Today I want to share a recycled milk jug project that I saw over at Disney Family Fun. By cutting a milk jug you can create a reusable container that you can use for a lunch box or other purposes. All you need is a plastic one gallon milk jug, a sharp pair of scissors, a marker, a nail or thumb tack, a button and a bit of yarn.
Mark your milk jug as shown and use a sharp pair of scissors to cut away the top and handle portion of the jug.
My first attempt was done free hand and I found it difficult to get my shape even when I marked the jug for cutting. I made this little template below and used it as a guide for marking the jug on my 2nd attempt. Just hold it up to the milk jug to help you mark the shape for your cuts.
It’s very important that you cut up high to the top of the milk jug opening to get the curved flap area for your lunch box. I used a small sharp nail to push the holes through on the plastic to create the folds for the flaps. My milk jug had a natural line molded in the plastic that I used for the line for my holes. Once the holes are punched, you can fold over the flaps along the punched edges.
The original recycled craft project called for a Velcro closure but I wanted to create a simple closure using some spare buttons I had on hand along with a scrap of yarn.
This week I present a variation of my cluster stitch bag that I made recently. The main body of this bag is crocheted using recycled plastic bags that have been cut into plarn using the looping method. I have a picture tutorial here for making plarn from plastic bags should you need instructions. Just click on the green link.
I wanted to add a gift bag type closure to the original pattern to create a reusable gift bag. I used some Christmas cotton to top this plarn bag and created a looped handle to finish off my little gift bag. The looped handle works wonderfully for closing the bag. I plan on crocheting several of these bags to use for gift bags for Christmas. They work up quickly and with the looped handle, you have a ready-made gift bag that doesn’t even require a bow.
Special thanks to Helen over at CrochetN’Crafts who was my inspiration for this project. So grab a few of those plastic bags laying around and whip yourself up a beautiful recycled gift bag for Christmas!
Cluster Stitch Plarn Gift Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
Plastic bag yarn “Plarn” about 10 plastic grocery bags
1/2 oz Bernat Holidays Red Sparkle cotton yarn for trim and handle
Hooks:
J (6 mm) metal crochet hook for bag
H (5 mm) hook for top trim and handle
Description: Recycled Plastic Bag Cluster Stitch Gift Bag
Bag measures 6″ wide and 4-3/4″ tall with 12″ handle and 5-1/4″ wide at base
Cluster Stitch Details:
Beg Cluster: Ch 2, (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 4 times, 5 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 5 lps, Ch 1.
Cluster: (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 5 times, 6 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 6 lps, Ch 1.
Directions:
Using J hook with plarn, Ch 11
A few months ago you may remember that I made my first batch of homemade laundry soap. In my first attempt I felt my original soap recipe was a bit too runny and I wanted to try the process again
In this new batch of soap, I made a more concentrated soap by using less water. It’s still liquidy but not so watery which I like much better. I tweaked the original recipe and this is my newest recipe for a more concentrated homemade laundry soap.
Supplies:
Large metal cooking pot at least 4 quarts or bigger
2 gallon plastic bucket for final soap container
1/2 bar of Fels-Naptha laundry soap
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team borax powder
6-7 drops of essential oil (Optional)
Directions:
Grate 1/2 of the bar of Fels-Naptha soap and place in cooking pot. Add 6 cups water and heat gently over low to medium-low heat stirring occasionally until the soap melts. Turn heat to low, add the washing soda and the borax stirring until all ingredients are dissolved.
Pour 4 cups of very hot water into the plastic bucket. Now quickly add the cooked soap mixture to the plastic bucket mix and stir well. I added 6-7 drops of lemon essential oil to the mix at this point. This is an optional ingredient but the bit of oil gave my final soap just a hint of fragrance. Now add 1 gallon of hot water to the plastic bucket mix and stir well again. Let the soap mixture sit at least 24 hours to gel.
