Crochet Laundry Sorter
Sometimes I just really want pretty things, even if it makes no sense to anyone else at all, even if no one else is ever going to see it…ever, like my own person crochet laundry sorter.
Recently I was in need of a new laundry sorter for our bedroom, for separating our dirty laundry. We had one from Wal-Mart that was more than 5 years old, and probably only cost about $15 at the time. Five years of laundry had taken a toll on the bags, and they were tearing, and becoming more difficult to lift out and carry downstairs.
I’m being, like, a total laundry spaz, but I decided I wanted to save us the money, spare the world some trash, and make something pretty…even if it’s only ever going to see dirty clothes. I do a lot of laundry. I mean, if I go one whole day without washing anything, it multiplies somehow into a whole week’s worth of laundry. If I’m lucky enough to go a whole weekend, without doing any laundry at all. I end up doing laundry from dawn to dusk on Monday (with some spill over into Tuesday). Why shouldn’t I see something pretty while I wash? So welcome to my first ever refurbishing project with this DIY crochet laundry sorter!!
Old (or new if you don’t already have one) laundry sorter
Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch, Gloss Spray Paint – my color was Seaside
Disposable gloves
Plastic bags and packing or painter’s tape to cover the wheels
For the laundry bags:
Caron One Pound, Soft Sage -2 skeins, approximately 28 ounces used
Crochet hook, J-6mm
Yarn needle
ch, chs – chain, chains
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
dc – double crochet
**Edit** Since posting this pattern, I have removed 4 rnds to shorten them. You can make whatever length you would like, but I noticed mine stretching out quite a bit, so that they are sagging when emptied. Mine are rarely empty, so no big deal, but you might want yours to look a bit neater.
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Once, I painted it, I set off to making my bags! This pattern works up very quickly and uses almost two full Caron One Pound skeins for 3 bags.
I won’t be able to tell you of their sturdiness for at least another 5 years. 😉 But I believe they will be much less likely to tear!
Crochet Laundry Sorter Bag Pattern
If you have the same three-part sorter I have, you are going to need to make three of these.
Basically you want to use one for all your whites, a whole ‘nother one for your colors, a third for your, uh, delicates. And that would be your bras and your under…panty…things.
First, I measured the original bags. They were rectangular bags, measuring approximately 26 inches tall, and 15.5 x 8.5 inches along the bottom. Your bags may be different, but have no fear! This pattern can be easily adjusted and adapted to suite your needs. You could even turn it into a smaller produce or grocery bag if you’d like!
Row 1: turn and dc into the 3rd ch from hook, dc in 21 remaining chs; 22 sts
Rows 2-25: ch 2 and turn, dc in each st across; 22 sts
Do not turn work. Begin working in rnds.
Rnd 1: sc 148 evenly around the rectangle, about 2 sts per dc down the sides, 22 sts across the top and bottom, and 1 extra st in each corner, join with sl st to first st; 148 sts
Rnd 2: ch 6, sk next 3 sts, (dc in next st, ch 3, sk next 3 sts)36x, join with sl st into the 3rd ch of beginning ch-6; 37 ch-3 sps
Rnds 3-30: sl st into ch-3 sp, ch 6, (dc into next ch-3 sp, ch 3)36x, join with sl st into the 3rd ch of beginning ch-6; 37 ch-3 sps
Rnd 31: ch 1, sc in same ch as joining st, 3 sc around the next 3 chs, (sc in next st, 3 sc in ch-3 sp)36x, join with sl st to first st; 148 sts
Rnd 32: ch 1, sc in same st as joining st, sc in next 12 sts, ch 3, sk next 3 sts, sc in next 21 sts, ch 3, sk next 3 sts, sc in next 47 sts, ch 3, sk next 3 sts, sc in next 21 sts, ch 3, sk next 3 sts, sc in next 34 sts, join with sl st to first st; 136 sts and 4 ch-3 sps
The last 2 rnds will be worked in the opposite direction, with wrong side facing.
Rnd 33: ch 1 and TURN, sc in same st as joining st, sc in next 34 sts, 3 sc in the ch-3 sp, sc in next 21 sts, 3 sc in next ch-3 sp, sc in next 47 sts, 3 sc in next ch-3 sp, sc in next 21 sts, 3 sc in next ch-3 sp, sc in next 12 sts, do not join, but just continue to final rnd; 148 sts
Rnd 34: sc in each st around; 148 sts
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Is there a reason you chose Caron yarn instead of a crochet Cotten, like the Peaches and Cream line? How are the bags holding up?
Hi Maggie! The reason I went with Caron One Pound is because I knew I was going to need A LOT of it for this project, and I was trying to keep it affordable. Mine have stretched out quite a bit, but are still very functional! In the notes I edited to say that since making mine, I removed 4 rnds from the repetative rnds to shorten them up and allow for the stretch. If you want to avoid the stretching all together, definitely try it with cotton yarn. It will just cost more in supplies. If you do, please let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
I came across this by accident. I have an old laundry sorter like yours with tears in the bags. This will be an upcoming project. So glad I found it.
Awesome! I’m glad you found it! I will say, that mine have stretched a bit, over time, and while the Caron One Pound was the most cost effective way to make these, cotton yarns might work better for holding shape. I’ve been meaning to update the pattern to state that!