Need another idea for a handmade Christmas gift? Well how about crocheting a grocery tote bag from recycled plastic bags. Gifts that are handmade are very popular this holiday season. What better idea is a handmade, reusable, and eco-friendly gift all in one! You can add a holiday trim to your bag as shown.
Or just plain as shown here. Either way it’s a wonderful gift that can be used over and over.
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Free Pattern for Crocheted Grocery Tote Bag
Materials needed:
One very large ball of plastic bag yarn aka Plarn
Approx. 60-70 plastic grocery bags
Hook: N (9 mm) size metal crochet hook
Description: Grocery Tote Bag
Bag measures 13 inches wide and 13 inches long with 9 inch handles
Directions:
Ch 28
Need a quick little Christmas gift bag? Check out this cute crocheted gift bag made from recycled plastic grocery bags.
I added a bit of fun fur on the drawstring and a candy cane to complete this unique bag. You can be creative and add trim around the top edge or just tie a bow as shown below.
This gift bag measures 6 inches wide by 8 inches long with a drawstring closure. Fill your gift bag with candy or maybe even a handcrafted item. Either way it’s a wonderful eco-friendly gift idea that can be reused after Christmas as a little ditty bag or even as a small handbag.
Free Crocheted Recycled Gift Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
One ball of plastic bag yarn aka plarn cut into 1 inch strips
Small amount of fun fur for drawstring (approx. 40 inches long)
Hook:
N (9 mm) size crochet hook for bag and smaller hook for drawstring
Description: Gift Bag
Bag measures 6 inches wide and 8 inches long
Directions:
Ch 3, join with a Sl St to form a ring.
My blog buddy Nannybird has a fantastic recycled craft contest going on at her blog site. Quoting Nannybird from her site “She wants you to enter the Recycled Craft Contest! It doesn’t have to be a big craft, it doesn’t have to be a newly made one either, it can be something you made out of scraps of new materials too, so come on folks lets get creative and share what we made using ‘found’ material!!
Check out the link above for all the details and the prizes. So hurry and get those recycled projects entered.
Send your entries to her email address:
nannybirdcrafts (at) yahoo (dot) com. Type in the subject line Contest Entry.
I’ve been on a bit of a kick recycling denim jeans lately. I’ve made several tote bags from old jeans which are posted here under the Denim Crafts category. I’ve been wanting to make a potholder and still want to make a oven mitt too. But first things first, right? Here is my recycled denim potholder complete with a jeans pocket!
Here is my denim potholder in use.
Old recycled denim makes great potholders. All you need is an old pair of jeans, some cotton for padding and I added a piece of insul-bright. Insul-bright is an inexpensive reflective material that is designed for providing padding for potholders, oven mitts etc. Use only 100% cotton towels and cotton crafting batting. Do not use polyester batting or towels as the heat passes right through that material. I paid less than a dollar for a small piece of insul-bright so I figure this is a bargain to provide a good insulation for my potholder. Plus I have leftovers for my future oven mitt project.
Below you will find my step-by-step picture tutorial on how to make this recycled denim potholder.
Crochet yourself a plastic bag “plarn” recycled tote bag! This bag is crocheted using recycled plastic grocery bags and one roll of fun fur I purchased from the dollar store. Total cost of the project is $1.00. You can’t beat this project as it’s frugal and eco-friendly. As more and more people are going green, crafting with recycled materials is growing in popularity. With the holiday season growing near, consider green crafting as a wonderful alternative this year.
As always, below you will find the free pattern for your personal use.
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Free Pattern for Crocheted Plarn Fun Fur Tote Bag
Materials needed:
One large ball of plastic bag yarn aka Plarn (approx. 50-60 bags)
One 50 gm ball of Fun Fur (Pastels shown)
Hook: N size U. S. metal hook
Description: Tote Bag
Bag measures 12 inches wide and 12 inches long with 10 inch handles
Directions:
Ch 27 with just white plarn alone.
Here is my completed recycled denim tote bag with tutorial. I recycled an old pair of my son’s jeans to create this tote bag pattern. I used just one pant leg for the body of the bag and the other pant leg to make the straps. I lined the bag with some thrift store material that I bought for only a dollar. I want to remind readers here that I have stated in the past that I am not a seamstress so if my tutorial isn’t quite right, please be gentle. First and far most I am a recycler who tries to crochet and sew green, eco-friendly products. So with that being said, here’s my step-by-step instructions on how you too can sew a recycled denim tote bag.
First get a pant leg as shown.
All pictures are clickable complete tutorial click on the read more link here […]
As promised, here is the walker – wheelchair tote bag crochet pattern using regular acrylic yarn. I crocheted several of these handy totes lately for a special needs project for our local VA hospital. I made these with red, white, and blue scrap and recycled acrylic yarn to have a patriotic look for the Veterans.
I also crafted some recycled walker – wheelchair tote bags using plastic bag yarn or plarn and that free pattern is found at this link. I have two versions of the bag, one with star buttons above and another with Velcro on the straps. You can pick and choose the style you like as I have posted the patterns for both bags below.
Here is the same tote made with overlapping straps with Velcro.
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Free Walker – Wheelchair Yarn Tote Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
2.3 ozs (approx.) each of red, white and blue acrylic yarn.
2) 3″ Velcro strips and/or
2) 1-1/8″buttons depending on bag version.
Hook:
H (5 mm) U.S. size hook
Gauge using acrylic worst yarn:
8 rows = 3″
7 Hdc = 2″
Description: Tote Bag
Bag measures 12″ wide and 9″ long
Directions:
Using red yarn , Ch 41.
If you’re into recycling and crafts, try out this crocheted handbag using bread bags. I saved about 30 or more bags to make this multi-colored handbag. It’s really durable and will definitely be a conversation piece when you use it. Crocheting with bread bags is a bit tougher on the hands and joints but makes are very unique bag. Because the plastic is heavier you need to cut the strips a bit narrower and remember to not over-pull on your work.
The finished product which I posted pictures of both sides is so colorful. My camera pictures don’t really capture the pretty multi-colors but I hope you’ll be inspired to give this crocheted project a try so you too can experience the beauty of recycled bags!
Click to view larger size
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Free Pattern for Crocheted Bread Bag Handbag
Materials needed: One very large ball of plastic bread bags cut into 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch strips
Hook: N (9 mm) size metal hook
Description: Tote Bag
Bag measures 9 inches wide and 11 inches long
Directions:
Ch 20
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