This recipe resulted in a much less watery soap mix and I use 1/3 cup of soap in my top-loading large washer. For best results I place the soap in the washer and use a little hot water to dissolve the soap before placing my clothes into the washer. As a reminder this soap can be used for stain treatments by either pre-soaking or spot treat the stain directly with a small amount of soap before washing.
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Many of my recycled bag projects involve taking traditional yarn patterns and converting them into items made from recycled materials. This little cluster stitch bag is just such a project. One of my on-line friends Helen created this adorable gift bag pattern using a medium weight yarn.
With Helen’s permission, I used her pattern for the basis of making this cute little bag project using recycled plastic bags. I then used some scrap yarn to make the top trim and handles to finish off this recycled bag project.
Here is a closeup photo of the handles that I crocheted onto the bag.
Click to supersize
This little plarn bag would make a great gift bag or purse. By adding a ribbon or bow to the bag, you create a re-usable gift bag that can be used over and over. The pattern works up very quickly and because of the pretty stitch pattern, I think it makes an adorable purse too.
Enjoy the free recycled crafting pattern below and happy crocheting to all!
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Cluster Stitch Plarn Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
Ball of plastic bag yarn “Plarn” about 10-12 plastic grocery bags
Here is my picture tutorial on how to make plarn from plastic bags
1/2 oz worst weight yarn for handles
Hooks:
J (6 mm) metal crochet hook for bag
H (5 mm) hook for handles
Description: Recycled Plastic Bag Cluster Stitch Gift Bag or Purse
Bag measures 6″ wide and 5″ tall with 7″ handles and 5-1/4″ wide at base
Cluster Stitch Details:
Beg Cluster: Ch 2, (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 4 times, 5 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 5 lps, Ch 1.
Cluster: (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 5 times, 6 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 6 lps, Ch 1.
Directions:
Using J hook, Ch 11
Rnd 1
Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in ea chain st down to end. Work 3 Sc in end st, then continue around other side of chain by working a Sc in ea st to other end then work 2 Sc in end st. Join with a Sl St into beg Sc st. (24)
As many of you know, I’m really into creating basic patterns that are easy to make. With that in mind, I set out to create some crocheted fingerless gloves. I love to work in the round, without joining or seams if possible. So here is my basic and very simple crocheted fingerless glove project.
After making this basic crocheted pair of fingerless gloves, I decided that I would try adding a bit of a thumb to it. Below is the pair of gloves that I crocheted with the optional thumb.
The second pair of gloves were crocheted just a bit smaller by only doing 40 rows of ribbing and 40 stitches along the edge for the body of the glove. This resulted in a 1/4 inch smaller cuff and finger opening area. I mention this as a way to show that this pattern can be adjusted for smaller hands by just reducing the number of stitches on the ribbing. Likewise, you could make larger gloves by just increasing the number of stitches of the ribbing when you begin the pattern.
Each pair of gloves use just one skein of yarn and do work up very quickly. As always, I hope you enjoy my free pattern and happy crocheting to all!
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Basic Fingerless Glove Crochet Pattern
Yarn:
Red Heart Heart & Sole Yarn, Super Fine, Toasted Almond, 1.76 oz (50 g)
Hooks:
F (3.75 mm) size crochet hook
G (4-4.25 mm) size crochet hook
Description:
Women’s Medium sized fingerless gloves
Measurements: 8-3/4 inches long, 3-1/2 inches wide at cuff & 4 inches across at palm.
Directions
Make 2 gloves as follows:
Using F hook for ribbing, leave a long tail and ch 15.
Row 1
Sc in 3rd ch from hook and in ea st down to the end. (13 Sc)
Using these orange plastic bags to create a trick or treat bag was a great way to recycle my newspaper bags. Here is my picture tutorial for cutting the newspaper bags to create plarn so you can crochet with the material.
For this project, I wanted to create large comfortable handles that could be put over a child’s arms for easy carrying of this basket type bag. I recycled a microwave dinner tray and cut the top rim off. I then hole punched around the base evenly so I could crochet into the plastic tray for the base of this bag. The dinner tray provides a flat and sturdy bottom to the bag which allows the bag to stand up nicely on its own.
