Crocheting dish scrubbies 101

(Edited to add: This info has an update! Check out the latest: Scrubbies 201!)

Not that you asked, but I thought I would share the "secret" of making the dish scrubbies out of netting, otherwise known as how to turn this (aka coarse netting, bought by the yard):


into this (fabulous and desirable dish scrubbies):


I bought the netting at Fabric Place, but you can usually find it anywhere fabric is sold. It cost me 99¢ a yard last week, and a yard makes about 4 scrubbies the size I usually make them (but it all varies by the maker). Your time is certainly the larger 'expense', anyway. Here's how I do it.

I fold the material into a long piece, and clip it along the length because otherwise it won't stay put that way:


Then I cut it into pieces roughly two and a half inches long. I use my finger as a measure because it's easier than getting a ruler in there:

Too thick, and it's hard to work with; too thin, and the scrubby isn't as strong. (Some netting works up stronger and some not as strong, by the way, but I haven't figured out how to tell which is which before it's made up; if you do, let me know, eh?) Take the little strips:


and roll them into balls:


tucking the ends in:


This is how many I got from a yard:


You can make them whatever size you want, literally. I have made round ones, just to see if I could, and I even made a 3-D one as an experiment once after seeing an "apple" made of netting at a craft fair. But my standard is the rectangle, and comes out about 4 inches by 2 1/2. Habit, I suppose.

A note: If you crochet, these instructions will make some kind of sense; if you don't, well, I didn't either before Grandma passed the torch to me, so it can be done, but I don't know if you're going to learn from me today! I would recommend picking up one of those basic booklets they sell at places like Michael's, since that really helped me understand what I was supposed to be doing (Grandma is a wonderful woman, but her instructions got to a certain point and then said "Crochet as usual", which didn't help me much).

I cast on about 15 stitches with an H or I size hook before turning and single-crocheting the rest of the way. That's it, it's all single crochet. When I get to the end of a strip, I tie the end of the next one to it and keep going. It takes about 4 strips to make one, more or less. After I finish the 'body', I use a G hook to tuck in the loose ends.

Yes, it's hard on the hands, working with the netting! I find doing one takes about an hour, and I don't generally want to do more than that at a time. But it's worth it!