Recycled Denim Potholder

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.

Recycled Lettuce Netting Diagonal Scrubbies

Here is a new twist on recycling those plastic produce nets that lettuce comes in at your grocery store. I crocheted using cotton yarn along with the netting to create these handy diagonal scrubbies.

You probably have seen the double thick diagonal potholders before. You basically single crochet in the back loops only in the round until the ends begin to curl around and then the sides close in to each other if you continue. Here is an excellent crochet pattern and picture tutorial that shows the method.

Ch 14 for a 3 inch scrubbie. I used a J (6 mm) crochet hook and 2 and a half lettuce nets. Ch 19 for a 4 inch scrubbie and about 4 lettuce nets. I used Sugar and Cream in psychedelic cotton yarn to crochet both scrubbies and still had enough left to make this small matching dishcloth using my open mesh magic dishcloth pattern.

You assemble the lettuce nets by cutting them about 1 inch wide across to make loops. Here is my picture tutorial on assembling the netting loops so you can crochet with it along with the cotton yarn. You just hold the lettuce netting strand along with the cotton yarn as shown here to crochet the scrubbies. I turned my work to the outside once the edges reached each other which creates the seed stitch look to the scrubbers. Weave closed the seam by using the tail of your cotton yarn to finish off the scrubbie.

The result is some great recycled scrubbers that can be used on non-stick pans as well as for cleaning your sink, bath or other cleaning needs.

Recycled Plastic Can Cozy

Here is a quick and easy little crochet project for all those green crafters who love recycling trash into treasures. It’s a handy can cozy that can be used for a soda or beer can. Keep your favorite beverage cold and save some plastic bags from the landfill all at the same time.

This project is completed by creating plastic bag yarn by cutting about 9 recycled plastic sacks into strips. If you are not familiar with the process, I have a picture tutorial found here that gives you all the details on creating plarn.

So grab those plastic bags and crochet yourself a recycled plastic can cozy today!

Free Crocheted Can Cozy Pattern

Materials needed:
Blue and white plastic bags cut into strips 1 inch wide and interlocked to create plarn to crochet with. (Approx. 7 blue bags and 2 white bags)

Hook:
J (6 mm) size metal crochet hook

Description:
Recycled Plastic Can Cozy – measures 3 inches wide and 4-1/2 inches tall

Directions:
Using blue plarn, Ch 4 and join with a Sl St to form a ring.

Recycled Plastic Diagonal Scrubbies

Have some produce nets that you wonder how you can recycle them? Want to reuse them in a handy and useful way? Well how about crocheting them in a useful scrubber pad.

Here are two scrubbies I crocheted using the plastic produce nets that lettuce and other veggies come in from your grocery store. Most of my produce nets are green but I have been given red, yellow, and orange colored ones from friends. The nice thing about using the recycled nets is that you don’t need but just a few to crochet a nice kitchen scrubbing pad. I crochet the nets along with cotton yarn to make a soft but firm textured surface.

You can use these scrubbers in the sink and bath tub without fear of scratching the surfaces. They also can be used on Teflon pans that have non-stick coatings as they are soft enough to not scratch the coated surfaces.

Depending on the size of scrubber pads you desire, at most you need 3 to 4 nets cut into strands for the larger scrubber shown. You join the strands together as shown in my produce net-cutting tutorial to create a recycled netting “yarn.” You then crochet the scrubbers using the netting yarn held together along with a strand of regular cotton yarn to make the scrubbies.

Okay got you hooked? Pun intend – so grab a crochet hook and check out the basic diagonal pattern below.

Recycled Scrubber & Dishcloth

Here is a little scrubbie I crocheted using recycled produce netting bags and cotton yarn. These large red nets were sent to me by reader of my blog who asked me if I’d like to use them in a recycled craft projects. I was thrilled to receive her package that contained about 10 of these large red nets. I cut them into 1 inch wide strips and looped them together just like I do with my plastic bag plarn The red netting is stiff and a bit hard to crochet but it makes a wonderful scrubber when you are done.

Here is a photo showing a net and a sample of the cut strips. You can click on any of my photos to supersize them.

The nets are circular and open on both ends so I just cut across the middle to make my strips. Here is the link to my picture tutorial I made showing how I cut green plastic lettuce netting into strips and assembled them.

To complete this little kitchen set, I crocheted my star dishcloth. The free pattern for this dishcloth can be found here.

My star dishcloth shown here was crocheted all in cotton yarn but I do have an option if you’d like to add a recycled plastic center for extra scrubbing power to the dishcloth.

Below you will find the free pattern for the scalloped pot scrubber.
Enjoy!



Scalloped Pot Scrubber Pattern

Scrubber measures: 4-1/4 inches Square
Hook: Metal J (6 mm) sized crochet hook

Materials:
3/4 oz – Bernat Holly Jolly Prints cotton yarn
1 – large red produce plastic netting bag (cut and looped together)

Holding cotton and netting together, Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.

