I hate buying those expensive swiffer covers only to use them once and toss them, so I came up with a pattern on the loom you can wash and reuse. This took a couple of hours to figure out but now that I have somewhat of a pattern I think it will go much faster. If you spot an error or some way to improve the pattern please leave a comment so I can change it.
Materials:
Blue Knifty Knitter
1 ball cotton wool (I used less than a 50 gram ball of Bernat)
Knitting tool
Tapestry needle
Make sure your tail is at least 15 inches long. E-wrap 3 rows, 15 pegs. You will be knitting the 1 over 2 stitch. Pulling up the bottom loop over the top two loops. Use 1 and 15 as turning pegs. You should have 3 loops on every peg except for 2 loops on peg 1 and 15. Knit over every peg, you should now have 2 loops on every peg except for 1 and 15 will have only one loop.*E-wrap 14-2, knit over, purl last peg. E-wrap 2-14, knit over, purl last peg.* Repeat between * for a total of 86 rows, or about 14 inches. I like to knit in the same direction I wrap because cotton is so loose and I can take up the slack over to the last peg. Adding the purl stitch and pulling it fairly tight at the end keeps the edge a lot tighter.
Knit over last row so you have only one loop on each peg. Remove with a crochet hook chaining one in between each stitch, cut working yarn at least 15 inches and pull through last loop.
You could probably do this on a small gauge loom (I would have done it on my Infinity loom but it's in use and probably will be for awhile if you read the previous post and I don't have another small gauge) It would be a tighter fit just make sure to adjust for size, width should be about 5 inches and length about 14 inches not stretched. I'm thinking this may shrink a bit when washed, as my cotton dishcloths usually do, but it's nice to throw them in the washer instead of the garbage can like store bought swiffer cloths :)
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30 comments:
THis is so KEWL. I spend a lot for those clothes. I'm going to make a couple. Thank You
Oooooh, I have a swiffer, and I love this idea. Can't wait to make this one. My hubby will love it as he's the one that mostly uses the mop. After this one, he'll probably build that pegboard for my looms straight away!
What a cool idea!! Thank you for sharing this. I'm off to make one now!!!
Does it pick up like the swifter? Doesn't the swifter use a special "paper" that attracts the dirt? I don't own one so I don't know. Still a fab idea!
that is a neat idea! I was thinking you can do it on the Purple Knifty Knitter and start knitting in the round for a bit, then start knitting on half of the pegs for the body of the swiffer then when you get to the other side start knitting in the round again. The knitting in the round will eliminate the having to seam it up. Of course this is all theory, but I think it would work. Your idea is genious! Now, as for yarn--I would think an acrylic wouldn't absorb the yarn as much, do you think cotton yarn would be best, or maybe a wool that is scratchy, but doesn't shed fibers.
This is an awesome idea!!! Great Job... now I have to go buy another swiffer... hubby is an aggressive sweeper... broke the handle on our old one!!!
~Crystal
To BethAlice: It does pick up pretty good, I have five dogs in the house; 3 Chihuahuas and 2 Blue Heelers and I get a lot of dog hair. The cover is pretty grubby when I'm done!
To Isela: Great idea about knitting in the round and then changing to a flat panel, I'll have to try that. I used cotton because that's what I've always used for my dishcloths, I don't think acrylic would work very well.
Hi Kansas i think this idea is great. Just curious though what about if you tried that microfibre yarn i've heard about? would that be any better or cheaper? Jacqui in Australia.
Yes! You have two blue heelers? I do, too! As well as two other dogs! I was wondering if this woudl pick up the dog hair. Thank you! I have to make some tonight!
I have thought about doing this for so long, but never got around to it. I love this idea :o)
I love the Idea. It is one of those Ideas you say to yourself. Why didn't i think of it? I going to make it for my Ready Mop. Thanks so much for the great Idea.
I have tried several mops and like none so i keep going back to on my knees. My husband hates that and so I finally broke down and bought a swifter since I remembered you had posted this pattern. I even love this mop and not tried the knitted pad but I will!!! Thank you because if not you I doubt I would have bought one :-)
I love this! Thank you for sharing!
Jackie
I tried this pattern and had a difficult time with taking up the slack. I ended up with huge slack that I was constantly pulling through. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?
Hi Shari
You may want to 'spread' the slack out, when you notice it getting a bit loose then tighten up for a few pegs and vice versa. You want to spread the slack out evenly across the row. Cotton wool is not quite like worsted weight and is a bit of a pain to work with, but after completing the cover you can tug and pull to put the stitches in place...or throw in the washer and everything tightens up. Hope this helps.
For me, nothing works better for Swiffer cloths than fleece. If you've got an old fleece shirt or scraps of fleece, just cut squares to sz with an extra inch or two on each end to wrap around & catch the tabs on your Swiffer, wash & reuse. Less effort, you save $$$ AND space in your landfill.
Excellent! I love all your great ideas!! I'll have to try knitting that for some Christmas pressies!! :)
This is a fabulous idea! Those throw away cloths just seem like such a waste. I'm going to make a bunch in wool/cotton. I'll knit a few with some mesh bags woven in as well to scrub spots. With 2 dogs and a cat I need all the clever ideas I can get! Thanks so much.
i love your web page, im trying to find knifty knitter patterns
Thanks for the comment. There's tons of patterns out there now compared to just a few years ago :)
You are so smart !!! I love it !! I have a swiffer wet jet that I'm always trying to "rig up" something somehow to do a quick wipe up of a floor & never once thought of knitting one ... Welllllll, I will be making one ASAP. Thanks for the info !!
OH, by the way, I like your site so much I have put a short cut on my desktop.
Valerie from New Brunswick
Very neat....thank you!
Pretty Cool idea! This has been one of the most popular swiffer ideas ever I think. It does prove to be the best though. It makes it reasonable to use the swiffer. I can't imagine paying a buck every time you change a disposable. You are ingenious. Great tip. Thank You.
Wonderful idea.. I like anything that we can reuse instead of throwing in the garbage. And if it saves money at the same time, it is a double whammy. Appreciate the pattern. Thank you. I am new at this. Do you leave the pattern up for awhile
Anita
Hi Anita,
Yes the pattern will be here whenever you need it. :)
This is an excellent article posted on the subject of The Swiffer Cover, if you have more article about that so shared it, and Thank you for sharing your information about that article.
I’ll definitely be updating the blog with any news on the outcome.
These are super cool. I use microfiber cloths that I just size for the swiffer I'm using but I like how these look. Have you tried using a microfiber yarn like that other person mentioned? That would be kinda cool. I think I'm going to make one next time I get a minute. This is kind of off topic but I found a site that sells replacement batteries for swiffer vacuums. Mine was dying and wouldn't hold a charge so I looked online and found www.sweeperbattery.com. It is still going strong after two years.
First let me say I have all the knifty knitters and besides blankets this is the best idea I have seen. Thanks
I'm going to make one out of my tshirt yarn...double savings! Recycling old t-shirts and saving $ for the swiffer : )
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