Crochet Reversible Swiffer Socks!

Craft & Design Yarncraft
Crochet Reversible Swiffer Socks!

swiffer
By Linda Permann

I’ve always hated buying refills for my Swiffer sweeper — even though I use both sides of the cloth, it just seemed silly to throw them away. My sweeper had been languishing in my closet because I had no refills when I realized I could crochet my own reusable cover from some yarn I already had in my stash. I came up with this reversible version that’s loopy on one side (to grab the dust) and flat on the other (for damp mopping). This “sock” is fun and quick to crochet, easy to complete with scraps, and a great use for acrylic yarns, since they create static, which makes dust and hair cling. Once you’re done dusting, you can brush the excess dirt and dust into the trash bin (really, it’s okay to touch dirt!) and then throw the sock in the washer and dryer with your other laundry. This project is fast and satisfying — you might want to make 2 so you can always have a clean sock handy.

Download the Pattern PDF
(Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. See directions on downloading PDFs.)

Materials

About 125 yards of worsted weight acrylic yarn in two colors: 75 yards in color A and 50 yards in color B. I used Red Heart Soft Yarn, 100 % acrylic, in # 9779 Berry (A) and #9520 Seafoam (B). If you want to use a single color, 1 skein of this yarn will be more than enough.
Size H-8 (5.0 mm) hook
Yarn needle

Finished Size: As written, this sock stretches to fit a standard Swiffer (10.5″x8″). Modification suggestions are given throughout on how to alter the pattern to fit your sweeper, if necessary.
Gauge: Gauge is not critical for this project.
Abbreviations:
ch: chain
sc: single crochet
dc: double crochet
sl st: slip stitch
st(s): stitch(es)
FL: front loop 
RS: right side

Special Stitch
sc2tog (single crochet 2 together):
(Insert hook in next stitch and draw up a loop) twice, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on your hook.

Swiffer Sock Pattern

With A, ch 33.

Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook (skipped 3 ch counts as dc) and each ch across, turn — 31 dc.

Row 2 (RS): With B, *ch 4, sl st in FL of next st; repeat from * across, turn — 30 ch-4 loops.

Row 3: Working in FL, ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in next st and each st across, turn — 31 dc.

Rows 4-15: Repeat rows 2 and 3, changing colors after every 2 rows (if desired), turn — 31 sts. (Compare the sock to your sweeper and repeat these rows as necessary if you’d like to make your rectangle taller.)

Note: From here on, work progresses in the round. Do not turn the work at the end of each round.
Round 1: With A, ch 1, evenly sc around the edge of the rectangle, working 1 sc into top or bottom of each dc and 2 sc into sides of sts, and working 2 sc in each corner st, join with a sl st in first sc — 98 sts.

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, join with a sl st in first sc.

Round 3: Ch 1, *sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog; rep from * twice, sc in each sc until 2 sts before corner, (sc2tog) 12 times or as many times as necessary to work up short side until 2 you are 2 sts past short side of rectangle**; repeat from * to ** once more to complete the round, join with a sl st in first sc — 68 sts.

Round 4: Ch 1, *sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog; rep from * twice, sc in each sc until 2 sts before corner, (sc2tog) six times or as many times as necessary to work up short side until 2 you are 2 sts past short side**; repeat from * to ** once more to complete the round, join with a sl st in first sc — 50 sts.

Round 5: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, join with a sl st in first sc — 50 sc.

Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Directions:

