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:
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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