Recycled T-Yarn Kitchen Set

Now that Christmas is over, I can share my t-yarn kitchen set that I made as a gift. It was crocheted using recycled tee-shirts cut into yarn or tarn as some call this recycled craft material. My set included a trivet, potholder, knob cover and a skillet handle.

If crafting with recycled tee-shirts is new to you, here is my tutorial on how to create what I call curled t-yarn or tarn. Below is the free pattern for the round t-yarn potholder. I previously posted the patterns for the trivet hotpad here and the skillet handle cover here.

The knob cover pattern is available now here. I wanted to keep this post to just the free pattern for the round potholder so people could find each pattern more easily on my patterns page. In case you didn’t know, my patterns page has all my patterns listed together so you can find them quickly by clicking here.

T-Yarn Round Potholder Pattern

Materials needed:
One tee-shirt (white) and another partial shirt of contrasting color (blue)
Cut into 1/4 inch wide strips and gently pull to curl your t-yarn

Hook: K (6.5 mm) size metal crochet hook
Finished Potholder approx: 7 inches wide

Make Two

Rnd 1
Using magic circle with white t-yarn, work 6 Sc in circle. Do not turn your work in this project.

Recycling Plastic Six Pack Rings

This project involves recycling those plastic six pack rings you get from cans into useful towel holders. The rings are cut apart and trimmed with scissors. You may not have noticed but once the rings aren’t around the cans anymore, they aren’t completely round. Using the shape as a towel holder worked out great. It has a natural bend in the ring which accommodates a folded towel over the ring.

Of course I wanted to keep this a recycled crocheted project, so I used t-yarn or tarn to make this towel holder. T-yarn is the yarn created from recycled t-shirts and cut very thin into strips to cover this plastic ring.

Once you crochet a few rounds, you can slide your towel handle around on the plastic ring. The last photo shows about where you want to place your center over the curve in the plastic so your holder is centered. I used a thin tea towel to insert in the ring as it fits better than thicker towels.

Here is the free crochet pattern below. Enjoy!

T-Yarn Towel Ring Holder

Materials needed:
2-3) ozs of white T-shirt cut into 1/4 inch wide strip and stretched to curl into t-yarn
Here is my t-yarn or tarn tutorial on how to make yarn from recycled t-shirts.
1) plastic ring cut from a plastic six-pack holder
1) 5/8 inch button
Small amount of fingering or thread yarn for trim

Hook:J (6 mm) size metal hook

Description: T-yarn Towel Ring Holder
Holder measures 4 inches wide and 7-1/4 inches long when buttoned

Directions:
Row 1
Attach your t-yarn with Sl St around trimmed plastic ring. Sc loosely around the ring and join with Sl St to beg Sc. (Approx 34-36 Sc)

Reusable Lunch Sack Bag

Here is a seamless reusable lunch sack bag. The lunch sack is crocheted from recycled plastic bags. This project is another installment of my to-do list which I am working on. The list is made up of items that I have never made before and I use recycled material to create each item. Once the item is completed, I share it here along with the free crochet pattern so everyone can have an opportunity to make the recycled project too.

This week, I completed my lunch sack which is a seamless bag. I have used this seamless method for quite a while now and wanted to share it here on my blog. You can use it on many different projects when you don’t want to have to sew or weave sides together on your project. It also leaves your item with a nice appearance as you do not have a joining stitch. I have step-by-step pictures of how the seamless bag method works below.

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At round 3 of bottom

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At round 5 as sides curl up

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At round 7 as bowl is created

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Finished bag with expandable bottom

Free Reusable Lunch Sack Bag Pattern

Materials needed: One large ball of plastic bags cut into strips and interlocked to create a ball of plarn

Strip of Velcro for flap closure (I used 4″ strip)

Hook: N (9 mm) size metal crochet hook

Description: Plastic Lunch Sack Bag
Bag measures 8 inches wide at top and 11 inches long with 3-1/2 inches oval expandable bottom and 19 inch long strap.

Directions:

Small Recycled Plastic Basket

I am back to share a new recycled plastic bag plarn project. In this project, I set out to create a small basket tray to use for holding items for an upcoming charity fundraiser. I wanted a tray type basket to hold the items and also one that could be reused for kitchen or bath items later.

This was a fun and quick plastic basket that I crocheted using less than 20 recycled plastic retail bags made into plarn using the looping method of cutting and assembling the bags. Below you will find the free crochet pattern and details. Enjoy the pattern and happy crocheting to all!

Crocheted Plarn Basket Tray Pattern
Materials:
Plastic bags cut into strips 1 inch wide to create plarn yarn. Here are the pieces I crocheted to put the plastic tray basket together. (Approx. 13 bags in white and 4 brown bags)

All pattern details are written in US crochet terms.

Hook: J (6 mm) size crochet hook
Description: Crocheted Recycled Plastic Bag Basket Tray
Basket measures 8-3/4 inches long, 4 inches tall, 3-3/4 inch wide ends and with 5-3/4 inch handles

Directions:
Row 1
Ch 30, Hdc in 3rd st from hook and in each st down to end. Ch 2, turn. (27)