Never drop the soap again with this easy, 5-minute wash cloth soap holder! Slip your favorite soap inside the washcloth holder making it easy to grip. It extends the life of your soap too by making the last tiny bits useable. That’s a great money saver!
This easy, 5-minute wash cloth soap holder came about after posting about another project, an egg gathering apron, in a Facebook group for homesteaders. A local farmer who makes soap from goat’s milk asked if I could make some kind of soap holder to sell along with her product. She sent a couple of photos from ideas she saw online but gave me creative freedom to come up with the design.
Knowing she would need multiples, I kept it simple. This is a super easy beginner project if you are new to sewing. All the supplies are linked below.
SUPPLIES FOR WASH CLOTH SOAP HOLDER
- Wash Cloth
- Ribbon (6 inches)
- Sewing Machine
- Thread
- Scissors
It is handy to keep a cutting mat and rotary cutter tool on hand if you plan to make a lot of these. It keeps your table safe from scratches and helps take even less time to cut.
HOW TO MAKE A WASH CLOTH SOAP HOLDER
First, cut your washcloth in half. It doesn’t matter which direction since it is square, and there is no grain to follow like you would with fabric.
Then cut 1/3 off the length. Just eyeball it. There is no need for precision in this project. You should now have a rectangle similar to the photo below.
Next, hem the shortest raw edge by folding it over 1/4 of an inch, and folding it onto itself once more. There is no need for an exact measurement here either. That’s what makes the project come together so quickly.
Now fold your ribbon in half and pin or clip it one-third of the way up the washcloth. Make sure the finished edge is at the bottom.
Then fold the BOTTOM of the wash cloth up until it meets the bottom of the ribbon. Fold the TOP of the wash cloth down until the edges meet.
Sew a straight stitch down both sides of the washcloth INSIDE the binding. You can also use a zigzag stitch or overlocker. My machine was set up for a straight stitch, so that’s what I went with. I made two lines of stitches down each side to reinforce it.
Trim each end close to the stitches with scissors to eliminate the bulky seams.
Now turn the wash cloth inside out being sure to push the corners all the way through.
Ta-da! You made a wash cloth holder for soap. These make great gifts when coupled with pretty handmade soap. They are also a nice addition to gift baskets filled with pampering items like bubble bath and lotion.
Easy 5-Minute Wash Cloth Soap Holder
Make a pocket to hold your soap. Step by step tutorial.
Materials
- Wash Cloth
- Ribbon (6 inches)
Tools
- Sewing Machine
- Thread
- Scissors
- Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the wash cloth in half.
- Cut about 1/3 off the length.
- Hem the shortest raw edge at 1/4"
- Fold the ribbon in half and pin or clip it 1/3 of the way up the wash cloth, making sure the finished edge is at the bottom.
- Fold the bottom of the wash cloth up until it meets the bottom of the ribbon.
- Fold the top of the wash cloth down until the edges meet.
- Sew a straight stitch down both sides of the wash cloth inside the binding.
- Trim each side close to the stitches with scissors.
- Turn the wash cloth inside out.
As always, if you make one of my projects please share in the comments below, on Instagram or Facebook. It makes my day when I see your creations!
Love this idea, and what a quick way to make a gift for someone, or to add to a gift basket!
Practical too! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
If you made the ribbon longer you could hang it over the shower head…
Great idea!
Hi – these look really cute. What kind of wash clothes did you use? The cheaper bundles of individual ones?
I used a wash cloth bundle, but it wasn’t the cheapest one available. They felt like sandpaper. I chose a bundle that felt nice to touch but wasn’t super expensive.
Curious – what was the size of the washcloths you used?
13 x 13
Love the idea! I just don’t really understand what the loop is for especially on the side. Would the soap fall out?
Hi Reda! The loop is to hang it in the shower. It helps keep things tidy, but I suppose it isn’t necessary. You could totally leave it out.
The soap should fit just inside the little pocket made by folding the piece of cloth into thirds. You shouldn’t be able to see the soap at all unless you open the pocket itself.
I can’t get the soap inside the pocket. Do you use a standard size bathbar? What am I doing wrong?
Hi Diane! It is a standard size bath bar. What size washcloth did you start with?
These are an easy project that turn out so nice. Only change I made…I put the ribbon on the left corner instead of right. Just seemed more convenient. Thank you for all the great ideas !
What a super simple idea, great for a Christmas charity craft show, if that is ok with you ?
Absolutely, Anne! That’s a fabulous idea. I hope you have a successful craft show!
Thank you Reda,,it’s at our local church so should be good, I will get a stash made!!!
Apologies got your name wrong !
No worries!
This is the cutest thing Ive seen all day. I bet that homemade soap is great too.
LIsa
Thanks so much, Lisa! The soap is wonderful 🙂
Inlove this idea. I sew for charity in Australia and this would be perfct for people with arthritic hands to help thrm hold the soap. The loop of ribbon would be great for hanging over the tap to let it dry between showers. Thank You for your idea
How nice of you to think of others. What a wonderful gift!
