In honor of Valentine’s Day, I have crafted some recycled denim heart purses.
Here are two of my creations.
I want to provide a tutorial on how to make these easy and cute little purses. I have included the following picture tutorial for your use so you too can take those old jeans and turn them into some wonderful re-purposed purses.
This week I thought a Purse Parade might be nice. Maybe you’re looking for a purse pattern to crochet so I thought I’d review a few of the many recycled purse patterns I have available free here at this site. All the purses below are crocheted using recycled plastic bags.
Crochet this unique granny square motif bag.
Click on any of these photos to view in larger size
Maybe you’d like a cute wristlet purse using this pattern link.
You can always change a pattern a bit and add a shoulder strap as shown below to create a mini shoulder bag.
If you’d like a larger shoulder bag, check out this pattern.
Here is a fun fur bag that makes a roomy purse.
How about a sling bag with ribbon trim found here.
Maybe you’re new to crocheting with plastic bag yarn or plarn as it’s being called now. Here is the link to the full picture tutorial on how you can make your own plarn.
I hope you enjoyed this little recycled Purse Parade. Happy green crafting to all!
Rag bags are a fun and fugal crafting idea. You use old material to create strips and then you crochet them into a cool rag bag tote such as the one shown here. I used an old queen-sized bed sheet and some other recycled curtain panels to create this handy tote bag.
Here is a close-up photo of the strips I cut. As you can see the solid-colored sheet material was just cut into strips about 1 inch wide. I tried to do the longest strips I could by going around and around the sheet so I did not have too many splices. It’s like peeling an orange in one long continuous strip. The printed material I cut wider and folded it over so the right sides were facing out as shown. I pressed it with a hot iron to keep the strips flat so the printed side was out as I crocheted it.
Click to view full-sized photos
This sturdy and reusable tote can be used as a purse, tote bag, or even as a market bag. It’s very strong with comfortable handles and a fashionable design. So got an old sheet — well get green and craft yourself this eco-friendly rag bag!
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Free Crocheted Recycled Rag Bag Tote Pattern
Bag measures 14 inches wide, 12 inches tall, and 9″ handles
Material:
One Queen sized sheet cut into 1 inch strips
and other fabric cut into strips for stripes on bag
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
Chain 22 with main sheet strips
Here’s my little cosmetic bag I crocheted from old recycled bread bags. I’ve had this on my to-do list for quite a while and finally got it done.
Here is a picture taken with the flap open.
Here is the bottom of the bag.
This very durable cosmetic bag can hold several things and easily fit into your purse or overnight bag. Below you will find the free pattern for this bread bag project. If you don’t want to use bread bags, just substitute plastic bags for your cosmetic bag.
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Pattern for Crocheted Cosmetic Bag
Materials needed:
One ball of plastic bread bags cut into 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch strips
Approx. 15-18 bags
One small button
Hook: N (9 mm) size metal crochet hook
Description: Cosmetic Bag
Bag measures 6 inches wide and 4 inches long with 2-1/2 incches bottom
Directions:
Ch 11
Well as a new year is just about upon us, I reflect on the past year. I remember about this time last year, I was contemplating the launching of this site. I wasn't sure people would want to read about recycled crafts and come to get patterns here for projects. I wanted to make everything free and that way I hoped that people would want to come and learn about recycled crafting here. To date, I have had about 180,000 visitors and 575,000 page views at this site. I have meet some fantastic people and learned many wonderful things from other crafters and bloggers. So thank you and Happy New Year Everyone!
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
Today is a very special day in which Bloggers everyone unite in acts of kindness.
BlogCatalog challenged it’s members and bloggers everywhere to do something good offline ‘an act of kindness’ and then post about it, using words, pictures, and/or videos to tell the story on December 17.
I had the privilege to crochet some recycled wheelchair and walker totes for my local VA hospital recently. It was an honor to create my own pattern for a recycled plastic tote bag that could be used on a wheelchair or walker.
Click on pictures to view full-sized
Then I was compelled to create a patriotic pattern which I did using scraps of red, white and blue yarn.
Several of these totes bags were crocheted and given to our well deserving Veteran’s at the VA hospital. I also share the patterns here freely to anyone who would like to pass along an act of kindness to a family member, friend, or someone who may need one of these handy bags. It’s a wonderful feeling to do something nice for someone! So go and do it!
Craft a recycled denim Christmas stocking this holiday. I used a pant leg of some old jeans and a printed stocking panel to make this unique Christmas stocking. I then topped it off with a crocheted top edge and a jingle bell.
Here is the back of the stocking. I left mine plain but you could add embellishments. Another option is to just make your entire stocking like this one and not use a printed panel as I did on the stocking above. Either way your recycled denim Christmas stocking is sure to be one-of-a-kind!
Below is a mini tutorial showing the steps to make your denim Christmas stocking.
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