Bored at home? You’re not the only one—this whole pandemic situation has driven most of us a little crazy. With that said, it has also given us a bit of time to enjoy our hobbies! For me, that’s arts and crafts. I’ve always been a DIY kind of person so that’s what I’ve been spending most of my day doing, when I’m not working from home, if you get what I mean. I have a 4-year-old as well so that probably has something to do with it. I’m constantly looking for fun things that we can entertain ourselves with!
In this post, I’ll be teaching you how to customize a reusable dishcloth. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound very exciting but trust me—it’s actually pretty fun. Plus, It’s not very messy so you can do it with your kids! If anything, you just need the supplies, the most important obviously, being the cloths themselves. Before we dive into the actual instructions, however, let’s take a look at what these dishcloths are all about.
What is a Swedish Dishcloth?
Swedish dishcloths are dishcloths that are made from cellulose (the material that makes up cell walls in plants) and cotton. In other words, they’re eco-friendly; there’s nothing synthetic about them. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about their history. As you can probably guess, they were invented in Sweden. More specifically, it was Curt Lindquist, an engineer, who had come up with them in the 1940s. Despite that, these dishcloths have only really become popular in North America in recent years. I’m not exactly sure why but I’m just happy that we have them now!
Why I’m a Fan of Cellulose Dishcloths
Personally, I’ve stopped using traditional dishcloths altogether. Everything has been replaced by a cellulose dishcloth. There are many reasons why I’ve decided to do this—the biggest being cleanliness. I don’t know if you’re aware but regular dishcloths often harbor tons of bacteria. This has to do with the fact that they’re often wet, which breeds germs. Well, Swedish dishcloths are naturally antimicrobial. They’re not coated in anything special, it’s just that they dry very quickly so that microbes don’t really have a chance to multiply.
And they’re super durable, at least in my opinion, they are. Meant to be reused, they can be machine washed or hand washed (I go for the latter usually). I know what you’re thinking, “you can do that with normal dishcloths too”—but hear me out. With normal dishcloths, they often start to fray and wear out after a while. With cellulose dishcloths, though, that’s not an issue. In fact, I’ve been using the same ones in the kitchen for a few months now and they look almost the same as day one. I also want to point out that you can sanitize them with a zap in the microwave.
Price-wise, they are affordable as well. That’s one of the main reasons why I came up with the idea of customizing them—they’re so cheap, it doesn’t matter much even if I screw up! You can probably find the cloths in local stores but I buy mine from Amazon. I believe it works out to be around $2 each if you do the math (they come as a ten-pack). Believe me when I say this, they’ll save you a lot of money in the long run…especially if you use paper towels! Put those things away—it’s time for something more eco-friendly.
The best part of all, these dishcloths are versatile. I’m not kidding when I say that you can use them for almost anything. Actually, I’ve written a whole section on that below.
How to use the Reusable Cloths
Swedish dishcloths are a little different in that they’re not soft out of the packaging. I know I was surprised the first time I got them—they’re stiff like cardboard! As soon as you wet it with water, though, the cellulose and cotton material will soften…then it’s just like a regular dishcloth.
I have a couple in the kitchen actually. I use one to wash my pots and pans and another to wipe the countertops. You can absolutely use them with soap, just rinse it out afterward like a regular towel. While you can dry them flat, I like to put them on a rack so that they can air out beforehand.
Aside from the kitchen, I also have a couple in the bathroom that I use for regular cleaning (they are wonderful for mirrors). Actually now that I think about it, I also use them to wipe the tables and shelves in the living room from time to time. I wasn’t kidding when I said that they’re versatile! I’ve heard that some people even use to clean their cars but I haven’t tried that yet.
If you want to keep them in good shape, I’d highly recommend that you wash them after each use. Like I said earlier in this post, I prefer to do it by hand. Some soap and water is all you need! However, they are safe for the dishwasher so you can also use that—just put it on the top rack. I believe you can also put them in the washing machine as well but I have enough laundry to deal with already so I don’t usually do that myself.
Every week or so, I’ll also sanitize it by microwaving it. You know, like what you do with regular towels, sponges, etc. Basically, you saturate the dishcloth with water so that it’s moist and microwave it for 1-2 minutes, depending on how strong your machine is. That’ll be enough to kill any germs that’s on it.
What Craft Supplies Are Needed to Customize the Dishcloths?
It’s because I love them so much that I decided to customize my own. You can do it too…as long as you have a plain-colored cloth to work with (think of it as your canvas). So far, I’ve had success with both acrylic paint and fabric markers.
Things That You’ll Need:
- Acrylic Paint or Fabric Markers
- Paint Brush
- Painter’s Tape
- Swedish Dishcloths
Using Acrylic Paint
I tried using acrylic paint first. I like to paint as a hobby and already had a few bottles lying around so it worked out for me. For those who don’t have any, you can find them easily at any arts and craft store. I’ve also seen them at dollar stores though I’m not sure of the quality.
The first thing I did was experiment with different shapes and designs. That’s where painter’s tape comes in super handy. I cut it into thin strips and used them to create a lattice-like pattern on the dishcloth. One thing I want to point out is that you don’t want to apply too much pressure on the tape otherwise it’ll peel off some of the material later. Anyway, once the tape is on, you can start getting creative with your paint. I had various colors on a palette and just applied them onto the dishcloth with a standard paintbrush. You don’t have to use too much paint either since the dishcloths are very absorbent.
Once the paint is dry (it’ll turn matte), you can carefully peel off the painter’s paint.
Using Fabric Markers
A few days later, I decided to experiment with fabric markers. The acrylic paint worked nicely but it was a little messy…plus there was a bit of cleanup to do afterward. I’ve had the markers for a while but I believe I got them from Michaels. I originally got them to write on t-shirts so I figured that they’d also work on dishcloths.
My pack came with 12 colors and I used pretty much all of them. I found that the darker colors such as navy, purple, and blue are the easiest to use since they show up very well. The lighter colors I had some troubles with especially the pink and yellow—you could see what I drew but it’s not very obvious. I believe it depends on the type of markers that you’re using but for mine it tells you to wait 24 hours to let it dry so that’s what I did.
I think overall, I liked using fabric markers better…just because it’s easier to draw on intricate designs. If you want to customize your dishcloths with a bunch of different colors though, acrylic paint might be a better choice.
Washing Your Customized Swedish Dishcloths
Now for the most important thing…how to wash your customized dishcloths. After all, it wouldn’t do you any good if you can’t re-use them after painting or drawing on them! Well, I’m happy to tell you that they can be washed.
For Swedish dishcloths that are decorated with acrylic paint, I would recommend that you wait at least 24 hours before washing them (and it’s a good idea that you do before using them so because the paint can have a smell). While you can probably toss them in the dishwasher, I highly suggest that you wash them by hand instead. It’s more gentle so you won’t have to worry about the paint coming off. With that said, acrylic paint tends to do pretty well on the cellulose material. Unless you only used light colors, they won’t be fading all that much.
As for those customized with fabric markers, it’s pretty much the same thing. It’s best to wash them by hand with a bit of mild soap. Since the markers are designed to be used with fabric, you shouldn’t experience that much fading at all. If anything, they tend to be more “durable” than those painted with acrylic paints but that’s just my opinion.
Where to Buy Swedish Dishcloths
Like I said earlier, these dishcloths aren’t that hard to find at all. Actually, I’ve seen them at my local Safeway but those were already printed on so they wouldn’t be suitable for customizing. For that, I’d recommend the ones that I got from Swedish Wholesale. They offer them in various colors from white to pink so you can choose the canvas that you want to work on! Plus, the price point is right for a DIY project like this.