Scrubby Yarn Review And Pattern

This color is Royal.

I know this yarn has been out for a while, but I finally decided to pick some up and try it out. First, let me say, I don't usually do dishcloths or scrubbies. (I don't really hand wash the dishes, anyway.) But, I've been intrigued by the texture of this stuff, so I thought I'd give it a go. Plus, some random polling of customers tells me no one else has tried it either. (Two people were buying it for the first time and one person was using it to wrap a foam wreath in green.)

So I picked up a skein of this to try it out. Here are my thoughts on this yarn and it's various qualities:

First of all, it's texture is kind of weird. But not in a bad way. It's like someone made an eyelash or fun fur yarn out of a stiffer, coarser yarn that eyelash or fun fur is made from. It's got a crunchy hand, but not unpleasant. It does look a bit like scraggly fun fur, too. Like the difference between these muppets

and this one.

But, you know, I am not opposed to novelty yarn the way some people are. So I'm not offended by its fun fur-ness. It's kind of neat looking, I think. And I think that texture would serve well for a scrubby.

See what I mean about the texture?

This is a 3.5 oz skein of about 92 yards, so it's comparable to fun fur that way, too. It's a worsted weight, with a suggested needle size of 8. I tried a bit of garter stitch with it, just to see know it knit up and it wasn't bad, I guess, but I thought it seemed kind of flimsy and lacy that way. I think I would want a scrubby a little more closely knit. I don't like to feel the pan through the cloth when (if) I hand wash the dishes. But, I think you could easily double up this yarn and make a nice, dense scrubby with it.

This yarn comes in a pretty wide variety of colors. We had at least six or eight colors on the shelf when I picked this up. All bright colors, too. And it ran about $4, which is also comparable to a fun fur yarn.

It knits up very much like fun fur, too. By that, I mean, it's not easy to see exactly where your stitches are. But that has the advantage flip side of the fact that it also hides mistakes pretty well. Not that I ever make mistakes. I didn't try to crochet with it, though. That might be easier.

In the end, I ran it alongside a strand of Lily Sugar 'n Cream and that gave it the body I think it needs. The down side is that it did mute the bristle-yness of the yarn. Still, it was plenty scrubby, I think, for my purposes.

Overall, I think this was a pretty good yarn. I don't think I'd be making any close-fitting cowls or sweaters out of this yarn, but it makes a pretty good scrubby. Paired with the strand of Sugar 'n Cream, it would make a nice spa cloth, even.

So I decided to make one.

Bath Time For Muppets

Materials:
1 skein Red Heart Scrubby in your choice of color
2 skeins Lily Sugar 'n Cream in complimentary color
#6 needles

To Knit:
Step 1:  With Lily Sugar 'n Cream, cast on 20 stitches.
Step 2:  Work in Garter Stitch (Knit every row) for 6 rows.
Step 3:  Knit 4, Bind off 12, Knit 4.
Step 4:  Knit 4, then cast on 12 stitches using backwards e method (thumb cast on), then Knit remaining 4 stitches on needle.
Step 5:  Now, work in Garter Stitch for about 12" beyond handle.
Step 6:  Attach Scrubby yarn and knit with both yarns held together in Garter Stitch for 18"
Step 7:  Cut Scrubby and continue in garter stitch with Sugar 'n Cream only for 12".
Step 8:  Knit 4, Bind off 12, Knit 4.
Step 9:  Knit 4, then cast on 12 stitches using backwards e method (thumb cast on), then Knit remaining 4 stitches on needle.
Step 10: Work 6 rows of garter stitch and bind off.
Step 11:  Weave in ends.

Feel free to make this pattern for yourself. I have made several of these, using others' pattern. This time, I was just winging it on my own and wrote down my "recipe" afterward.