Soaptastic Fun!

I love Bath and Body Works foaming soaps.  I have them in every bathroom of the house, and next to the kitchen sink.  I am a huge fan.  What I am not a fan of, however, is how much my daughter Mims loves these soaps.  Granted, she is five, and I adore the fact that she is in love with washing her hands, but she has this ridiculous habit of adding water to a soap bottle that is getting low so I won't know how much soap she's used.  Yes, she gets in trouble for using more that two pumps of soap.  I hate that she has given me a good reason for that rule.

If it was just me and Jake, I wouldn't care so much about the watery-ness of the soap in the bathroom.  But we live with my NINETY-ONE (when you get that old, you get your age in all capitals. Seems cruel, but I didn't make that rule.) year old grandma (Mema, to you that might know her).  Mema is very nearly blind from Macular Degeneration, and relies on the single pump of soap to provide for her hand washing needs.  When Mims waters down that single pump, we run into issues.

Bath and Body Works sells beautiful silver covers for their soaps, but you can still see the bottle through the cover.  I admit, for most people, knowing when you're about to run out of soap is a good thing.  But I have a stockpile, and I don't need to know until the pump pumps no more!  So I have come up with a pattern for a soap bottle cover that will solve my needs.  Plus, I used cotton yarn so I can throw them in the washer and dryer when the covers get gross.

 FOAMING SOAP COVER
I used worsted weight 100% cotton yarn and a size G hook.

Chain 32. Using a sl st, join the ends to form a ring.
R1: Ch 1, sc in each ch space, sl st in first sc to join round. (32 stitches)
R2-12: Ch 1, 32 sc, sl st in first sc to join round. (32 stitches)
R13: Ch 1, (sc 2 st tog, 14 sc) 2 times, sl st in first sc to join round. (30 stitches)
R14-15: Ch 1, 30 sc, sl st in first sc to join round. (30 stitches)
R16: Ch 1, (sc 2 st tog, 13 sc) 2 times, sl st in first sc to join round. (28 stitches)
R17-21: Ch 1, 28 sc, sl st in first sc to join round. (28 stitches)
R22: Ch 1, (sc 2 st tog, 12 sc) 2 times, sl st in first sc to join round. (26 stitches)
R23: Ch 1, 26 sc, sl st in first sc to join round. (26 stitches)
R24: Ch 1, (sc 2 st tog, sc 2 st tog, sc 2 st tog, 7 sc) 2 times, sl st in first sc to join round. (20 stitches)
R25-29: Ch 1, 20 sc, sl st in first sc to join round. (20 stitches)
Fasten off, weave in ends.  Slip over your soap dispenser and enjoy!

If you would like to add a flower to the front of your cover, I would highly recommend attaching the flower to a bobby pin and then using the bobby pin to hold the flower on the cover.  That way you can detach the flower easily for washing (or if your hair styling needs require a flower for the evening).  If you like the poppy and peony flowers that I made, I was delighted to find the instructions here. (via Craftgawker)
xoxo

Update 12/4/12:  So, I have had a lot of trouble with this pattern, because I don't seem to be crocheting as tightly as I used to, which is making these covers come out HUGE for me.  Weird.  I've updated the pattern HERE so if you're a normal-to-loose crocheter (or anyone who likes to work in dc, instead of sc stitches - 15 rows and you're done, yo!) go check it out.  I think you'll like it much better.
xo Jaime