If you’re looking to save money and make your cleaning practices more eco-friendly, this DIY reusable duster cloth is a great place to begin. It’s a simple beginner sewing project that you can complete in about half an hour.
Once your reusable cloth gets dirty, just pop it into a load of laundry. It’s as easy as that. I made two so I’d always have one available while the other was being washed.
Easy DIY Reusable Duster Cloth
You can use this without a handle, too! Works great as a dusting cloth, too.
Skill Level: Beginner
- Approximate time to complete: 20-30 minutes
- Approximate cost to make: $4 (As costs vary from store to store, this is based on my local fabric price of $7.99 a yard) – PRO TIP: Search the remnants bins to save money on your fabric!
Supplies needed:
- ¼ yard of flannel fabric
- Sewing Machine
- Matching thread
- Fabric marking pen
- Sewing pins or clips
- Standard sewing scissors
- Pinking shears
- Cutting mat and ruler, measuring tape or ruler
Instructions:
PRO TIP: To keep your fabric from fraying when you wash it, you will cut on the bias or on a 45-degree angle to the selvage edge. When using a cutting mat, you will already have bias lines marked for you to make this easier to follow!
Step 1:
Cut the following pieces from your fabric (2) 5” x 7”, (2) 4 ½” x 7”, (2) 4” x 7” and (2) 3 ½” x 7”
Steps 2-4:
With wrong sides facing, place the two 5” x 7” pieces together. Using a fabric marker and ruler, draw a line down the center. Next, draw a line that is ¾” on either side of the center line.
Pin in place and sew a straight stitch down each marked line. This will form the pockets your handle will slide into.
Step 5:
Place your 5” x 7” piece on your work surface and center one of the 4 ½” x 7” pieces on top. Next, center one of the 4” x 7” inch pieces on top of that. Finally, center one of the 3 ½”x 7” pieces on top of that. Flip and repeat with the remaining pieces, largest to smallest.
Steps 6-7:
Using your fabric marker, draw a line down the center of your stack. Pin in place and sew a straight stitch down through all the layers on the marked line.
Step 8:
Using your fabric marker, draw a line that is ¾” on either side of the center stitch you just made. This is your guide that you don’t want to cut into on step 11.
Step 9:
This step is optional, but I found it helpful. Using your fabric marker, mark at ½” increments across each side.
Step 10:
You can feel there are two layers. Lift the “top” layer and you will see where you stitched your 3 lines in Step 4. Using your pinking shears, cut ½” slits on each side, just shy of the stitched lines on either side.
Step 11:
Now you are going to do the same thing with the rest of the layers, being careful not to cut through the center line you stitched.
Steps 12-13:
Insert the duster handle into the pockets you’ve created. Fluff the slits that you cut, and you are ready to use your Easy DIY Reusable Duster Cloth! When your cloth gets dirty, you can just toss it in your regular laundry!
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