Round Knit Scrubby Pattern
If you’re a knitter, you might be a little envious of crocheters who can whip up those nylon net scrubbies. Around and around they go with their crochet hooks and in no time they have a sweet little round scrubby. But what if you like to knit? Are we knitters forever stuck making flat rectangles like scarves and afghans? Can we knitters make circle scrubbies too?
Yes we can! But here’s the deal. It will start out looking really weird but trust me – that funky shape will actually give you a perfect circular scrubby once it’s all sewn together.
I’m loving some of the yarns that are currently available too, making it much easier to knit a nice scrubby without having to use the nylon net. My current favorite is the Red Heart Scrubby Sparkle Yarn – – it makes wonderful little scrubbies!
How To Knit Scrubbies
This pattern is a type of a knit spiral scrubby pattern (kind of like a tawashi) but as mentioned earlier when you start out, it sure doesn’t look much like a round scrubby. It uses a two-row repeat pattern that keeps increasing on one side, and decreasing on the other side which gives you this rather odd shape when you’re done.
However you then sew the cast on edge to the bound off edge, which creates a small tube. The next step is to run your yarn through the stitches along one edge of the tube and pull it tight to gather them together (we’re starting to get a circle!) Finally we’ll finish up by running our yarn through the stitches at the other end of the tube and pulling them tight to flatten things out and our round knit scrubby is complete!
Different Options for Round Knit Scrubbies
One of the things that makes this such an easy knit scrubby pattern is that there is so much flexibility in what size needle you use, what type of yarn you use, and even how many times you repeat the pattern rows.
Most of the time I use size 8 needles, but I’ve also made my scrubbies with size 7 or size 9 needles. Most of the time I use the Scrubby Sparkle Yarn, but I’ve also used the Scrub-ology Yarn (from Hobby Lobby), and cotton yarn. Most of the time I do 22 pattern rows, but sometimes I’ve done 24 or 26 to make a slightly larger scrubby. It’s definitely an easy pattern to experiment with. In the picture below I used my size 8 needles and 22 pattern rows for each of the three scrubbies, but just using different yarns give them three distinct looks.
When I use the Scrubby Sparkle yarn, I always use two strands held together for this pattern. Sometimes I use the same color for both strands, and sometimes I use different colors. Again, it’s fun to play around and see how things turn out.
Cotton yarn can be used for this pattern as well which will be less abrasive and can be used for other things like face cleansing. When the cotton yarn is used you can often see the spiral pattern a little better, and you can even alternate two colors to create stripes. It can be a great way to use up your cotton yarn scraps too!
And in the interest of keeping things real, most of the scrubbies pictured here are newly made and are all fluffy and pretty and sparkly. If you actually use them, they won’t stay that way but they’ll still work great. Here’s a picture of one of my new ones next to one I’ve been using for many months. Awwww, let’s show that hard working scrubby some love! He’s not so sparkly as his buddy there because he’s been cleaning pots and pans, been thrown in the washer and dryer many times, and is still going strong. He just ain’t so fluffy anymore. 🙂
One final word of warning – – it’s hard to stop making scrubbies! They’re fun to knit while sitting around in the evening and you can get one finished in about 30 minutes. Before you know it, you’ll probably have a whole pile of scrubbies that appeared to just grow out of nowhere like weeds.
And that’s OK. All scrubbies are welcome at my house. ♥ The complete printable pattern is below.
More Free Knitting Patterns:
Round Knit Scrubby Pattern
Equipment:
- Straight Knitting Needles – US Size 8
- Large Eye Blunt Needle (for sewing)
- Red Heart Scrubby Sparkle Yarn (Approx 1 oz needed per scrubby)
- Note: Use 2 strands of the Scrubby Sparkle yarn held together throughout the pattern.
Instructions:
- Cast on 18 stitches
- Knit 1 row (this will be a foundation row).
- Begin pattern rows:Row 1: K1, K2 Tog, K13, Kfb, K1Row 2: K1, Kfb, K13, K2 Tog, K1
- Repeat these two pattern rows 10 more times for a total of 22 pattern rows.
- Bind off, leaving a long tail of one of the strands for sewing.
- Sew together the cast on edge to the bound off edge, which will create a tube.
- Then draw the yarn through the stitches at one end of the tube, and pull tight to gather.
- Draw yarn through the stitches on the other end of the tube, and pull tight to gather. Tie a small knot to finish, and weave in the end.
