Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Recycled Plastic Bag Tutorial



Start by selecting some good plastic grocery bags.
Note depending on the size of the bag you are going to make, you may need ALOT of bags!!!
I recommend getting some different colors to give your bag some flair, but whatever you have around works well.
Start by cutting off the handles and then work your way around the bag cutting it into even strips (I use my thumb as a measuring guide. Strips are the same width as my thumb nail, so approx 1/2" wide). These strips will fold up as you knit/crochet, so this isn't the final size.


So now you should have a giant pile of plastic strips.
Cut up some more bags, keep going until your hand cramps up and you may have enough bags to make a bag! If not you can always cut more later.

You can connect the different bags by just tieing a simple knot. There is nothing easier.









Roll your plarn (plastic yarn) into a ball to make it easier to work with and to keep yourself from tripping over it when you take a break (or if you are me, to keep your dogs from running through it and ripping the strips apart)
Keep different colors in separate balls, after all it's not everyday you go shopping someplace where you can get a pink/orange or blue bag. Those are special!

And Start Crocheting your bag. You know how to knit/crochet already so just work the plarn like you would any other yarn and make the bag you want



And voila! It's a super durable, waterproof bag. Totally awesome and you saved soooooo many plastic bags from going to the landfill or winding up in the ocean where they kill the sealife. Aren't you so smart!


This bag and others like it are available for purchase in my etsy shop!


Thanks for reading and I hope you have lots of fun making you own recycled bags