Tawashi

Zero-waste as it should be...

---

How to make your own tawashi sponge?

Tawashi is another great discovery straight from Japan, a sponge made from recycled fabrics (we have used old socks and the sleeve from a sweatshirt in this tutorial) to replace the commercial synthetic sponges that are not recyclable and contribute to environmental pollution whenever they are incinarated or sent to landfil, and also are a real ecologic disaster.
You can use a tawashi tout clean any surfaces or for washing up, even clean your car. 

Thi sis why today we are bringing a new simple and effective solution: making your own sponge with recylcled fabric.
Yet another step toward zero-waste, which fun and easy to make (you can even have your children help out).  

Making your own tawashi instead of buying a new sponge every other week could also save you money, around £10-£20 per year. 

There are different techniques to make tawashi. 
Today, we are demonstrating one technique in this tutorial with step-by-step pictures. 



Using homemade loom

Making the loom is actually the most time-consuming process in making tawashi. It may take you up to 10 minutes. Although, once it is made, you can use it indefinitely and make tawshi in under two minutes. 


What you need to make the loom

• a small wooden board (smooth and flat) measuring about 25 cm x 25 cm, giving you a working space of a square of 20 centimetres.  
• a pen
• a square (to draw a right angle)
• 28 flat-head nails or screws
• a screwdriver or a hammer

How to make the loom
With the pen and the square, mark a square with sides of 16 centimetres on the wooden board. Make a mark every 2 centimetres on every side. 
Place a nail or a screw on every mark, but not in the corners (see pictures below for a demonstration). By doing so you have 7 nails/screws on each side, spaced every 2 centimetre.


To make the tawashi

• collect old pieces of clothing large enough to make 8-centimetre long loops (e.g. legging, sleeves of a tee-shirt or sweatshirt, thick tights, or socks). The piece of clothing must also be long enough to make 14 loops of 1-2 centimeter wide. Although, you can mix fabrics and make a patwork tawashi. 
• a pair of scissor

To cut the fabric
Place the fabric flat on clean table/counter top and cut 14 ribbons 2-3 centimetre wide


Making tawashi

• Place the loom in front of you and place one ribbon going from one nail/screw to the opposite one on the same line
• Repeat until you have use the 7 lines
• Repeat the process using the horizontal lines, going above and below as you go from the top screw to the lowest one.
• Repeat until all ribbons have been placed
• Carefully, take the first loop on the left-hand corner and the loop below. Pass the second loop inside the top loop, and leave the top loop and fix the second loop on the second nail/screw
• Repeat until the last loop. Use last loop to make a knot, which can be used to suspend the tawashi. 

Wash your tawashi in machine (30-60˚c) and reuse, again and again...


Step-by-step tutorial:

selection of tawshi made using differenrt recycled pieces of clothing