Notes:
Tried making these with cotton yarn and it went great!
For my second try, I wanted to make mine a bit bigger, but after size 8 (5 mm) the next biggest size I had was 15 (10 mm)… to make up for this huge needle size jump I used 2 strands of cotton worsted. I worked well and was nice and big (though if I had needles a size or 2 smaller than 15 I’d still go with those instead).
I used cotton thread and scrubby thread, it turned out however it is a struggle to kfb and k2 tog, maybe I knit too tight, or my needles too small, I used 4.5mm, gave my biceps a workout.
when sewing it up, not so easy to see the bind off and cast on row with the scrubby yarn, once you do it is a lot easier, not easy, just easier. It took me 4 hours to make one which did not include the 30 minutes to sew it up
I’m trying this for the first time! I hen you say cast on 18, is that counting your beginning one (knot) prior to casting or do I end up with 19? Ibmve completed 4 pattern rows but only have 17 stitches left so can’t follow the directions. Should I always have 18 stitches in my needle?
Yes, casting on 18 means you need 18 total stitches on your needle. At the end of each row you should also always have 18 stitches on your needle.
Hi
When you add more rows to the scrubbie pattern do you have to cast on more stitches
Thank you
Yes, if you are going to add more rows, you will need to cast on a few more stitches so that the final piece will be the correct shape to form a circle when sewn together. Perhaps for each additional 3 or 4 rows, you might need to cast on a couple more stitches.
I just finished my first one, I ended up with more like a ball. So I sewed a few stitches from top to bottom to flatten it out. Not sure where I went wrong. Will try another one and see if it comes out any better. The sewing together and gathering seems kind of confusing to me. But a huge thank you for sharing the pattern. I am a knitter not a crocheter and have wanted to be able to make scrubbies. Just bought my first scrubbie yarn. Very neat concept. thanks again for sharing.
Hi! Would it be possible to make these such that once sewn up, one side is the scrubby yarn (which ever type you choose) and the other is cotton yarn?
I’ve played with the idea of using multi color knitting techniques to switch yarns part way through the row, but with the travel of the stacked decreases on one edge and stacked increases on the other, I’m not entirely sure how that would work. Any other ideas?
I think if you wanted one side to be scrubby yarn and the other side to be cotton yarn, you would want to switch yarns half way through the pattern. So you would knit 11 rows with one yarn, and then knit the remaining 11 rows with the other yarn (for a total of 22 pattern rows). I think I’m going to give this a try too!
I wish I had image hosting to show my latest trial. Used a sock yarn (because I have lots that I might not ever use) to do a quick test. After one repeat of the pattern I began working with a contrasting color of no 8 perle cotton held with the sock yarn for only the first 9 stitches of row 1, and the last 9 of row 2 (the idea being to know which side of the scrubby those stitches ended up on when sewn up).
Net result, the contrasting color spiraled around only one side of the scrubby. Next test will be using intarsia to make a true 2 color (all cotton, for now) scrubby.
Note to pattern author (Bev?) I can provide a link to a picture hosted on revelry to better illustrate if you want.
do you have a video on the sewing together section – cant figure it out
I am so glad I found your website. I wanted to try crocheting and knitting. I had never done either. I thought I would start with crocheting but it was so complicated, I gave up. I think I will like knitting better. I am starting with this scrubbie pattern and your rectangle one too. Knitting seems easier to understand than crocheting and is a lot less taxing on my hands. I was just diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the knitting needles are easier to hold than a crocheting needle. I look forward to your newsletters. Thank you Beverly.
Love making scrubbys they are fun and easy. Love to knit a a lot thx
I’m a very novice knitter and can’t seem to get the knack for crocheting, as I have big hands and poor eye sight.😁 I’ve always admired crocheters for their ability to make scrubbies, and now that I’ve found your great blog and pattern, I can’t wait to attempt it.😊
My shape before sewing is different everytime. Help.
You need to be sure to keep increasing on one side, and decreasing on the other side of the piece This should create a final knit piece that will be a correct shape for making the scrubby.
Hi, I love making these…..but my cotton one is only 3” across. How can I make it about 5 inches across? What do you suggest?
Thank you so much!
Laura
I have made a slightly larger version of this scrubby using size 10 needles and the scrubby sparkle yarn held double. I cast on 24 stitches and work 30 pattern rows. This gives me a 5″ circular scrubby that I use as a bath loofah.
