Come Learn and Share Information about Recycling, Crocheting & Recycled Crafting


Patterns: Other projects

Everything that does not fit the other groups: baskets, bottle holders, flowers, draft dodgers, ditty bags and other handy things made from recycled materials.

Recycled Plastic Bag Baskets

June 28, 2013 8 comments
Recycled Plastic Bag Baskets

Here are two plastic baskets I crocheted from recycled plastic packages and plastic retail bags. The red basket has several rounds from a large red hashbrown plastic package that I cut into plastic bag yarn or plarn. The blue basket has two large recycled toilet paper packages cut into plarn too.

All of the plastic package materials were cut into plarn using a single strand. I used the single strand cutting method as the plastic was so thick and it was easier to cut it about 3/4 inch wide in a single strand to crochet with it. For the plastic retail bags, I made plastic bag yarn using my plarn making tutorial which is done using the looping method.

I wrote up the pattern details and have listed it on my free pattern page. In case you aren’t familiar, I offer all my patterns and tutorials free of charge. You can find everything from recycled bag patterns, repurposed denim projects, to crocheted regular yarn items. I have a large library of free patterns available so check out the link above to see all my patterns.



Free Crocheted Plarn Basket Pattern

Materials needed:
Plastic bags cut into strips 1 inch wide (Approx. 15 bags)
and recycled plastic packaging from hashbrowns and toilet paper packaging cut about 3/4″
wide using the single strand method

All pattern details are written in US crochet terms.

Hook: K (6.5 mm) size crochet hook

Description: Crocheted Recycled Plastic Bag Basket –
Basket measures 6-1/2 inches tall, 6-1/2 inches base and with 3-1/2 inch wide handle openings

Directions:
Rnd 1
Starting with a magic circle, work 8 Sc into circle. Join with Sl St to first Sc.

Recycled Plastic Laptop Computer Sleeve

January 20, 2019 No comments yet
Plarn Laptop Computer Sleeve

Need a carrying case or sleeve for your laptop? Do you have a whole bunch of plastic bags that you’d like to recycle? Well you are in luck as here is a recycled plastic bag yarn (plarn) project for crocheting a laptop computer sleeve. This pattern uses up about 63 plastic retail sacks and creates a nice and sturdy carrying case for a laptop. The laptop shown is 15 inches wide by 10.5 inches and 1.5 inches deep.

As you can see the laptop fits in nicely and the holds the weigh just fine for carrying.

Should you have a larger or smaller laptop or tablet, just adjust the pattern by chaining additional stitches to start (or less) and crochet extra rounds to get the desired length you need. As always the free crochet pattern is found below.

Laptop Computer Sleeve Pattern

Materials needed:
Approx. 63 plastic grocery bags cut 1 inch wide

Here is my picture tutorial on how to make plarn from recycled plastic bags.

Hook: “K” (6.5 mm) crochet hook
Description: Recycled laptop computer sleeve
Sleeve case measures 16” wide and 12” long with 5” handles

Directions:
Using K hook, Ch 40.

Recycled Plastic Water Bottle Holder

July 28, 2007 30 comments
WaterBottle

I just recently completed this water bottle carrier or holder. It’s another item off my to-do list. This carrier holds a 1 liter bottle of water. I crocheted a wider and longer strap so this may be worn as a sling bag over your shoulder and across your body. The strap is 40 inches long so you have a nice comfortable length to carry this bottle. I found this worked well as this 1 liter bottle is a bit heavy when full. Also because the bag is crocheted using recycled plastic bags, you don’t have to worry about it getting wet from the condensation from the cold bottle. Don’t know how to make plastic bag yarn? — here is the tutorial link.

Here is the free pattern that I share with all my readers. Take care and blessings to all.

Free Water Bottle Holder Pattern

Material: Plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips – 1 Ball of plarn

Hook:
Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook

Water Bottle Holder Size:
Bag – 5-1/2 inches wide, 7-3/4 inches long, with 4-1/2 inches round bottom
Strap – 40 inches long & 2 inches wide

With plastic bag yarn, Ch 4, Sl St to join in first st of chain to form ring.

