Crafty Ideas for Recycling People

Most of us end up with a drawer filled with a million plastic bags. From supermarkets, department stores, even the corner dairy.  Some get used to line rubbish bins but most end up going into the rubbish or recycling.

Except they don’t seem to recycle them anymore.  I learned that in Christchurch anyway, while you can feel good about putting your plastic bags in the recycling bin, at the recycling centre they put them into the landfill.  There just isn’t anyone who will or can take them and make them into something else.

So I sat and thought what could I do with them?

I found a few ideas for “plarn” (plastic yarn) online, it was a big thing a few years ago but for the most part, it seems to be out of fashion to make or do anything with them now.  I find this rather sad as the problems they cause haven’t gone away just the interest in doing anything about it.

I started by making drink coasters.  They’re simple and easy.

Firstly, lay your bag straight and flat.

Trim away the handles and the bottom.

Cut the bag into 1cm (approx 1/2”) strips.

Join the strips together by looping them through each other.

You have plarn.  Now you’re ready to crochet.  I usually use either a 5mm or 6mm hook for this.

Abbreviations: ch - chain, sl st - slip stitch, sc - single crochet, st - stitch.

Foundation: ch 4, sl st into 1st ch to form a ring.  Sc 6 times into the ring while carrying the tail.  Slip a stitch marker into the last st of the round.  Cut the carried tail flush.

Round 1-2: Sc 2 times into each st. (24)

Round 3: *Sc 2 times into the next st, sc into next st.  Repeat from * around. (36)

Round 4: Sc into all sts in round.

Round 5: *Sc 2 times into next st, sc into each of the next 2 sts.  Repeat from * around. (48)

I usually find that somewhere in the last round I run out of plarn, so I sl st as far as I can and then weave the remaining tail in.

Press flat with a cool iron through a tea towel.

The colours sometimes come out a little differently to what you’d expect when you pick up a plastic bag.  The red warehouse bags crochet up to a rose pink for example.  Almost clear bags tend to become white. 

If you wanted to make placemats in the same style or pot stands, just keep going in the same manner - after every three increase rounds, work a straight sc round until you’ve reached the size you want.  Or you could cut wider strips and make it thicker. To turn it into a basket, use this for the base, and then stop increasing, work sc rounds until you reach your desired height - or like the tote bag I made, you could change at that point to trebles.

I haven’t had any issues with the plastic melting unless a lot of direct heat is applied in one spot.  Mind you, I haven’t tried sitting a pot straight from the stove on one of these either.

 

Some printing on bags wears off easily - Farmers bags for example, I wouldn’t recommend using them for this kind of thing (there are other uses however).  Which is a shame as it’s such a pretty purple.  The black printing on Pak’n’Save bags stays put though.