Are Crochet Face Scrubbies Good? (Easy Free Pattern)

Crochet face scrubbies are a cute, pretty, and eco-friendly alternative to disposable cotton round pads that you buy for face washing and makeup removal. But are these crochet scrubbies any good?

Most people said that crochet face scrubbies worked really well, and were better than disposable cotton rounds, based on hundreds of reviews on Etsy, Amazon Handmade, and crochet forums. There were some minor drawbacks mentioned, but the vast majority of people loved that they offered gentle exfoliation, were environmentally friendly, customizable, inexpensive, and easy to make.

There were quite a few things people liked about these face scrubbies, and only a handful of downsides.

Saves You Money!

They’re inexpensive to make. A skein of cotton from a big box store generally goes for $1.99, and you can make 4-5 scrubbies out of them.

$1.99 is about the cost of a sleeve of disposable cotton rounds. But the crochet version will last you for years.

Provides Gentle Exfoliation

One of the most touted benefits of the crochet scrubbies is that they exfoliate, while still being nice and soft. Depending on which stitch you use to make them, you can make them flat, ridged, or dotted with little puffs.

This allows you to vary the degree of exfoliation to suit your needs.

Lint-Free, and They Don’t Tear

These will be made out of pretty solid cotton, so you won’t have to worry about these ripping!

Plus, no more pieces of cotton lint on your face. Lint can soak up moisture from your face and leave your face more dry. It can also clog your pores, or collect dirt and debris, which can further irritate your skin.

Customize to Your Uses

You can make them any size you want. Some people like to make smaller scrubbies for makeup removal, and larger scrubbies for face washing or removal of clay and charcoal masks.

Depending on how much absorbency you want them to have, you can change the type of yarn you use. Mercerized cotton yarn is less absorbent than regular cotton yarn, so it may be a good yarn to pick if you’re looking for a cotton pad that doesn’t absorb as much product.

Antibacterial and Organic Options

Cotton yarn is by far the most recommended material for face scrubbies. But bamboo contains a substance called “bamboo-kun,” which is an antibacterial agent that gives the plant natural resistance infection. This is why some people choose to make their scrubbies out of bamboo yarn.

You can also make your own organic scrubbies.

Conventionally grown cotton is grown with insecticides and herbicides. In fact, cotton farming is responsible for 16% of the world’s insecticide use, and nearly 7% of all herbicide use, worldwide.

Organic disposable cotton rounds are hard to find in stores, but you can buy organic cotton yarn.

Bamboo is often grown without the use of pesticides (and as a bonus, generally require very little water to grow). Bamboo yarn can be found in most local yarn stores, and sometimes in big box stores.

Even if you choose not to buy organic yarn, by washing and re-using yarn scrubbies over and over, you may lower your exposure to residual insecticides and pesticides (versus using disposable cotton rounds.)

Easy to Wash

You can toss them in with your dirty laundry when you’re done. Some people opt to collect them in a mesh bag, so that they’re easier to find when mixed in with the rest of your clothes.

If you make white scrubbies, you can also bleach them along with your bleachable white sheets and towels, as an extra sanitary measure.

Earth Friendly, Zero Waste, and Biodegradable

As mentioned above, cotton is responsible for a lot of pesticide and insecticide use.

Reusable scrubbies are much more eco-friendly than disposable ones. If you wash them with the rest of the laundry, they won’t need much more soap and water in the machine.

They’re zero-waste, since you’re skipping the plastic sleeve that the disposable ones come in.

And, when you’re done using them after years, they’re biodegradable!

Fun and Quick Stashbuster Project

Face scrubbies are tiny, so they don’t require much yarn and work up very quickly. Most patterns say that these only take 10 minutes to make.

They’re a great project to use up the odds and ends of cotton you have left over from dishcloths or amigurumi. Depending on the pattern, they make use up as little as 20 yards of yarn.

They Make a Great Gift

These work up quickly, and make a great gift. You can gift them in a glass canister jar, wrap them in a cricut paper label, or simply tie a cute ribbon around a stack.

They’re also a popular addition to a crochet spa set, along with a washcloth, loofa, soap saver and soap saver bag, usually all made of the same yarn and therefore matching.

Scrubbies also make great stocking stuffers!

You Can Make Them to Match Your Bathroom Theme

If you’ve got a color scheme or a theme going on in your bathroom, you can make them match!

