How To Make A Shower Pouf From An Old Upcycled Towel

I really do not like those plastic shower poufs that come so often in toiletries gift sets. They are made of plastic for a start. They go smelly and mouldy, cannot be washed, and so end up going to landfill. And so today I am going to show you a way of making them from upcycled materials. Here is how to make a shower pouf from an old upcycled towel.

How To Make A Shower Pouf From An Old Upcycled Towel

If you are anything like me, you use a lot of towels, and over time they go very shabby looking. Well, do not throw them away! They can be so good for upcycling into other projects, like swiffer mop covers, make up remover pads, or reusable kitchen roll.

See all the ways you can reuse your old towels.

But this is one of my favourite ways to upcycle them. 

You Will Need

• some pieces of old towelling, including the edge cuttings – my long strips were 14 inches long by 3 inches wide, and my towelling edging was 17 inches long
• Some scissors
• A sewing machine and optional overlocker

I particularly love this project as it is a way of using up the edges of the old towel, which tend to be too thick to use up in other projects. 

Firstly, take the two long pieces of towelling and overlock them, or use a narrow edging stitch on your normal sewing machine. Old towels tend to fray and shed horribly when cut up. So you do need to go around the edges to seal it or there will be bits everywhere!

Take the two long strips and lay the long towelling edge piece sandwiched the long way down the centre.

Sew the long strips together at either side of the edge piece, making sure that you don’t sew through the edge piece and that it can move freely.

Pull both ends of the towelling strip together around the central edging strip. Ruche the towelling strips to form a pouf shape. As you do this, tie a double knot in the edging strip to secure the pouf in place. And sew the ends of the strip together, to form a hanging loop for your pouf.

And you are done!

This pouf is fully washable, though it will work well if just left to dry between uses. I would suggest that you untie the knot ands lay it flat for washing, to get right through to the centre.

I would also suggest that you wash it every few days, as some people have expressed a concern that it may go mouldy in the centre. Why not make a few, and then you can always have one on the go?

If it does get too shabby or unusable, it can be cut up. And if you have used cotton threads, it can all be composted!

Finally, these can also be used to scrub your dishes! But for an even better option see my unsponges tutorial.

It is definitely a much more sustainable, ecofriendly version of the nasty plastic versions. And can even be made from new towelling and given as a gift. 

Want an even harsher scrubber sponge? See my burlap shower pouf tutorial.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial on how to make a shower pouf from an old upcycled towel. Do you think you could use these?  I would love to know your thoughts. Comment below or do find me on social media.

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