T-Yarn Magnifying Glass Case

January 7, 2011 2 comments
T-Yarn Magnifying Glass Case

I recently bought this magnifying glass and it did not come with a case. Well unless you have a case, you can’t toss it in a drawer without it getting scratched. So I set out to crochet myself a little cozy to protect the glass. I wanted something stiff and protective so I used a ball of t-yarn that I had leftover from a tank top that I cut up.

I cut my t-yarn or tarn only about 3/8 inch wide and then gently stretched it. Here is my t-yarn tutorial for the details on how I prepare my t-shirts into a yarn material. I only needed a small ball of t-yarn for this project and believe it only required about half the front of the tank top to make this magnifying glass case.

Click to Super-Size Photos

Here is another photo showing the glass as you pull it out of the case. Because the t-shirt yarn is stiff, the glass doesn’t need a closure and stays put inside nicely as I crocheted my cozy with a snug fit. My magnifying glass is 3 inches wide and the pattern below is for a cozy for this size glass. Adjust your stitches for a smaller or larger glass as you work your increases at the beginning. I kept constantly checking my fit after the first several rounds. I worked this project in the round and just made sure the glass fit inside the cozy as I crocheted further. Once you reach the correct width of the glass, you work single crochet stitches evenly to finish. Hope this makes sense and email me if you have any questions as you work the crochet pattern.

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Free T-Yarn Magnifying Glass Case Cozy Pattern

Materials needed:
Small amount piece of a t-shirt cut into 3/8-1/2″ inch wide strips and gently pulled to curl your t-yarn or tarn

Hook: H (5 mm) U.S. size metal crochet hook

Finished Case Cozy: 3-1/2″ wide x 3-3/4″ long
Fits a 3″ wide Magnifying glass

Using T-yarn, Ch 4.

Tarn Ice Brick Cozy

August 24, 2012 3 comments
Tarn i-Phone holder


This ice cozy was crocheted from a T-shirt cut into strips to create T-yarn or tarn. I often use an icy brick in my lunch bag and wanted a little cozy for it. The ice block gets wet and has condensation after a while in my lunch bag. Now with the tarn ice cozy, it works wonderfully to keep my lunch bag dry and to capture the condensation from the ice brick.

I cut my T-shirt strips very narrow to make this cozy. Here is my T-yarn tutorial showing how I cut and stretch my strips to create what I like to call curled T-yarn. The only change you want to make for this project is to cut your strips only about 1/4 inch wide. I know this is narrow but if you cut slowing and carefully it works out so you have a nice thin strand to crochet with.

I used the following soap saver pattern to crochet my ice brick cozy. This tarn project and free crochet pattern was a Tarn Along over Recycled into Yarn site. The final measurements are 6 inches long by 3-1/2 inches wide. I did make mine a bit bigger at the beginning and crocheted 3 DC’s in the corners so the icy block would fit and its plenty big. I have 28 stitches in the bag around with 8 crowns at the top.

The tarn cozy was made with less than one T-shirt and could be used for an ice cozy as I have done, a soap saver, or even an i-Phone holder as shown here that Teresa did in the original Tarn Along.



Upcycle Plastic Bags into a Water Bottle Holder

April 24, 2009 2 comments
water bottle holder

Upcycle your old plastic bags into a water bottle holder. It’s easy to crochet this handy little water bottle holder from recycled plastic bags and of course it’s an excellent eco-friendly green craft idea. First you make your plarn or plastic bag yarn as shown here.

The base of this holder is the same as my can cozy project that I crocheted recently. I just added another row on the cozy and then crocheted the strap to finish off the water bottle holder. This holder is designed with a 3″ round bottom and holds either a small water bottle or reusable beverage container.

Just click on the green more button to view the free crochet pattern for this green crafting project.



About Me

Hello, I’m Cindy or aka RecycleCindy. Welcome to my blog site that is dedicated to recycling and crafting. I love to crochet and create crafts and other useful things from recycled materials. I share many free tutorials and patterns for creating recycled projects as well as other handmade items.


Here is a direct link to all my free patterns available here on My Recycled Bags.


Thank you for stopping by to visit and for your interest in My Recycled Bags!