Plarn Cell Phone Holder

Crochet yourself this cute and handy little cell phone holder from recycled materials. This holder can hold any type of phone, from iPhones to any of the latest 4g phones in most shapes and sizes. This cell phone holder was made from recycled disposal plastic diaper bags cut and assembled into plarn (plastic bag yarn.) This is another readers creation from Diane who asked me to share the free pattern here.

Free Plarn Cell Phone Holder Pattern
J (6 mm) crochet hook
14 diaper disposal bags (when making Plarn, use 2 loops together)

Note: The disposal diaper bags are small and thin, but are cut the same way as regular plastic bags and 2 loops are used together for each “strand”, so it was doubled up.
2 snaps, or Velcro or buttons

Ch 8. Hdc in 2nd ch from hook and in each to end, 2 hdc in end ch, continue around other side to end. Do not join, but work in rounds. Hdc in each hdc for approximately 8 rounds, ending at side, sl st in next 3 sts. (strap that holds phone inside) Ch 1, sc in same st and in next 2 sts, ch 1, turn. Continue working on 3 sc for 10 rows. FO and weave in ends.

Belt Loop Strap: Attach plarn with sl st to st next to middle on rnd 2 on back of holder (same side as other strap), ch 1, sc in same st and next 2 sts, ch 1 turn. Continue working on 3 sts for 5 rows. FO weave in ends.

Attach snaps or Velcro or buttons on end of strap and in coordinating spot on holder.

Diane used these small plastic diaper bags for her project so it took quite a few to complete the project. I believe if you use a retail plastic bag that you could crochet this project with around 7 bags. Thanks to Diane for sharing this recycled bag project with everyone![…]

Plarn Laundry Basket

I’m happy to present my crocheted laundry basket. This laundry basket project is made from recycled plastic bags or plarn. In case you are new to the idea of crafting with plastic bags, here is my picture tutorial showing how to make the plastic yarn from the plastic retail bags.

This laundry basket project has been a huge undertaking. It is the largest recycled plastic bag project that I have ever crocheted. It has well over 150 bags in the finished product. When I set out to crochet a laundry basket, I wanted a large enough bag that I could use for a clothes hamper as well as a carrying bag for transporting the laundry to and from a laundromat.

The basket has a round base and while it looks funneled-shaped at the top, its really round in it’s overall shape. The photo above has 6 large beach towels in the bag and as you can see it still has room for more. You can also roll down the top and handles when using it for a hamper so it stands up if the basket isn’t full.

Plarn Laundry Basket Pattern

Materials needed:
Approx. 150+ white plastic grocery bags for main bag and
20 grey plastic bags for stripe and trim

Hook: N (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook
Description: Plarn Laundry Basket Bag
Bag measured flat: 22″ wide and 28″ long with 14″ strap and
22″ tall standing with 17″ wide bottom

Directions:
Rnd 1
Using a magic circle, Sc 6 times into circle with white plarn. Don’t join but work in rounds unless advised otherwise. Use a stitch marker to mark rounds.

Plarn Sunflower Tote Bag

Here is my recycled plastic bag tote that features a crocheted sunflower. The tote bag is crocheted using recycled plastic bags or plarn and then the sunflower embellishment is added. I created the sunflower crochet pattern using both plastic bags and regular cotton yarn so it could be done in either type of material. Here is the recycled plastic tote bag pattern and below you will find the free pattern for the sunflower.

Plarn Tape Measure Covers

Tape measure covers or TMC are a new and fun project that Delights has been working on over at Ravelry. She has crocheted some adorable covers that with her permission I will share a few photos of her work below. You can follow the TMC Happening here over at Ravelry.

Delights and I teamed up and crocheted a few plarn TMC projects together. I made a few shells from recycled plastic bags and sent them to her to add her beautiful flowers and other decorations that she is so skilled at doing.

Here is Delight’s TMC picture tutorial. For the plarn TMC shell, I used a H hook and did only 10 HDC stitches for round 1.

Plarn Wine Bottle Holder

Introducing a recycled plastic crocheted wine bottle holder. I have wanted to create a wine bottle cozy using plastic bags for a long time now. It’s one of those things that I keep wanting to crochet and write up the free pattern to share for years. Well, I finally got the project done.

The crocheted wine holder holds a 750 ml bottle of wine easily and even a 1.5 L can be slipped into the plarn cozy.

Along with the free crochet pattern, here is my plarn wine bottle holder.

Plarn Wine Bottle Holder Pattern

Wine Bottle Holder Size: 10″ tall with 3-1/2 across bottom

Hook:
Metal “K” (6.5 mm) US size crochet hook

Materials: 14 plastic bags cut into 1 inch wide plarn
Piece of ribbon or strand of plarn for top closure

Directions:
With plarn, Ch 4, Sl St to join in first st of chain to form ring. Holder is worked in the round without turning unless directed to do so.

