Instructions for cutting plastic bags & creating recycled plastic yarn

Posted on February 17, 2007

Each photo below is thumbnailed, click on photo to view larger size

This process is a great way to recycle those old plastic bags into something useful. You can crochet or knit a cool tote bag similar to reusable totes that are sold.

• Cutting
Lay recycled bag out flat

Fold in half lengthwise then fold in half again

Cut off top handles

Cut bag in strips about 1 inch wide or as desired

Set aside the end of bag where bottom edge was glued. The ends and the handles can be recycled either as stuffing for other projects, packing material for shipping, or taken to your local recycling bin for plastic bags.

• Tying strips together
Take two strips and inter-twine together as shown

Gently pull on ends to knot two strips together

Connect next strip to last strip in the same manner

Continue connecting strips until you have a large ball of plastic “yarn”

Tips:
Pull ends evenly to create a smooth and flat strip.
If you find your strip doesn’t lie flat between knots, you didn’t pull
evenly which creates a bunched strip. Just make sure your strip is
even before you pull your knot tight between the two connected
strips. To fix a bunched strip, just loosen your knot between the strips
then pull on the ends again to make your strip flat and smooth.

Tags: making-plarn, plarn, plastic-bag-yarn

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Plarning: New Uses for Recycling Bags « thebibliophile Weblog says:

November 9, 2009 at 1:04 pm

[...] can learn how to plarn at myrecycledbags.com. Plarning is incredibly easy, and makes a fun project for youn [...]

revisiting the 3 Rs says:

November 24, 2009 at 11:22 am

[...] bagsThere are so many great ways to reuse these scourges of society. Make plarn and knit or crochet them into something fabulous. Some more plastic bag craft ideas [...]

Crochet Plastic Bags into Mats and More: Recycle This — The Budget Ecoist says:

November 25, 2009 at 11:19 am

[...] plastic bags into functional items. The super-easy tutorial on how to make plarn is here, pictured is a step where you loop two loops together and reapeat (see image below). Once a ball of [...]

December Newsletter | The Just Life says:

December 3, 2009 at 12:13 am

[...]Make plastic bag yarn and knit or crochet recycled goodies [...]

YarnLOLogy - For the fun in fiber » How to destash – Acrylic says:

January 8, 2010 at 2:57 am

[...] in need of a clothes pin bag. There is a crochet pattern over at myrecycledbags made with plastic yarn. I have actually found a knitted version at craftster for free, but since I own Home by Debbie [...]

Fourteen Free Things I Could Use « The Quaint Homesteader says:

February 2, 2010 at 9:56 am

[...] Plastic Bags in gray, tan, or blue: I make these into plarn (plastic yarn) to make bags and other non-clothing items. I shop at Food Lion, so anything not [...]

Plarn « 365 days focused on a loving home says:

March 1, 2010 at 8:38 am

[...] Here is a great picture tutorial. [...]

Craft Night | craftevolution says:

March 10, 2010 at 2:39 pm

[...] paper towel usage, and The {NewNew} peeps arrived with bags of plastic bags cutting them up into plarn or fusing them down into sheets. . . Very mysterious. KimmChi and [...]

Upcycling. What is it, how do you do it, and how it benefits our world. « every day one thing says:

April 7, 2010 at 11:53 pm

[...] bags. Make a plarn bag, like our fan Christina Brady. Want to see how it’s done? Check out this YouTube [...]

Plarn Coaster/Placemat « QUEEN LILA royalty crafts says:

April 8, 2010 at 8:14 am

[...] big for a coaster , too small for a placemat!! Made with plarn (plastic bag yarn) here’s one way of creating it but I prefer this way [...]

Project Update: Think Green | stitch.tac.sew says:

April 21, 2010 at 6:36 am

[...] Here is a link to a picture tutorial if the video does not work for you: http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-pla… [...]

Happy Earth Day! « purls of wisdom says:

April 22, 2010 at 8:34 am

[...] http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-pla…/ [...]

yarn from plastic bags « fake sheep says:

May 2, 2010 at 2:56 am

[...] instructions for making plarn are pretty simple. there are a bunch of videos on youtube including a really quick introduction to [...]

