The first in a series of holiday gift projects made from recycled materials.
I hate plastic grocery bags. HATE THEM. They are always more numerous that I ever can come up with uses for, and they overflow from the numerous ‘creative’ solutions I’ve come up with for places to house them. Their only redeeming factor is when my cat gets into one and runs around the house with it streaming from his collar like a Superman cape.
That’s why I was so excited when I was introduced to crocheting with them! I’ve always loved crocheting and knitting but found my projects either too small for their intended user (5 years after they were begun is my usual timeframe for completion) or not particularly useful. Using plastic bags, cut into strips and fashioned into two-ply ‘yarn,’ it is easy, quick and useful to create re-usable, handsome, bags of various sizes for everything from shopping to purses.
Here’s what you do:
- Get a pattern for a crocheted bag of some sort. Or if you’re like me, skip this step and work it out as you go along. Google has tons of great patterns for free.
- Gather all the old plastic grocery bags you can find. Cut off the handles and the bottom. Lay them flat and cut them into strips so that when you’re done you will have a bunch of circles of plastic. I find it is easiest to work with strips about ½ an inch wide, but if you’re working a bigger gauge you may wish for thicker strips.
- Slip one of the circles through another, then back through itself to create a knot tying the two circles into one long strand. Be very gentle! This is the point in the process where the bags are most fragile and they tend to snap in the tying process. Don’t worry; just tie them back together you won’t notice in the completed project. Repeat this until you’ve a) used all yours and your nearest neighbor’s bags or b) you have enough to work with for the time being. You now have your ‘yarn’.
- Beginning with a slip-knot, crochet according to your pattern or whim using the two-ply plastic bags like you would any heavy-gauge yarn. When done, tie off. Presto! One completed, recycled, reusable bag.
This making-yarn technique can be used if you want to use plastic bags for weaving or knitting as well, but you may need to be extra careful to avoid bulky knots when tying the circles of plastic together. My favorite thing to do is create a very large-gauge mesh-type bag. It’s quick and a great gift. Also, consider using those tan colored bags (the ugly ones) to create a straw-like purse for a gift.