Plastic Bags Upcycled into a Clothespin Bag

White plastic bags are used by many retail and grocery stores these days. They are not the prettiest bags to use for crafting. People give me lots of white plastic bags to recycled. So I’ve been trying to be more creative and come up with clever ideas to turn these dull bags into cute and useful items. What do you think of my clothespin bag with a ribbon bow tie?

Here is a hobo bag I crocheted too. It’s amazing how much a little ribbon adds to the projects. Click on my hobo bag and see if you think it makes a cute summer purse.
Click to view full-sized photos

Here’s an example of adding some fun fur to spice up those white bags in this recycled tote bag pattern.

So take heart if you have lots of white plastic bags. You can upcycle them into some really cute crochet projects by just adding some ribbon, fun fur, or other embellishments. Here is the link to my free clothespin “peg” bag pattern if you’d like to crochet this project. Also you can browse through all my free patterns at this link.
Enjoy and happy green crafting to all!

Recycled Balloon Bag Holder

This week’s project is a bit different. It involves recycling plastic balloon bags and creating a pump holder. Let me explain the story behind this project. I was contacted by TristnShout Balloons to see if I was interested in recycling their empty balloon bags. Apparently they have an abundance of empty balloon bags and wondered if I’d be interested in crafting with them. They also expressed the need for a holder to hold their portable air pumps that they use to fill balloons.

After a discussion with them, it was agreed that I would design and craft a holder for their balloon air pump using the recycled plastic balloon bags. I made four of these balloon holders from the bags they sent to me.

I have shared the free crochet pattern below should anyone want to make this bag holder. The pattern would work for a water bottle holder as well as other uses. The holder was designed to have a strap added for carrying as shown. With the large eyelets on each side, it could also be used on a person’s belt by threading through one of the eyelets.

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Recycled Plastic Balloon Bag Holder Crochet Pattern

Bag measures 4 inches wide and 9-1/2″ long with 1-1/2 inch hole in bottom

Materials: One ball of plastic yarn made from balloon bags- Approx. 30 bags

Recycled Hook Case

Crochet yourself a hook case from recycled plastic bags!

This project is another installment on my to-do list that I have blogged about recently. If you are not familiar with my to-do list, it is a list of items that I plan to crochet using plastic bags. Once I complete each project, I post the free pattern here at My Recycled Bags for everyone’s use. This week I decided that I needed a crochet hook case and it was on my list to do so… Here is the completed project and free pattern. An inside look of the hook case which holds four crochet hooks.

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Recycled Hook Case Pattern
Hook case measures 5 inches wide and 10 inches long.

Material: One small ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
One small button if desired to embellish purse front.
One Velcro stick-on button.
Lining – 6 inch x 5 inch piece of muslin

Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook

Recycled Plastic & Denim Sit-Upon

This recycled bag project is a request from Moonshadow. She suggested I craft a waterproof sit-upon (SitUpon) like what the Girl Scouts use to sit on. I crocheted this from recycled plastic bags or plarn first. Then I added 4 layers of plastic that I fused onto the back side of the sit-upon to completely waterproof it. I added a handle to the sit-upon so you can carry it around easily too. And as an option I added a layer of recycled denim to soften up the sit-upon and give it a unique look.

Here is my plastic only sit-upon without the denim. This is my basic recycled plastic sit-upon that is crocheted using plastic bags made into plarn and with a fused plastic backing. This fused plastic backing makes the sit-upon waterproof.

Click to supersize photos

Here is the back side of the finished sit-upon and also another version of how you can decorate your finished denim side by adding a denim jean pocket.

I tried to keep this project simple so a young Girl Scout or anyone could make this sit-upon without a bunch of sewing required. You can just glue the hearts on or even hand decorate the denim. Handwriting your name on the denim may be another embellishment a Scout could add. Needless to say, you can decorate as much or as little as you like. I’ve included several different ideas and here is the free crochet pattern and tutorial on making a recycled sit-upon.

Free Sit-Upon Crochet Pattern

Materials needed:
One large ball of plastic bag yarn aka Plarn – approx. 35-40 plastic grocery bags
Four plastic bags cut into large pieces to cover back for fusing
Waxed paper for the fusing
Option for denim cover: One large piece of recycled denim from an old pair of jeans
appox. 15 inches x 15 inches

Hook: N (9 mm) metal crochet hook

Description: Plastic Sit-Upon with fused plastic backing
Sit-Upon measures 13 inches wide and 13 inches long with 5 inch handle
Option with recycled denim cover measures 14-1/2 inches x 14-1/2 inches

Directions:
Ch 32 […]