Audio Tape Reels
Earlier this year someone sent me several vintage audio tape reels. I had never crafted with this type of film tape before and was excited to give it a try. I figured the tape would be similar to vcr video tape or cassette tape when I crocheted with it.
The tape from vcr and cassette tapes is strong and a bit stretchable. You can crochet and knit with the recycled material without it breaking very often. The material while strong is still flexible enough to create many different recycled video tape projects and cassette tape items. Unfortunately this was not the case with these old audio tapes.
My first attempt at crocheting with the tapes resulted in the tape strand breaking almost immediately. I could only crochet a stitch or two before one of the tapes broke. I typically crochet with two strands of recycled tape as it provides a more durable product. I tried one strand, I tried two strands, I tried adding a strand of yarn for stability, and nothing worked. The audio tape continued to break off in short pieces. The audio tape appears that its very brittle when twisted or bent. I tried unrolling the tape to the middle figuring maybe that would be better but the tape just isn’t stable to crochet with.
So I will be recycling these tapes not into crafts but to a place like GreenDisk or eDebris who both recycle e-waste and media items.
Many people write me each month and ask me if I will accept their old vcr and cassette tapes. I honestly have way more tapes than I’ll ever need for crafting for the rest of my life. I want to let people know that I am so happy to hear you think about recycling them rather than just filling up our landfills and polluting our Earth with more waste. But I have no room and can’t take any more of your tapes.
So if you have old media tapes, vcr tapes, cassette tapes or other e-waste, please consider the two links I shared above. If you can’t find someone who will truly use the tape in a useful way, then these two organizations seem like a great option for recycling the old materials in a safe and effective way.
Tags: audip-tape, crochet, eWaste, film-tape, recycling, recycling-eWaste
Aug 15, 2013
Hi there,
it’s a pity you couldn’t use those tapes the way you wanted to. I guess this is a case when something can’t be used in another manner than it was designed for. Keep up the good work and thanks for being a good sport when it comes to recycling š
Best of luck!
Aug 19, 2013
Its a wonder knowing that these things still exists. I had a cassette collection at my home which I converted into digital form before a few years.
Sep 03, 2013
Wow, I never even considered using something like this to make crafts. Your video / casette tape projects are awesome. Too bad this one didn’t work out.
Mar 27, 2021
So glad to discover your ideas. I want to tell you something about those old audio reel to reel tapes which MIGHT affect you. In the reel to reel days, there were two kinds of plastic used. Acetate and Mylar. Acetate tapes are very brittle and nowadays, they just fall apart. Mylar tapes are the same material as VHS and audio cassettes. Perhaps your tapes were breaking cause they were acetate – or perhaps even mylar tapes would break because they are narrower than VHS. Do audio cassette tapes break too? They were almost always made of mylar. Just wanted to let you know this.
Apr 21, 2021
@Mark – Thank you for your information. The cassette tapes don’t really break unless I stretch them really hard and far.