Pooh's Den » Blog Archive » Hobby+Passion = ? says:

May 3, 2010 at 9:32 am

[...] be a great project for kids. The yarn used is made using plastic bags – plarn. There is a picture tutorial here and it looks quite [...]

[Blisstree] Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: What To Do With Old Plastic Bags « Kids 4 News says:

July 1, 2010 at 9:09 am

[...] Them Into Yarn – Knitting fanatics will like this free plastic yarn, or “plarn”, that you can use to make a sturdier shopping bag or just practice your knits and purls [...]

» Plastic Bag Craft says:

July 16, 2010 at 1:48 am

[...] also include the instructions for cutting and creating the plastic yarn – see here for the [...]

DIY - Plastic Bag Rug - The Go Green Blog says:

September 2, 2010 at 10:12 am

[...] & hamburger buns, paper towel & TP packaging, etc. to create this rug. She first makes her plastic yarn (or “plarn”), then uses an N (9) crochet hook and does a single crochet [...]

Plastic flowers « Flextiles says:

January 9, 2011 at 8:18 am

[...] solved the knotty problem by discovering a new way of making plarn, by cutting the bag in loops instead. I also experimented with knitting – and crocheting [...]

Eco-friendly crocheting! | craftygoose says:

February 10, 2011 at 6:48 pm

[...] should work out just right. In any case, I will certainly be working on more projects using “plarn.” I’ve already recruited all of my housemates into collecting and saving bags for [...]

A twisted distraction « Girl Out of Bubble says:

February 17, 2011 at 2:55 pm

[...] way more bags than I can use as small wastebasket liners. And then I found out about plarn, aka “yarn” made from plastic bags. It’s easy to [...]

My shameless addiction to plastic. | MOM's Organic Market says:

March 2, 2011 at 7:10 am

[...] to figure out how to create my own plarn and subsequent projects. Finally, I stumbled across this great website. Eureka! My first couple of exploits have been small and humble, yet I am already finding fun ways [...]

Let the Blogging Begin! « Perpetually Nerd says:

March 15, 2011 at 10:54 pm

[...] tad bit obsessed with collecting stuff I can make recycled crafts out of (like magazine bows and plastic bag yarn). My bus pass is my best [...]

5 ways to be green with your kitty | modcatlove says:

April 22, 2011 at 12:34 pm

[...] 2. If you can’t flush your litter, then use bags from packaging (cereal bags, chip bags, etc.) for disposal. These bags typically aren’t recyclable, and they just go in the trash anyway, so why not find another use for them before tossing them? A lot of people use plastic grocery bags for this purpose, but these bags can be recycled (and also upcycled—ever heard of plarn?). [...]

Adventures in Plarn! « myknitche says:

July 31, 2011 at 2:16 pm

[...] easy. I searched through blogs here and found Flextiles blog post about a plarn bowl with a link to myrecycledbags.com‘s instructions for making plarn. I followed the instructions and cut all my loops somewhere [...]

65¢ Knit Project! « myknitche says:

August 3, 2011 at 7:11 pm

[...] I mentioned in my previous Adventures in Plarn post I used the instructions found here to make my plarn. 12-13 bags were used to make this [...]

PLARN! « Kitonet's Cartel says:

August 9, 2011 at 11:20 pm

[...] [...]

PLARN! « Kitonet's Cartel says:

September 23, 2011 at 11:08 pm

[...] wanted to share this today with you,my loyal readers.Learn to recycle those old Wal-Mart bags! Make yarn.I found her site to be informative and interesting,she is most certainly an eco-warrior.Don’t [...]

Sewing with recycled plastic | Ingenuity for life says:

December 29, 2011 at 8:53 am

[...] use, get rid of it and convert it into something useful. You can make strips with them and create plarn, which then you can knit or crochet like regular yarn. I haven’t tried that, but I’ve [...]

