so other people can find the pattern.)