Thank you for the scrubby pattern, especially the visual of sewing it.
where is the visual of sewing it
Is this size 8 US needle or UK?
Thank you
It is US Size 8 and I have updated the pattern to reflect that.
I have been making crochet scrubbies with sine tulle. I am going to try this pattern with the tulle. Only down side I see might be pulling closed to cinch. Will see!
Hi! Beginner knitter here, and I love scrubbiest❤️ I have a question please, under instructions, #3 Row one, where it says Kfb how many stitches do i use this for? Does this mean I knit 13 and Kfb them? Thank you!
For this row you will knit the first stitch, then the next two stitches will be knit together, then the next 13 stitches will be knit. Then you will knit into the front and the back of the 2nd to last stitch on the needle (to increase), and then knit the last stitch.
I used a size 8 knitting needle but it’s to small what size would I use to make it bigger
You could try going up to a size 9 or 10. I don’t think I would go any larger than that for needle size though.
Can I make the Sparkle round scrubby larger by just casting on more than 18 inches?
Yes, it is possible to cast on more stitches for a larger scrubbie. I have used this pattern to make a larger “bath loufah” type of scrubbie. I used slightly larger needles (size 10), I cast on 24 stitches, and did the pattern for 30 rows. This gave me a scrubbie that was 5-1/2″ inches across. So you can definitely cast on more stitches, but you may have to increase the amount of pattern rows you do too, and it might take just a little trial and error to get the finished size that you’re hoping for.
Are we bringing the yarn inside the tube to gather the tube together?
After you gather the first end of the tube together, then yes, you would bring that same yarn inside the tube so that you can use it to gather the stitches on the other end together and then pull tight to flatten and create the round shape.
Hi
So i try making this pattern twice it does not look like your and i have knitted for years so I’m not new can you look at the pattern see if its right thanks or tell what i could possibly doing wrong because its a simple pattern so it does not make sense why its not looking like your Ive all ready tried this twice
So I got it to work woohoo 😁😁😁😁😁
Hi! I’m a beginner knitter and I just finished making one of these! I’ll be honest, it was a struggle, lol, but not because of your instructions. I bought a bunch of scrubby yarn on clearance recently to make dish cloths and it is harder to work with than I expected. Plus this is the first time I’ve done two strands, K2Tog, and KFB! I’m going to try it with bigger needles next time.
Yayy!! So much fun and I found llama scrubby holders at TjMaxx so I’m good to go with stocking stuffers for my grown girls!! 🙂
Oh man, now I want a scrubby holder that looks like a llama too! 😄 Cute idea for stocking stuffers too!
These look like fun to make. I am on my first. I just tried to link the project on Ravelry but I didn’t see it in the database. Am I right that it’s not there?
Yes, that project is not on Ravelry. I’ve been sharing more things on AllFreeKnitting.com lately instead 🙂
These are great!!! I am all knit but not able to sew it into a circle. Does anyone know it there is a video anywhere to show me as I’m super excited to make these for everyone I know!
Not sure how to do the Kfb stitch, what do you mean by knitting into the front and back?
The “knit front and back” is a way to increase and creates an extra stitch on your needle. There are several videos on YouTube that also show how to do it.
A video on the how-to scrubby round patterns would be nice
In your pattern you say in step 6, to sew the cast-on edge to the bound-off edge. If I do that I wind up with a long skinny tube. I think you need to say sew one end to the other. That is the way you get a narrow tubular piece to make your puff. At least that’s the way it worked for me!
I’m glad that worked for you Lesley! Because I am in fact sewing the cast-on edge to the bound-off edge, I felt that was the most accurate way to describe it for everyone.
These patterns are great! I too am not a crochet-er and all my friends LOVE scrubbies. Thanks for the patterns and new ideas! Love your website.
I think you’ll like these scrubbies Lesley – they’re definitely a nice alternative if you don’t crochet.
Any ideas what to do with the rolls of nylon net that I bought to make the crocheted scrubbies? I was a major failure doing that. Definitely going to try these.
You might be able to use the rolls of nylon net with this pattern, but you might want to go up a needle size.
I use mine to wrap gifts….it’s very pretty!
That’s a fun idea Lesley . . . good thinking!
I can’t wait to try this pattern. I have struggled many times to crochet one of these scrubbies with no success. Thank you, thank you!!!
I failed at the crochet ones too, and this pattern was a great solution for me!