Patterns: Purses
Purses, clutches, wristlets and handbags crocheted or sewn from recycled materials: plastic grocery bags, cassette and VCR tape, denim and yarn. Lining tutorials are included too.
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I have simply fell in love with felting bags. Here is my latest bag which is a blue handbag with variegated wool yarn for the flap trim and the strap. I crocheted this handbag using 100% wool and felted it an extra long time as I wanted my final product to be very tight. This easy pattern works up very quickly and makes for a fun felted project.
As always, below is the free bag pattern so you too can create this cute little handbag. Enjoy!
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Felted Handbag Pattern
Purse measurements:
Before felting – 10 inches wide and 8 inches long with 48 inch strap
After felting – 7-1/4 inches wide and 6 inches long with 19 inches strap
Materials:
5 ozs -100% blue wool yarn
2 ozs -100% variegated wool yarn for flap edging & strap
3/4″ button for front closure
Hook: Metal G (4 mm) US hook
Chain 40
Granny Square Motif Bag
Crocheted using recycled plastic bags this Granny Square Bag
is a quick and fun project!
Size: Approx. 8-9 inch square bag if using 3/4 to 1 inch strips of cut plastic bags into plarn.
Hook: N metal crochet hook used in this Motif pattern.
(Any large size hook can be used but Motif size will vary.)
With center color (White shown) Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.
A gingham pattern is very unique when you crochet it. I decided that I would try the idea using plastic bags made into plarn. I used recycled white, grey, and black plastic bags for the project.
This idea came from Delights-Gems gingham crochet tutorial for crafting a potholder. Click on the link to see Delight’s picture tutorial that is very helpful in working the gingham pattern. I made a few changes for the plastic bag version of gingham pieces which I will outline below in the pattern details.
Gingham Plastic Bag Plarn Purse Pattern
Materials:
White, grey, and black plastic bags cut into 1 inch wide plarn. Approx. 12-15 bags of each color needed.
Here is my plastic bag picture tutorial if you need more information on how to create yarn from recycled plastic bags.
Magnetic closure
Fabric for lining 12″ by 12″
Plastic purse handles
Nylon thread and needle
Hook:
J (6 mm) US size metal crochet hook
The three colors of plarn is needed to complete this purse. I found it worked easier to assemble short strands of the colors rather than using big balls of each color. The colors don’t get tangled up if you have just short lengths of “yarn” as you leave the dropped colors attached as you work the gingham pattern.
With white plarn, Ch 34, Hdc in the 3rd st from hook and in the next two sts. (3 Hdc’s in each set as shown in original tutorial.) *Ch 3, Skip 3 sts and then Hdc in next 3 sts*.
Recycled Plastic Granny Square Tote Bag
This week’s recycled bag is a medium sized tote bag crocheted using a granny square stitch. It is a 12 inch square motif that was made using white and blue plastic bags. A few months ago I had crocheted a small purse very similar to this pattern. I have had several requests for a larger bag that could be used as a tote or book bag so I created this larger version. As always here is the free pattern below.
Granny Square Motif Tote Pattern
Size: Approx. 12″ square bag with strap 3/4 inches wide and 20 inches long
Hook: N (9 mm) metal crochet hook used in this Motif pattern
Materials: Large ball of white plastic bag yarn (plarn)
and small amount of blue plastic bag plarn for center Motif
I wanted to line this crocheted plarn purse and share the tutorial on how I line purses and bags that are made from recycled plastic bags. First I want to say that I am not a seamstress. This lining project is very basic and is a no-frills way to line a crocheted plarn purse.
First you need two pieces of fabric just wide enough for the bag to fit over with a little extra up top for your finished edge. Using recycled fabric, scrap material or whatever you have on hand will work.
I had a small piece of leftover fabric so I used it for a pocket for the inside of my lined purse.
Several people have asked for a picture tutorial on how I lined my pink passion plarn purse. So here are a few pictures I took and I will walk you through a brief explanation on how to line a plarn purse.
I basically create a pocket to slip inside my plarn purses to line them. I simply cut a piece of fabric for the lining and with right sides together and sew it together. Here is the completed lining I made for the recycled Pink Passion Plarn Purse which includes two pockets and a magnetic closure.
First step is to lay out the completed purse on the fabric lining as shown. The bottom of the purse lining is placed on the fold line of the fabric.
Okay, I know everyone’s been felting wool bags for years. But this is my first attempt and here is the results.
I found two small balls of 100% brown wool at my local thrift store. Apparently someone didn’t finish their project or didn’t need these two leftover balls so I thought I’d buy them to crochet my first felted bag. But fearing I didn’t have enough and wanting to crochet a good-sized purse, I splurged and bought a small skein of 100% variegated wool to make some colorful stripes on my purse.
It is very important to use 100% wool for your felting projects. I almost made the mistake of using some other “wool” yarn I recycled from another project, but found out it was only 20% wool. If I had used that, it would not have felted properly or evenly.
My bag was crocheted and then felted twice in my washing machine. The first time I used the hottest water setting for 10 minutes and then a cold water rinse. I put my bag inside an old pillowcase and tied it shut with a knot. I also threw in an old pair of jeans for added agitation. It wasn’t quite enough so I felted it again for about another 6 minutes. I added two recycled buttons to finish off the bag.
Here is the free pattern for anyone interested in crocheting this felted sling bag purse.
Felted Sling Bag Purse Pattern
Purse measurements:
Before felting – 11-1/2″ wide and 11-1/2″ long with 48″ strap
After felting – 9″ wide and 9″ long with 43″ strap
Materials:
3 ozs -100% brown wool yarn
2 ozs -100% variegated wool yarn for stripes (Bernat Natural Wool Meadow shown)
1 inch button or two recycled buttons as shown on bag
Hook: H (5 mm) crochet hook
Chain 40
For many of you that have been following me or my blog site, you will recognize this bag immediately. It is my avatar that I use for all my postings and to identify me on many of the crafting and social websites that I participate at. It’s one of the first recycled bags I ever crocheted. It represents my beginning in what has become such amazing journey.
When I first started making recycled bags, I couldn’t find very many patterns and there was not much information out there on the process. Through trial and errors, I began to create many different projects using plastic bags, vcr tape, cassette tape, denim, and other recycled materials. My goal was to have a one-stop website where people could come and learn and share ideas about recycled crafting. Oh and I wanted everything to be free so everyone could take advantage and enjoy what I call green crafting. Anyway that is basically my story about the origins of my recycled bags.
So today, I share with you my signature recycled shoulder bag pattern. It is a bit ironic but I had never written up this pattern or posted it here for everyone’s use. It is like coming full circle as I share this pattern now. As always I hope you enjoy the project and happy green crafting to all!
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My Signature Recycled Shoulder Bag Pattern
Purse measures 10 inches wide and 6 inches long
Strap length is 38 inches when not tied
Materials:
One large ball of plastic bags (plarn) cut into 1 inch strips (appox. 30-38 bags)
One button 7/8″ button shown on bag
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
Chain 26
This week I present my latest recycled plastic bag project. I call this my orange crush plarn purse. The purse was crocheted using orange newspaper bags and white plastic grocery bags. You can check out my plarn making tutorials that show how to make the bags into a yarn from either newspaper or plastic retail bags. The base was made using just the recycled bags from orange newspaper delivery sleeves. I then crocheted with two strands of plarn held together — one strand orange and one white. This combination created the orange and white color blend for the main body of the purse which was crocheted using a granny stitch.
Next I added a beautiful pair of purse handles that I picked up from my local thrift store. I was so excited to purchase these brand new, still in the package, handles for just 99 cents. The black handles just added a great final touch to the purse.
This cute purse crochet pattern can be found free over at Debi’s Hooks and Yarns blogspot. I modified her pattern by working 10 rounds in the granny stitch as I needed just a bit more height for my purse. Debi crocheted her bag using two strands of worst weight yarn so you can change up this pattern pretty easily depending on if you want to use plarn, yarn, or even tarn (t-shirt yarn).
Until next time, happy crafting and make it a great day!
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