Swiffersock Step1
Step 1: With A, chain 31 stitches. Turn, then double crochet in 4th chain from your hook and in each chain across. At the end of the row, switch to B at the last yarn over of the last dc. Leave A hanging, as you’ll pick it up again later.
Note: As you can see in the photo above, the foundation chain is shorter than the width of the rectangle — the sock stretches to fit. If you’re making the sock for another brand of sweeper, make the foundation chain at least 1″ shorter than the base. If you’re using a less stretchy yarn, you may have to adjust the pattern slightly by adding a few more stitches to the foundation chain. Make sure that you end up with an odd number of chains.
Swiffersock Step2A
Step 2: Working in the front loops only, *chain 4, slip stitch in next double crochet; repeat from * across. This will create a set of loops on the right side of the work (the side facing you).
Swiffersock Step2B
Here’s how the work will look once you’ve completed the first row of looped stitches. Your work might start to curl on itself a little bit at this point, but that’s okay — it will straighten out as you keep on stitching.
Swiffersock Step3
Step 3: Turn your work, chain 3 (counts as first double crochet), then double crochet in the front loop only of each double crochet (from first row) across. Note that you are working into the reverse side of the same row of stitches where you worked the ch-4 loops.
Swiffersock Step4
Step 4: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 six more times, changing colors after every 2 rows. The wrong side of the work will look like this when you have finished the base. Turn the work one last time so that the looped side faces you. From here on, you will be working in the round.
At this point, hold your work up to your sweeper. You may need to work a couple more rows depending on your gauge and the size of your sweeper. Just remember to err on making the rectangle slightly smaller than your base (rather than slightly larger).
Swiffersock Step5A
Step 5: Chain 1 and evenly single crochet around the outside edge of the rectangle. It is not a big deal if you don’t get exactly the number of stitches as I have outlined in the pattern, if you follow the gist of the pattern — however, if you’d like to make it precise, refer to the pattern above.
Swiffersock Step5B
When you get to the short side of the rectangle, work 2 single crochets into the side of the end of each double crochet row. This will ensure that your work lies flat.
Work one more round of single crochet, as directed in the pattern.
Swiffersock Step6
Step 6: Work the decrease round. Each sc2tog is a decrease. To make a sc2tog, (insert your hook in the next stitch and draw up a loop twice), as shown above. Yarn over once more and draw the loop through all 3 loops on your hook.
Following the pattern, make a few more decrease rounds to close up the sock so it’ll fit snugly over the Swiffer. Try the sock on as you go to make sure the fit is to your liking. If your stitch counts don’t match mine exactly, don’t fret. It’s okay to wing it here — just make sure you do a lot of decreasing on the short sides of the rectangle and about 3 decreases on each long side of the decrease rounds. Finish it off with 1 round of single crochet.
Swiffersock Step7
Step 7: Place the sock on your sweeper and get ready to clean! Use the loopy side to collect dust and hair, and the flat side for damp mopping.

Download the Pattern PDF
(Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. See directions on downloading PDFs.)


About the Author:
Author Lindapermann
Linda Permann prefers crocheting over sweeping and dusting any day! She is the author of Crochet Adorned and blogs at Lindamade. She also teaches classes at Yarnivore in San Antonio, TX.

25 thoughts on “Crochet Reversible Swiffer Socks!

  1. Molly says:

    Alright, I have a swiffer but have felt bad about buying refills for it. Genius project for me to brush up on my skills! May I post this tutorial on my blog, ragsbysockmonkey.blogspot.com?

  2. Natalie Zee Drieu says:

    Of course you can link to this post!

  3. sarah says:

    i love this. i made one and started another this afternoon. such a great idea, and thank you for sharing!

  4. TheJigIsUp says:

    I’m totally going to crank a few of these out as mother’s day gifts. I know it’s something that both my mom and grandmother will use, as well as something that they don’t already have. Thank you, this is awesome!

  5. Laci_L says:

    My mom directed me to this tutorial and I made one this morning and I LOVE it! This is such a great idea and I am so pleased that it was made available!

  6. bookworm51485 says:

    You should sell these. They’re not only a great idea and a great way to save money, but also a really great idea for the environment. It would be nice for these to be available for people who can’t crochet as well.

  7. grrrromit says:

    Thanks so much for this great pattern! I got my Swiffer free from our local recycling center, and I made one of these babies out of leftover yarn, so I’m Swiffering for free! (I was using washcloths, but this is much cuter and much more effective!)I started it while watching “The Joy Luck Club” last night, and was done before the movie ended. Now I just have to make a few more for myself, and some for my Mom, sisters and sister-in-law! Thanks so much for the adorable pattern – it’s infinitely better than the others I’ve seen! No ties to bother with, fits better, etc…

  8. Hilary Marsh says:

    I’d love a knitting version of this pattern. Is there any way to convert this? Thanks!

  9. Jen says:

    I don’t usually use my swiffer because it feels wasteful to use the disposable covers.
    I wonder, though, if one could do that for the swiffer dusters? The ones that replace feather dusters. I might need to give that a try, ’cause if it don’t work, it’s just acrylic yarn, right?

  10. Rosemarie says:

    I made one and love it. Thank you.