Out of Yarn? « Stuff Made from Stuff says:

January 9, 2012 at 1:14 am

[...] bags make yarn in a cool, inexpensive way. I decided to give plastic bag yarn making a try, using these instructions. Note: normally I would not have plastic bags, but I am living in a world of no reusable bags, if [...]

This Bag IS Plastic « ispy at the ischool says:

April 14, 2012 at 9:56 am

[...] Her site also includes a picture tutorial on how to make your own plastic yarn [...]

Plarn – I hope I didn’t disappoint « knitnrun4sanity says:

August 26, 2012 at 10:05 am

[...] how do you make Plarn? I had no idea and so turned to Google and came up with this page which I found easy to follow. As I had no handles on my bags I simply had to cut the bottom off, [...]

reuse, recycle and crochet with PLARN! PLastic yARN ! | Goodsmiths says:

September 18, 2012 at 8:17 am

[...] Make Plarn from My Recycled Bags [...]

OWS FOs | Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! says:

June 5, 2013 at 7:06 am

[...] is a portmanteau of plastic bag yarn. I used this tutorial to make yarn from the collection of plastic bags I’ve got kicking [...]

160 Responses to “Instructions for cutting plastic bags & creating recycled plastic yarn”

Sewing with recycled plastic | Ingenuity for life
Dec 29, 2011

[...] use, get rid of it and convert it into something useful. You can make strips with them and create plarn, which then you can knit or crochet like regular yarn. I haven’t tried that, but I’ve [...]
Out of Yarn? « Stuff Made from Stuff
Jan 09, 2012

[...] bags make yarn in a cool, inexpensive way. I decided to give plastic bag yarn making a try, using these instructions. Note: normally I would not have plastic bags, but I am living in a world of no reusable bags, if [...]
خياطة وتفصيل
Feb 16, 2012

Thank you very much for this wonderful work
خياطة وتفصيل recently posted..طريقة تزيين دفتر
KT
Feb 18, 2012

Thanks for the idea. I have decided to incorporate it into my scrapbooking project. Check out the picture link on my progress!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150682689410350&set=a.10150576840035350.441252.285761260349&type=1&theater
This Bag IS Plastic « ispy at the ischool
Apr 14, 2012

[...] Her site also includes a picture tutorial on how to make your own plastic yarn [...]
Kathryn Boyle
Jun 26, 2012

Hi Cindy!

I was wondering if you or any of your readers have tried this method to make plarn out of heavy plastic bags (similar to the “yard” bags). I have a bunch of heavy (almost rubbery) bags I was going to do this with, but once I got the plarn made, I wasn’t able to crochet or knit with it as the material sticks to my hooks or needles. I’ve tried plastic and metal needles. Any suggestions?
Marcia Bowers
Aug 09, 2012

THANKS so much for sharing.
I, too,am a breast cancer survivor (diagnosed Dec. 2005)
I am trying to print some of your patterns to try.
Have a good day.
Plarn – I hope I didn’t disappoint « knitnrun4sanity
Aug 26, 2012

[...] how do you make Plarn? I had no idea and so turned to Google and came up with this page which I found easy to follow. As I had no handles on my bags I simply had to cut the bottom off, [...]
reuse, recycle and crochet with PLARN! PLastic yARN ! | Goodsmiths
Sep 18, 2012

[...] Make Plarn from My Recycled Bags [...]
OWS FOs | Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!
Jun 05, 2013

[...] is a portmanteau of plastic bag yarn. I used this tutorial to make yarn from the collection of plastic bags I’ve got kicking [...]

Plarning: New Uses for Recycling Bags « thebibliophile Weblog says:

November 9, 2009 at 1:04 pm

[...] can learn how to plarn at myrecycledbags.com. Plarning is incredibly easy, and makes a fun project for youn [...]
revisiting the 3 Rs says:

November 24, 2009 at 11:22 am

[...] bagsThere are so many great ways to reuse these scourges of society. Make plarn and knit or crochet them into something fabulous. Some more plastic bag craft ideas [...]
Crochet Plastic Bags into Mats and More: Recycle This — The Budget Ecoist says:

