Knitting reminds me of my grandmother. It introduces me to new friends in knitting circles. It brings me joy thinking of the smiles that a hand-knitted item brings to those who wear or use them. It’s much like soap in those respects, bring joy through simple things. So, why not combine them and knit a soap sack?!
Soap Sacks serve a few purposes:
- You can stash all of your end pieces (those last bits of soap that are a bit hard to use, or that you found in your mystery soap grab bag) until you have a full sack to lather up with.
- If you don’t have a soap dish in your shower, you can hang your soap with a soap sack. They do a great job of keeping your soap dry between uses.
- Some people have a hard time holding onto a bar of soap. With a soap sack, the drawstring doubles as a wrist strap preventing the soap from dropping to the floor. And, the texture of the fabric makes the soap easier to hold onto.
- The texture of the fabric in my pattern is a wonderful scrubby for the shower!
I have some personal experience with #3. When my husband was diagnosed with ataxia, showering became a real challenge for him. We tried lots of soap options. Soap on a rope was pretty good, but the soap was still too slippery for him. We also tried soaps with loofas embedded in them and a few other ideas, but the soap sack was hands down the best bet. These soap sacks brought a bit of “normalcy” into our life, and I hope they bring a bit of joy into yours.
Knit a soap sack and turn our handmade soap into an extra special gift.
If you’re a knitter, this quick knit will be a snap (about 30-60 minutes of knitting). Add in a bar of handmade soap and you’re all set with a much-beloved gift (that can be tossed in the washing machine too!)
If you know a knitter, download the pattern and give it, along with a bar of handmade soap, for the perfect knitters treat. No need to include yarn with your gift, this is a great stash/scrap-buster and your knitting friend will be thrilled to receive a pattern to use up their yarn scraps… so thrilled that they might even knit one for you too!
Materials:
- Size 9 DPNs or circular needles.
- 15 grams worsted weight yarn (or any scrap yarn, I used Sugar ‘n Cream cotton).
- Tapestry needle
- Crochet hook
- Guage does not matter with this pattern.
Instructions:
- Cast on 24 sts. Join for knitting in the round.
- K 2 rows.
- Make eyelet row: K2tog YO to end
- *K 2 rows. Purl 2 rows*
- Repeat * to * 3 more times for a total of 4 sets of 2 purl rows.
- Knit 1 row
- Kitchener stitch to bind off.
- Make draw-string: crochet a chain long enough to make a loop around your hand. This is usually about 1/2 inch longer than the circumference of the bag.
- Weave drawstring through eyelets and tie off.
Don’t forget to include a bar of handmade soap with your knitted soap bag!