  11. Gundoshvd says:

    Aloha! klq

  12. Shelby Turner says:

    Thank you for this pattern and the pictures helped me greatly. Can’t wait to use it….well let my husband use it.
    Thanks again,
    Shelby Turner

  13. D Hageman says:

    This is genius. I have thrown my broom away for my laminate flooring. These work so much better. I’m in the process of making some more, to have on hand when my other two are dirty.

  14. Laurel Kay Montgomery says:

    I would love to adapt this to my Swiffer Wet Jet!

  15. Carol B says:

    Odd thing to say about a swiffer cover, but this is really cute. I love the colors you chose. I have a stash of yarn and a swiffer and can’t wait to make some of these. This is sure to pick up that pesky pet hair that accumulates in the corners!

  16. 3 Snow Days! | GaterBait says:

    […] The bottom side, idea here […]

  17. » Scrubby says:

    […] stash-busting rabbit trail. I started out looking through my cotton yarn so that I could make some Swiffer socks for a friend, and in so doing realized I was overdue to make some new dishcloths for myself, and in […]

  18. Beth Jeff Torrey says:

    I made one(well maybe 3 so far) & love it….thanks for sharing your pattern!!

  19. One Year Later... - How We Flourish says:

    […] supplies, however, I am not in charge of. I sweep my dorm room with a reusable Swiffer cloth, but I’m going to be honest – I don’t clean it as much as I should. My mom makes […]

  20. Tiffany Collins says:

    I’m in love with this pattern I normally dont like crochet items for floor cleaning but i thought i what the heck give it a shot it works Beautifully i have made 10 more to give to friends and family and they agree that it is the best thing since chicken soup so thank you so much for sharing and i would love to see some more of your pattern ideas

  21. Rebecca Goodwin says:

    I find the decreases impossible to do as written. They’re extremely vague. Considering that the decreases MUST start on the short sides, and the written pattern only has 2 decreases for each short side, (sc 7, then 2tog out of 17 sc). To lose a total of 30 stitches, then each long side must lose 13 stitches out of 32 – which is basically *sc, 2tog, repeat* for the entire side, NOT sc 7, then sc2tog. 17 for each short side = 34, and 32 for each long side = 64, giving 98 st around, including the corners. In fact, to lose 1/3 of your stitches in the first decrease round, (from 98 stitches to 69 stitches) you MUST do *sc, sc2tog* for almost the entire round.

    1. Rickrochet says:

      You state you must start on the short sides. This is incorrect. At the end of row 15 you’re supposed to TURN your work as normal, and then continue lengthwise as if you’re doing row 16 all sc’s. So at the end of the rounds, you’re still starting at the beginning of your length side. Thus the sc7, sc2tog repeat is done lengthwise. If you’ll notice in the pattern it states that you do this until 2 stitches before your corner, and then goes on to explain what you do for the short side. Note that the pattern states: “(sc2tog) 12 times or as many times as necessary to work up short side until you are 2 sts past short side” this means your ENTIRE short side is decrease stitches. Using this knowledge, and your description of starting on a short side ; we can deduce that you should have started this round at this portion. Fully decreasing, and not 7sc sc2tog. When I run the numbers however, you still won’t end up with 68 at the end of this, more like 71-72, with only 28 stitches decreased. I think she opens with 1 or 2 decreases and just forgot to include that in the directions. Otherwise 68 is incorrect if you’re actually counting.

  22. Beadmaster says:

    I recently made this pattern. I have an actual Swiffer, so I figured this would be easy peasy. It wasn’t. The pattern was confusing. The first version says to chain 33. The second, with all of the photos, says to chain 31. I ended up only following the pattern in a very basic way, using the stitch pattern but none of the counts. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even a gauge given for the pattern, which would have been helpful.

    The finished sock isn’t a great fit, but it’s passable. It could have been better.

    The good: the stitch pattern is great for its intended purpose.
    The bad: no gauge, discrepancies between both versions of the same pattern, as well as some errors that apparently haven’t been corrected since this pattern was first released(!). Example: …until 2 you are 2 sts past short side… What is “until 2 you are 2”?
    The ugly: Even if you have an actual Swiffer, you have to figure all of this out yourself. Stitch, measure, frog, stitch, measure, frog until you have a correct length. Trial and error.

  23. Marlo Hubbell says:

    Is the pattern intended for two different socks for the swiffers?

  24. Bonne Beth Reaves says:

    Please help! On the first decreasing round. I am so confused. Do I dec next to each other on both short sides?

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