Enjoy crocheting this recycled bag project and happy Halloween everyone!
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Free Crocheted Pattern for a Recycled Plastic Trick or Treat Bag
Materials needed:
Orange plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips for plarn (approx 25 newspaper sacks used)
1) Plastic frozen dinner dinner tray with the rim cut off
(One used in project was 6-3/4 inches long & 3-1/2″ wide)
Hooks:
G (4-4.25 mm) sized metal hook for base row only
J (6 mm) sized metal hook
Description: Recycled Plastic Halloween Trick or Treat Bag
Bag measures 7 inches long, 5 inches wide and 6 inches tall with 8-1/2″ handles
Directions:
Using the tray after cutting off the rim, punch holes around the base as shown in the photo.
I used a heavy duty hole punch to put the holes around the base.
October 11, 2011 Comments Off on Three Years Later
October is breast cancer awareness month. It just so happens that it has been three years since my diagnoses of breast cancer. And it’s been exactly three years ago that in October of 2008 I finished up my cancer treatments. I haven’t written about what I called My Pink Journey in quite a while so this milestone seems like a good time for an update.
I am thrilled to report that I am cancer free. I just completed recent scans and everything is clear. Many people refer to this as NED (no evidence of disease) and we cancer survivors all love to say that we are dancing with NED. We all hope to continue to be dancing with him forever if possible.
I’ve heard it said that time heals us and while most of my physical issues from cancer have healed, it’s what remains that sometimes fills my thoughts and lingers in the back of my mind as I move forward with my life again after cancer. I’m sure its the same for other people that face this beast, you just hope and pray it never returns.
So as a reminder don’t forget to be diligent against this formidable foe. Self-exams are so important as no one knows a woman’s body better than herself. After all I found my own tumor and even my doctor didn’t think it seemed like anything until after a biopsy confirmed my cancer.
As I reflect back over the last three years, I think the most important thing I want to say is that cancer didn’t beat me. You do learn not to think about it every waking moment. You can get your life back. You are able to return to a new normal in your daily routines. And with the help of my faith, family and friends I am a stronger, better person today for having faced cancer.
This doll bunting pattern was adapted and printed with permission from Sue Thomson who designed a baby bunting for a newborn. Her free crochet pattern can be found here. After re-working the pattern several times, I finally got the right fit for a baby doll that is about 13 inches tall.
I crocheted the doll bunting and added a stocking cap to finish off the outfit. The hat is more of a sleeping cap for this outfit but the crochet pattern can be used for any doll that has a 10-1/2″ head circumference.
Enjoy the free doll bunting pattern below and happy crafting to all!
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Baby Doll Bunting Pattern
Fits a 12-13″ Baby Doll
Bunting measures: 5″ wide between armholes, 6″ sleeve openings,
10″ around at neck and 14″ long
Hook: Metal G (4-4.25 mm) crochet hook
Materials:
2.75 oz – worst weight yarn (Purple Puff used)
Small amount of white yarn for trim
One – 1/4 inch button for back closure
Directions:
Ch 34
Row 1
Dc in 3rd ch from hook. Dc in next 5 sts, (Dc, ch 1, Dc) in next st; Dc in next 6 st, (Dc, ch 1, Dc) in next st; Dc in next 6 st, (Dc, ch 1, Dc) in next st; Dc in next 6 sts, (Dc, ch 1, Dc) in next st and Dc in last 5 sts. Ch 2, turn.
It is with great pleasure that I present to you my new and improved pattern page here at My Recycled Bags. With the help of my son, we have updated the old page with a thumbnail photo of each project and tutorial for easier access. The page is laid out by categories and materials now so you can quickly navigate the list of projects that you may be in search of.
It was fun and interesting as I went back over the nearly 5 years of patterns and posts that I have created here at my blog. I had forgotten about some of the older less used patterns as well as re-visiting the early creations I made with recycled materials.
So without further ado here is My Pattern Links page. I hope you enjoy using it and find it easier to locate my many different patterns that I provide free here at My Recycled Bags.
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