If you made the ribbon long enough to go around their wrist they wouldn’t have to worry about dropping it. You could make it elastic too.
Great ideas, Sarah!
I made something similar to these a few years ago to give as gifts for family and friends. They are fabulous! I didn’t add ribbon to mine, but I wish I had now. Super smart.
Great minds think alike 🙂 Maybe it’s time for another round, and you can add ribbon this time.
I made a bunch similar I left the loop longer to carry for kids.
Nice!
This is a great idea… especially if you had a bunch of small gifts you needed to make for guild or craft club members .
I want to be in THAT club! Thanks for stopping by!
You mentioned getting this idea from an egg gathering apron. Couldn’t find that pattern on your website. Is there someplace else to find it? Love your ideas. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Katrina! I love the egg gathering apron by Swoon (https://swoonpatterns.com/). It’s free!
Just wondering if you leave the soap in would that not mold after awhile or do you take the soap out after each use
I leave the soap in and never had an issue with mold. The wash cloth and soap dry between each use.
Just ran across this project….I think it is a great idea, but I would think you would need to launder the wash cloth. After all, there maybe more than one person using it……:
I would definitely launder the wash cloth. I wouldn’t share with anyone else either.
I made different colors for each person in my house, two for each person!
This is such a clever idea! Love it!
Thank you, Kate! I appreciate you stopping by.
Im going to make these take home gifts for baby shower! Thanks!!! 🙂
I love that! Blue or pink?
Are you supposed to flip the washcloth over before doing the folding ?
Make sure the bulky/ugly part of your seam is facing up, then begin folding. That way the seam will look nice once it is turned right side out.
This would even be great for those that use body wash! Put the body wash in the pocket and there you go!
Hey, that’s thinking outside the box! I love it!
Just wondering if you’re using in a shower such as at a campground and fix the ribbon to hang from wrist, what keeps the soap from falling out
The soap fits in a pocket with the flap above securing it. I’ve never had an issue with it falling out. It stays pretty snug.
In looking at the picture of the finished product, I do not see a flap that would secure the soap and not allow it to fall out. Am I missing something?
Insert the soap into the pocket, and pull the inside flap over the soap. Essentially, it is covered by pockets on both sides. I promise the soap will not fall out. Try it for yourself and see.
Love these easy cute soap holders,my great granddaughter and I see’s 8 make home made soap for the kids in our family and for gifts,so will be looking for adorable lids washcloths to add to these thanks for sharing
I love that!
Sorry I’m a little confused If you were to start with a washcloth that was 13×13……..After cutting the washcloth in half and then cutting another third off…….are you left with a piece that measures about 4×6?
That sounds about right.
We took care of our uncle a couple of years ago as he was battling cancer. I made a similar bag for soap for him but attached a longer elastic band to it and attached it with a snap to the top of his shower seat. This way he was able to retrieve his own soap when he dropped it and was happy to maintain some measure of privacy for a little longer while taking showers alone. My version was not nearly as cute as yours, but I had nurses ask me to make some for some of their patients. This would be an amazing nursing home project!! Great job!!
Making them for patients with limited mobility is a wonderful idea!
Hi Heather, I like to pack shoe boxes for Sam. Purse around Christmas for the children in other countries. This is a great gift to give because they encourage to send personal hygiene products. I always send toothpaste, tooth brush, wash cloth, soap, and etc. I’m going to make up lots of them for our church to put in their shoe boxes also. Love your idea. Will put it to good use. Thanks. Linda
Oh my goodness, Linda. What a generous gift! You have a lovely heart.
I think this would be a great use for those slivers of soap that we all get at the very end. You could use all of those little pieces rather than throw them away. Aging money where I can! Thank you.
Yes! It’s perfect for that!
You have such a feel good site. I am an older woman who just bought a singer sewing machine nothing very fancy and I believe Your paperless towel project will christen my machine.. Thank you So much.
Question. It looks like you used satin ribbon. Does that hold up in the wash? I would think something cotton would be better. I need to do some research. Thanks for the tutorial.
That is what I used and surprisingly it has held up well.
About the size of the piece of washcloth used: if you use a 13″ washcloth, cut it in hallf, and then cut off 1/3 third of the length of each piece, you will have 2 rectangles 6 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. I got to thinking of cutting up handtowells instead of washcloths, and Walmart has a 12-pc set of Martex Commercial handtowels for $23.37 that looks like it is a good thickness to use. You would cut 4″ off the short end of the 13″ x 30″ towel, then cut in half llengthwise and into 8
61/2″ x 8″ pieces. Each piece would have one finished 6 1/2″ side and would cost only 25 cents plus the cost of the ribbon. . I am going to try this and will let you know how they turn out..
Do let us know how it turns out!
Should I wash the cloths before I sew?
I almost always prewash before I sew anything.
Does one wash cloth make two of these.
I did this with my 9 year-old as one of my first projects. It turned out great and was easy to do. Thanks for posting this!