You can have it match your decorative towels, your fixtures, or the rest of the decor in your bathroom.

They can be crocheted to look like things you love, like flowers, or a cat faces.

Cat shaped crocheted face scrubbies — A thoughtful gift for cat lovers!

You can find a free pattern for these cat shaped face scrubbies here.

You can even make them sea-themed!

You can find the free pattern for these shell shaped face scrubbies here.

Other Uses Around the House

You can use them for plenty of other things around the house. They’re great as a kitchen sponge replacement for washing dishes, scrubbing the stove, or cleaning the microwave.

They’re slightly sturdier than a sponge, but smaller than a regular washcloth. That means they’re a great size to clean vegetables, cabinets, or walls. Or, you can use them to get spots off of wooden or tile walls, or cars and boats.

They may also double as a coaster, or as a soap dish.

You can also use them to freshen up closets or drawers by spraying a little bit of fragrance onto the scrubbie, and leaving it to air out.

The Downsides

There were only three few downsides mentioned in the reviews, and some of these may not apply to everyone. Plenty of reviews praised crochet scrubbies for being the opposing reason.

It may come down to differences in yarns used, patterns followed, and variances in people’s skin.

May Not Be Soft Enough for Eye Makeup Removal

These were few and far between, but a few reviewers did mention that crochet scrubbies weren’t soft enough to remove eye makeup.

How soft your scrubbie is can depend on everything from the yarn you used, to the pattern. So you may want to make just one to test it out on your eyes, first.

If you crochet with a small hook, the scrubbie will also come out more stiff. So if you find that it isn’t soft enough, you can try following that same pattern with a larger hook size. This should result in a scrubbie with more drape, which should give you an easier time fitting the fabric into small nooks and crannies around your eye.

Some Came Out Too Thick

The second complaint found was that they were too thick. This can be remedied by using a thinner yarn, or finding a pattern that uses a stitch that isn’t so thick.

Plenty of scrubbie patterns call for puffy, textured stitches such as the puff stitch or popcorn stitch. But if you’re leaning towards a thinner scrubbie, maybe a taller stitch is more suitable.

Too Much Exfoliation?

One reviewer mentioned that she did use her scrubbies to gently wipe away her oil cleaner, but found her scrubby didn’t exfoliate gently enough.

Again, this may depend on your skin type, as some skin types may benefit from exfoliation more than others.How rough the scrubbie is can be changed by selecting a different, softer type of yarn, or applying less pressure when you scrub.

Face scrubbies may not be for everybody, but there’s no way to be sure until you try them out. Here’s a pattern that you can follow to make the circular scrubbies seen in this post.

Free Crochet Face Scrubbie Pattern

Materials:

Worsted weight 100% cotton yarn – I used Sugar & Cream in Light Blue, White, and Beach Glass.
Size US G (4.00 mm) crochet hook
Yarn needle for weaving in ends
Scissors

Terminology:

This pattern is written in US terms.

	US	UK
ch	chain	chain
puff stitch	puff stitch: yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook into same stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop (5 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook into same stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop (7 loops on hook), yarn over, pull through all 7 loops at once, chain 1 to lock stitch in place.
rnd	round	round
sc	single crochet	double crochet
sl st	slip stitch	slip stitch
st	stitch	stitch

Gauge and Sizing:

The finished small scrubbie will be approximately 2 ¾” (7 cm) in diameter. The finished large scrubbie will be approximately 3 ¾” (9.5 cm) in diameter. Size may vary depending on your hook, yarn, and tension. You can make them any size, and alter your yarn and hook to suit your preferences.

Notes:

Rounds are worked in concentric circles. Chains at the beginning of the rounds do not count as stitches. Slip stitches at the end of rounds do not count as stitches.

Pattern for Small Scrubbie:

Round 1: Make a magic circle, ch2, 8 puff stitches into magic circle, sl st to top of first puff stitch to close. (8 sts)

Round 2: ch2, (2 puff stitches into next chain space) eight times. sl st to top of first puff stitch to close. (16 sts)

Round 3: ch1, (sc into top of next puff stitch, sc into chain stitch) sixteen times. (32 st)

To finish, sl st to next st. Cut yarn, leaving some length to weave in ends.

Pattern for Large Scrubbie: