a disposable , cloth - like towel of superior wet strength and absorbency comprises a scrim coated with a superabsorbent material , with one or more nonwoven fibrous webs bonded to the coated scrim . the superabsorbent coating preferably is formed by wetting the scrim with water or an aqueous adhesive , applying a solid hydrophilic polymer to the scrim , then applying a nonwoven absorbent cellulosic web to the coated scrim and drying the resulting composite laminate . bonding of the scrim to the nonwoven fibrous web can be achieved by applying an adhesive to the side of the cellulosic web which is brought into contact with the coated scrim . alternatively , both the hydrophilic coating and bonding can be effected by sandwiching the scrim , coated with an unreacted mixture of hydrophilic polymer and crosslinking compound , between the two fibrous layers and then subjecting the multi - ply laminate sheet to crosslinking reaction conditions to form the superabsorbent on the scrim as well as to cause adhesion of the nonwoven fibrous webs thereto .