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 – – making scrubbies is rather addicting! They’re fun to make 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. ♥
Here’s the complete pattern:
Round Knit Scrubby Pattern
Equipment:
- Size 8 Straight Knitting Needles
- 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:
Related Reading:
Can I make the Sparkle round scrubby larger by just casting on more than 18 inches?
Are we bringing the yarn inside the tube to gather the tube together?
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!