This week’s project is a rug I crocheted from a couple of old white t-shirts and the remaining pieces of a blue jersey sheet. I cut my cotton into 3/4 inch wide strips using my t-yarn making tutorial. Recycling t-shirts and old cotton sheets is a great way to repurpose those old items into new usable rugs, oven mitts, trivets, baby bibs, and more.
Once completed, this t-yarn rug had a problem. The center was not flat and the rug needed blocking badly so this week’s project turned into a two-fold post. A blocking tutorial for t-shirt yarn rugs and the free crochet pattern for the rug.
I didn’t take a photo of the rug before blocking but trust me, the center was all rumpled up and the rug wasn’t laying down flat. I used the same process I did when I blocked a round ripple afghan that was bowl-shaped in the center. My blocking method helped flatten both projects and really saved me a lot of frustration so I wanted to share how I did it. So first I will show how to block a t-shirt yarn rug.
Lay the rug down and stretch it out on a large piece of plastic on the carpet. I used a large trash bag and then just reuse it for the next blocking project. I pin it all around as I stretch the rug and shape it. Use lots of pins and push them down into the carpet to hold the rug in place. Then using a wet rag or wash cloth, press down and wet the rug. Move your cloth around and continue to wet it and as you do, shape and stretch your rug. I laid a wash cloth down as shown and with my hands flat, I move my hands around on top of the cloth. My center was the real problem area so I pressed down and wet this area more as I worked out the rumpled center.
Click on any photo to supersize
Next photo shows after I have been shaping and flattening out the center. Move your pins as needed to get the rug flat and a nice shape. Gently pull on the corners and edges to get it as straight and square as possible. Apply more water on a rag as needed.
Once you have the center flat and the rug shaped, its time to let it dry. I let my rug dry overnight with the pins in place. The next day, I removed the pins and flipped it over gently and let the back dry. The next morning the rug was completely dry and the rug held its shape rather nicely.
Closeup of the t-yarn rug once it was blocked and flatten. As you can see its pretty flat and I can live with how it looks now. I hope you find this t-yarn blocking tutorial useful should you find your rug or other projects need a little flattening.
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This crocheted rug has been a work in progress for quite some time. I’m happy to say its done — Yea! It is completely crocheted from plastic trash. I used recycled bags from bread, hotdog buns, bagels, toilet paper, frozen foods, hashbrowns, paper towel packaging, hamburger buns, taco shells, hoagie buns, and other pieces of plastic from numerous products having plastic packaging. This plastic is the heavier gauge stuff and it’s much harder to crochet and does make your hands and joints sore.
Because this plastic was much heavier than the normal thin plastic grocery bags, I cut the strips only about 1/2 inch wide. I cut the plastic into strips using my standard plarn making method to assemble the plastic strips.
I crocheted it all using single crochet stitches as this is a bit easier on the hands. A word of advice though, take lots of breaks from this project as it will help your hands and joints from getting too sore. Also if your rug doesn’t want to lay down flat, apply some gentle heat from a blow dryer, and flatten out your rug as you warm up the plastic. This really helped as my rug wanted to curl up a bit but with the heat from the dry blower, I was able to get my rug to lay down fairly flat.
Below you will find the general directions for crocheting this recycled plastic rug. Please be aware that this pattern is just a loose guideline for making your own unique rug using recycled plastic. You may need to add a few more stitches here and there so your ends lay down flat. I re-worked several rounds at times as the rug just didn’t want to lay down very flat. But remember the dry blower tip and try this out if needed. With that being said, enjoy the project and happy crocheting!
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Recycled Plastic Oval Rug Pattern
Materials needed:
Plastic bread bags and any other plastic packaging that you can cut into loops 1/2 inch wide
to create plastic bag yarn or plarn.
Hook:
N (9 mm) USA size crochet hook
Description:
Recycled plastic oval rug measures 16 inches wide and 30 inches long
Directions:
Ch 36 (approx. 14 inches)
Need a new bathmat? How about making one from your old t-shirts. I share with you all my recycled t-shirt bathmat rug. I crocheted this bathmat during a RAL (Rug A-Long) over at the Trash to Treasures group on Ravelry. If you are member of Ravelry, you should check out our group. It’s a fun bunch of people who love to create cool stuff using what some may call trash.
