Skip to main content

A soap saver sack

Have you heard of a soap saver?  I hadn't until recently.  A friend mentioned to me that she was putting the small bits of soap in a sock and that I should think about crocheting a little bag instead.  And then they keep popping up on social media, so I thought I would give it a go.  Am I the only one who hoards the little end bit of soaps that are too small to use?  I have a bit of a collection of them.  So I whipped up a little soap saver sack and filled it up with a few odd soap ends and I'm very pleased with the results.  If you can do basic crochet, they are very easy to make, but you can also knit or sew a simple soap saver (or last resort - use an old sock!).




Crochet soap saver pattern
I used cotton yarn from the local market.  You could use any yarn.  I liked cotton as it can be composted (wool, hemp, bamboo or sisal would also be compostable).

Chain 6, turn
Chain 1 and single crochet back along the chain
Don't turn, but keep going around into the back of the chain to form an oval shape
Double crochet around to start forming a bag - I don't bother with linking each row, I just keep going around in a spiral because its easier
Keep going until the bag is tall enough, then do a row of single crochet
To make the bag smaller at the top - the final row was a decrease on every second crochet, but this is optional
To make the tie, just cut three pieces, plait them and thread through the second row from the top (you could also use a ribbon).



Other options
The simplest would be to crochet or knit a square (or cut out a square of fabric), fold in half and sew up two sides to make a bag, then use plaited yarn or a ribbon to tie the end.  You could also knit using double pointed needles and then finish off the end like a sock end (see my sock instructions here).  The soap saver can be as pretty or as functional as you want, so its a great beginner project.

Have you made a soap saver?  Do you have the ends of soap?  I can't throw them out, I know how much effort went into making them!  

Comments

  1. I mentioned these on The Home Maker forum last week and a few of the members make them but I was looking for a soap saver that would dry out quickly as the homemade soap doesn't like being wet all the time. Yours looks like a great pattern, Liz. I will give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I make lots of soap and so have the little bits left over too. I just throw them in my laundry wash or scrub my toilet with them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Mum knitted up two soap savers for me a little while ago and I think they are great although the soap does take a while to dry out in them. We do save little bits of soap here, no point in wasting it! Meg:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow. Handy. Will have to bookmark.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have one of these in the caravan shower. It means that when we are on the road the soap is in its bag looped over the shower head. Hubby cant do a lot of bending and he doesn't just go and get another bar of soap. It really is a soap saver.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry Liz, your beautiful crochet instructions (pattern?) is as good as Arabic to me, but this is such a great idea, I'm prepared to find someone to teach me how to crochet. All those end bits of soap being wasted is just doing my head in. :) X

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

Popular posts from this blog

The new Eight Acres website is live!

Very soon this blogspot address will automatically redirect to the new Eight Acres site, but in the meantime, you can check it out here .  You will find all my soaps, ebooks and beeswax/honey products there, as well as the blog (needs a tidy up, but its all there!).  I will be gradually updating all my social media links and updating and sharing blog posts over the next few months.  I'm very excited to share this new website with you!

Farm update - August 2017

Its been cold this month, and very nice to have the fire going every night.  Here's a photo of my boy in his cape, great for late night woofing at things.  Most of July we were either preparing for the butcher to come or putting meat away.  Its always a big job, but its only once a year, and its all done now.  My lovely neighbour came over to help, so it was fun to have the company and work together.  Taz was a champion once again as she helped us to move cattle in the yards ready to load for the market.  Gus is not at that level yet and had to stay home (he cries when he gets left behind, but he just gets in the way and scatters the cattle).  We have had a few sprinkles of rain here and there, but also plenty of cold nights, so the grass is mostly dead and dry, waiting for the warmer weather to revive our summer-active pasture. Gus in his cape Taz after she helped to move cattle Food and cooking It was all about beef in July and we are v...

Neem oil for insect control

** Sign up for my weekly email updates here , you will find out more about soap and our farmlife, straight to your inbox, never miss a post!  New soap website and shop opening soon.... I also make neem soap, neem insect repellent and neem salve, all available in my Etsy shop .** A few weeks ago now I was watering the garden just after dark, torch in one hand, hose in the other, when I was attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes (mozzies).  I could feel them biting me, but there wasn’t much I could do with both hands in use and I really needed to finish watering.  When I came inside I found that I had several bites on each leg between the top of my gumboots and the bottom of my shorts.  These proceeded to itch, swell and annoy me for several days. At this time of year, when the mozzies start biting, as I do have such a terrible reaction to the bites, I usually reach for my bottle of conventional insect repellent, typically containing DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamid...