Patterns: Plastic Bags / Plarn
Patterns made from plarn, yarn cut from plastic grocery bags. Totes, purses, scrubbers, rugs, baskets and holiday decorations that keep bags out of the landfill.
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Crochet yourself this cute summer tote from plarn. What is plarn? Well if you haven’t heard the term yet, it refers to the yarn created from recycled plastic bags. I believe Sonnets and Stitches from Crochetville.org was the first to coin the term.
Here is my link to a picture tutorial on how to make plarn. So check it out and recycle all those plastic bags into something of beauty. It’s truly trash to treasure at this website!
Free Pattern for Crocheted Plarn Tote Bag
Materials needed: One very large ball of plastic bag yarn Plarn
Hook: N (9 mm) size metal hook
Description: Tote Bag
Bag measures 12″ wide and 12″ long with 4″ expandable bottom
Directions:
Ch 28
Recycled Plastic Bag Coasters
I had been asked recently if I had a recycled coaster pattern. At that time, I did not have a pattern nor had I ever crocheted any coasters using recycled plastic bags. I decided that there are many things that I need to crochet using recycled plastic bags. So I have complied a to-do list of items and will attempt to create each item out of recycled materials.
Once I successfully complete each item, I will share the pattern with everyone. Some of the items have been made by other people in the past but I will make and test my own patterns. That way I can post the free patterns all here. I want to build this website into a complete library of free patterns where crafters can come, learn, and try new ideas using recycled materials. My goal is to continue promoting eco-friendly products through recycling and crafting.
So here is this week’s first installment of new projects and patterns from my to-do list – recycled plastic bag coasters!
These are a quick item to crochet. I made this set of four in no time at all. Two were crocheted using all white (with red specks) plastic grocery bags and the other two using grey plastic bags to create a different look.
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Crocheted Recycled Plastic Coasters Pattern
Coasters measure 4 inches wide across.
Material: Plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips — Grey and white bags shown in pattern.
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
Plastic Bag Keeper
Here is a crocheted plastic bag keeper made from recycled plastic and bread bags. This is the second installment of my to-do list that I promised you all that I would work on. I had never crocheted a bag keeper so last week I tackled this project. I had to experiment a bit with the pattern to figure out how big it should be and also how I was going to create my bag holder. Many bag keepers or holders that I see have elastic holding the bags in. I wanted to keep this a completely recycled product so I tried a few different things before settling on using some pretty red bread bag strips to weave between my stitches. I then gently pulled on my bread bag strip to clinch it up and tied a bow in the front which created my bag holder. You can untie the bow should you need to put in or take out plastic bags without it being clinched up.
Anyway here is my completed recycled plastic bag keeper that you can crochet from plastic bags and bread bags. You could also use ribbon or strips of fabric rather than bread bags to make your bag holder. As always, here is the free pattern to crochet your own recycled bag keeper.
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Free Recycled Plastic Bag Keeper Pattern
Finished Bag Keeper measures 4 inches circular wide and 18 inches long.
Strap holder length is 10 inches.
Material: One large ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
This crocheted Eco tote features a granny square motif and recycled materials to create an unique look. I used yellow and grey plastic grocery bags, vcr vhs tape, and white plastic retail bags in this project. My goal in creating this Eco tote was to crochet a bag that would be strong enough to use as a book bag and could be used for an everyday carry tote. I also crocheted this bag as a Crochet-a-Long (CAL) at one of my favorite craft website forums Crochetville.
My Eco tote measurements are 12″ wide, 13″ long, 1-1/2″ deep at sides with strap that is 1-1/4″ wide and 28″ long. I have included some closeup pictures below to help you in this project. I must warn you that I did have problems keeping my tote bag square. I believe it’s because of the different materials that I used and because the plastic tends to stretch a bit during crocheting.
Closeup of edging on bag
Click to view full-sized
Closeup of handle attachment
Click to view full-sized
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Plastic Eco Tote Pattern
Size: Approx. 12″ square bag with strap that is 1-1/4 inches wide and 28 inches long.
Hook: N (9 mm) metal crochet hook used in this Motif pattern.
Materials: Plastic bag yarn and 2 partial reels of vcr vhs tape.
Crochet yourself this cute summer wristlet purse. Wristlet purses have gotten very popular lately and I wanted to get one crafted using recycled materials before summer was over. This purse was crocheted using recycled plastic grocery bags. It’s a quick little purse that is just right for a summer outing or as a great gift idea.
As always, here is the free recycled pattern. I hope you’re enjoying my recycled patterns and if you have a moment, please post a comment or drop me a note at my contact link above. I love to hear from other crafters. Enjoy!
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Free Recycled Plastic Wristlet Bag Pattern
Purse measures 6 inches wide and 5 inches long.
Strap length is 14 inches.
Material: One ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
One button – 1/2″ shown on bag.
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
Chain 16
Here are three different dishcloths with built-in plastic scrubbers I’ve crocheted recently. The centers are made using recycled plastic bags to create cotton dishcloths with scrubbing power. Quite a while back I made some scrubbers from plastic bags found here. Recently I thought about combining a pot scrubber with a dishcloth. These three products are my results. Just remember machine wash gentle and hang dry otherwise the centers will melt in your dryer. So check it out and make yourself a cute pot scrubber dishcloth today!
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Here is part I of the patterns for each dishcloth shown above. Part I has the blue green dishcloth and the round red one. Part II will be coming soon that will have the pattern for the pink motif square dishcloth.
Free Blue Green Round Dishcloth with Scrubber Pattern
Dishcloth measures: 10 inch round
Hook: Metal H (5 mm) US sized hook
Materials:
1- Sugar & Cream Cotton yarn ball Summer Splash (used about 3/4 of ball)
Small amount of Green and Blue plastic bag plarn for scrubber center
With center color (Green shown) Ch 5, Sl St to form ring.
Drafts from around doors and windows is never a good thing. But you can craft your own draft stopper or dodger from recycled materials to save on your heating bill and help keep your home warmer.
You can use scrap pieces of plastic bags or other stuffing material to fill the shell of the draft dodger. For this particular project, I crocheted my draft dodger from recycled plastic bags. It was a great opportunity to use the many different colored plastic bags that I have been saving. Each stripe only takes between 2-3 bags each. It’s hard to find colored bags in large qualities so this was the perfect project to utilize the pretty colors that I have been collecting but didn’t have enough of one color for a large project.
I crocheted my draft dodger and then stuffed it using the scrap pieces that you get when you make plastic bag yarn or plarn. When I make my plarn, I have the end pieces and the handle portion that I don’t use as I assemble the loops. So I took those leftover plastic bag pieces and used them for the stuffing of my draft dodger. You want to stuff the draft dodger before you close the ends. I put in a few pieces of plastic and then used a broom stick to push them into the shell of the draft dodger. You want to stuff it somewhat loosely so that your shell isn’t too stiff and so it doesn’t stretch out the shape of the tube. I stuffed from one end until it was nicely filled to the halfway point and then closed that end of the tube as shown in the pattern below. Then I repeated the stuffing for the other end.
That completes the project and below you will find the free crochet pattern details for the draft dodger. Adjust the length as needed for your door or window. But most importantly enjoy working this recycled craft project.
Draft Dodger Crochet Pattern
Materials needed:
Variety of plastic bags made into Plarn
Approx. 56 plastic grocery bags
Stuffing material for inside the draft dodger shell
Hook: J (6 mm) U.S. size metal hook
Description: Draft Dodger
Measurements: 3 inches wide x 38 inches long (or width needed for your door or window)
Directions:
With J hook, ch 18 and join to form a ring. Make sure your chain is not twisted and your stitches are facing out. This pattern is worked in the round and is done in single crochet stitch.
Sc in each stitch and don’t join at the end of each round but rather just continue working in the round for 5 rounds in each color. At the end of the 5th round. Finish off at the end of 5th round by cutting the plarn and working a slip stitch into the next two stitches to end the round smoothly.
Ch 1 at the beginning of each new color and slip stitch into the last […]
This week I present a dual handled plarn tote bag. A reader recently asked if I had a free pattern for not only a shoulder strap but also a bag with handles to grip with your hands. So I got busy and crocheted this tote bag for her. It’s like the best of both worlds — You can throw this jumbo tote bag over your shoulder or grasp it by the smaller handles.
This is another over-sized tote bag project that is similar to my jumbo plarn beach bag which features one long shoulder strap that has a pull through front closure. I think this tote bag would make an excellent farmer’s market bag as you have so much room inside and the two different ways to carry it around.
So whether you want one long strap or dual handles on your plarn tote bag, you can mix and match these two free crochet patterns that I am posting at my blog. Best wishes and happy crafting to all!
Free Jumbo Dual Handled Tote Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
One very large ball of plastic bag yarn Plarn
Approx. 80 white plastic grocery bags for main bag and
16 orange plastic bags for stripes
Hook: N (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook
Description: Dual Handled Plarn Tote Bag
Bag measures 16 inches wide and 20 inches long with 30 inch shoulder strap and 9 inch handles
Directions:
Ch 34
I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile on how to create a tote bag that fades from black to white using recycled plastic bags or plarn. Here is what I came up with. I used recycled black plastic bags to start and then grey bags to the dirty-white colored bags and ended with white plastic bags.
I used the ultimate plarn tote bag pattern to crochet the bag with just some minor changes. On round 3 at the curve of the ends, I crocheted 2 Half Double Crochets (Hdc) in the first stitch at the curve. Then I worked just 1 Hdc in next stitch and 2 Hdc in the stitch at the other part of the curve. Repeat for the other side’s end.
For round 4 curve, you want to identify the 4 stitches on the curve of each end. Crochet 2 Hdc in the first stitch, then 1 Hdc in each of the next 2 stitches and 2 Hdc in the next stitch. Repeat for the other end. This should give you a nice rounded corner on each side of your bag.
Now follow the original pattern directions, changing colors as follows:
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