How to make luffa gourd sponges

Although luffa gourd is grown to harvest young and eat, it is also widely known as the "dishcloth" gourd. Luffa.info has excellent step by step growing and harvesting directions along with photos that document the big reveal at the end of the 140-180 day growing season: luxurious scrubby sponges guaranteed to soften and smooth your skin!

To grow, you'll need a strong trellis. You'll see below two luffa gourd plants. You'll find they are great climbers and get quite heavy by the end of the summer. This photo was taken early in the season. You can see the young tomato plant in the larger container next to it and understand why I dubbed the luffa "the beast" by the end of the summer.

Growing is simple. If you have a long enough season (zone 7 and up) start your seed outside. I thought Maryland (zone 6/7) might be iffy, so I started my seeds indoors around March. Water the plant during periods of drought, then be patient. They'll grow prolifically during the long, hot, summer days and slow during cool periods. Their bright yellow flowers will catch your attention for sure. The gourds, once they start appearing, will grow extremely fast. Let them continue to grow until they dry on the vine as shown on luffa.info, or harvest them just before your first frost. Now you'll watch the magic unfold. You'll bang the gourds around to loosen the seeds, peel the skin off, squeeze and rinse the gourd until all that remains is a clean sponge as shown below. Most of the larger sponges I gave as gifts, as is. You would not believe the exuberance of the men in my life who were the happy recipients of these "back scrubbers". You can see that I cut some of the smaller sponges into little pieces. My gardener friend keeps one by the sink and loves how it gets all the dirt off after a day in the garden. You will also notice that I cut some down the middle, snipped and hollowed the inside so that I could open it up and wind up with a flat piece to be made into the little sponges in the last two photos...

Super simple to make the sponge below: First I cut the luffa sponge to the size and shape I wanted. Then, I found a new, thick, totally luxe bath towel and cut a piece to size. Next, I used a strip of the pom pom decoration that I bought by the yard in the notions department of my favorite fabric store. I sandwiched the pom pom strip between the luffa and towel. I did use some clamps (paper clips actually!) to hold the pieces together, but because the inside of the luffa is so textured, it readily gripped the back of the towel as well. I also inserted the little D-ring (also from the fabric store) and a wide piece of bias tape. This is for hanging the sponge in the shower. I used a sewing machine to sew the pieces together about 1/4" from the edge. You may see an impression, but because both luffa and towel are so thick and textured, the actual thread nearly disappears. This is a project that beginning sewers can accomplish with ease, as lines do not need to be perfect. It's VERY forgiving!

Though I hadn't touched my sewing machine in years, I was still able to relearn how to use it again and also make multiple sponges in just a couple hours or so from start to finish. I think my friends and family were delighted to receive these sponges as gifts along with one of my favorite products - Bee and Flower rose-scented soap. This soap has a wonderful true rose fragrance and can be found (cheaply!) in an Asian supermarket or online. I love it for the packaging just as much as the scent.