Anyway I crocheted this using about 3 different shirts and wanted a half circle rug to place in front of my shower. I had to rework my rug several times to get the shape right. Please keep in mind that you may have to add or subtract a stitch or two here and there to get your rug to lay down flat and to have the half circle shape. Remember that crafting with recycled materials is never an exact science so my patterns should be used as a guideline to help you create your own finished projects.
If you are new to crocheting or knitting with recycled t-shirts, you can learn the process by using my curled t-yarn tutorial. Enjoy this tarn rug project and happy recycled crafting to all!
Free Pattern for Crocheted T-Yarn Bathmat Rug
Materials needed:
3) t-shirts cut into 1/4 inch wide strip and stretched to curl into T-yarn
Hook:
N (9 mm) USA size aluminum crochet hook
Description:
Bathmat rug is 27″ tip to tip and 13-1/2″ wide at middle
Directions:
Row 1
Make magic circle and work 7 Dc in circle.
Click to supersize photo
For all you rug lovers out there, I have a new recycled plarn rug pattern to share. It’s crocheted in the round and I used several different shades of creme, tan, and brown bags to create an earth tone look. These plastic rugs crocheted from recycled plastic bags make great boot or doormat rugs as you can just hose them off and hang to dry. Remember do not put these in the dryer as it will melt the plastic.
So grab those plastic bags, a big N crochet hook and lets do some recycled green plarn crafting!
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Free Crocheted Round Plarn Rug Pattern
Materials needed:
Several balls of plastic bag yarn or plarn in creme, tan, and browns
Hook: N (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook
Description: Earth tone round rug measures 19 inches wide
Directions:
Using Creme colored plastic bags (plarn) Ch 4, join to form ring.
Several people have asked me for a rug pattern crocheted using recycled plastic bags or plarn. So what better way to kick off the after Christmas crafting but by doing a reader suggested project. Someone suggested a doormat which sounded like a great project. I wanted my doormat rug to be rectangle in shape and have a pretty pattern. So I modified the typical granny square pattern to make a rectangle-shaped rug. It turned out pretty good but my corners are a bit pointed. I’m not sure if that was because of the plarn or my pattern but the rug is very functional. It works great for muddy shoes as you can just rinse it off when it gets dirty. If you must wash it, remember use a gentle cycle in your washer and do not dry it in the dryer as it will melt.
My Recycled Plastic Doormat Rug
If you need instructions on how to make plastic bag yarn or plarn, here is the link to my picture tutorial. If you have never made yarn from bags, it will walk you through the process. For everyone else, you’re all set now so go and have fun making yourself a recycled plastic doormat!
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Free Recycled Doormat Rug Pattern Using Plastic Bags
with Placemat Variation
Size: 21 inches wide x 17 inches rectangle rug
Hook: N (9 mm) crochet hook
Materials:
Large ball of white plastic bags cut and tied into yarn (plarn)
Small ball of blue and grey plastic bag yarn (plarn) used for center motif
Here is an eco rug I crocheted from recycled plastic bags. I made this Motif rug as part of an eco craftalong on Craftster. It’s been a fun and very informative craftalong for me. I learned about Borax and found it to be a wonderful eco friendly cleaning supply. I’ve learned about making reusable swiffer covers and mops. I have had the privilege of seeing lots of other people’s creations using plastic bags and other recycled materials. So if you love doing eco-friendly everythings come check out the link above for a fantastic craftalong!
Here is my pattern below for this rug. I want to forewarn everyone that I had issues getting my rug to lie flat. I applied heat from a blow dryer which helped a bit but it still isn’t completely flat. You may want to add more stitches or adjust the pattern to make it work better for you. After tackling and frogging this round rug for weeks, I think I’ll stick with bag projects for awhile now.
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Free Round Recycled Plastic Bag Rug Pattern
Size: 18″ round rug
Hook: N (9 mm) metal crochet hook
Materials:
Large ball of white plastic bags cut and tied into yarn (plarn)
Small ball of blue plarn used for center motif
With center color (white shown) Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.
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