November 25, 2009 at 11:19 am

[...] plastic bags into functional items. The super-easy tutorial on how to make plarn is here, pictured is a step where you loop two loops together and reapeat (see image below). Once a ball of [...]
December Newsletter | The Just Life says:

December 3, 2009 at 12:13 am

[...]Make plastic bag yarn and knit or crochet recycled goodies [...]
YarnLOLogy - For the fun in fiber » How to destash – Acrylic says:

January 8, 2010 at 2:57 am

[...] in need of a clothes pin bag. There is a crochet pattern over at myrecycledbags made with plastic yarn. I have actually found a knitted version at craftster for free, but since I own Home by Debbie [...]
Fourteen Free Things I Could Use « The Quaint Homesteader says:

February 2, 2010 at 9:56 am

[...] Plastic Bags in gray, tan, or blue: I make these into plarn (plastic yarn) to make bags and other non-clothing items. I shop at Food Lion, so anything not [...]
Plarn « 365 days focused on a loving home says:

March 1, 2010 at 8:38 am

[...] Here is a great picture tutorial. [...]
Craft Night | craftevolution says:

March 10, 2010 at 2:39 pm

[...] paper towel usage, and The {NewNew} peeps arrived with bags of plastic bags cutting them up into plarn or fusing them down into sheets. . . Very mysterious. KimmChi and [...]
Upcycling. What is it, how do you do it, and how it benefits our world. « every day one thing says:

April 7, 2010 at 11:53 pm

[...] bags. Make a plarn bag, like our fan Christina Brady. Want to see how it’s done? Check out this YouTube [...]
Plarn Coaster/Placemat « QUEEN LILA royalty crafts says:

April 8, 2010 at 8:14 am

[...] big for a coaster , too small for a placemat!! Made with plarn (plastic bag yarn) here’s one way of creating it but I prefer this way [...]
Project Update: Think Green | stitch.tac.sew says:

April 21, 2010 at 6:36 am

[...] Here is a link to a picture tutorial if the video does not work for you: http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-pla… [...]
Happy Earth Day! « purls of wisdom says:

April 22, 2010 at 8:34 am

[...] http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-pla…/ [...]
yarn from plastic bags « fake sheep says:

May 2, 2010 at 2:56 am

[...] instructions for making plarn are pretty simple. there are a bunch of videos on youtube including a really quick introduction to [...]
Pooh's Den » Blog Archive » Hobby+Passion = ? says:

May 3, 2010 at 9:32 am

[...] be a great project for kids. The yarn used is made using plastic bags – plarn. There is a picture tutorial here and it looks quite [...]
[Blisstree] Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: What To Do With Old Plastic Bags « Kids 4 News says:

July 1, 2010 at 9:09 am

[...] Them Into Yarn – Knitting fanatics will like this free plastic yarn, or “plarn”, that you can use to make a sturdier shopping bag or just practice your knits and purls [...]
» Plastic Bag Craft says:

July 16, 2010 at 1:48 am

[...] also include the instructions for cutting and creating the plastic yarn – see here for the [...]
DIY - Plastic Bag Rug - The Go Green Blog says:

September 2, 2010 at 10:12 am

[...] & hamburger buns, paper towel & TP packaging, etc. to create this rug. She first makes her plastic yarn (or “plarn”), then uses an N (9) crochet hook and does a single crochet [...]
Plastic flowers « Flextiles says:

January 9, 2011 at 8:18 am

[...] solved the knotty problem by discovering a new way of making plarn, by cutting the bag in loops instead. I also experimented with knitting – and crocheting [...]
Eco-friendly crocheting! | craftygoose says:

February 10, 2011 at 6:48 pm

[...] should work out just right. In any case, I will certainly be working on more projects using “plarn.” I’ve already recruited all of my housemates into collecting and saving bags for [...]
A twisted distraction « Girl Out of Bubble says:

February 17, 2011 at 2:55 pm

[...] way more bags than I can use as small wastebasket liners. And then I found out about plarn, aka “yarn” made from plastic bags. It’s easy to [...]
My shameless addiction to plastic. | MOM's Organic Market says:

March 2, 2011 at 7:10 am

[...] to figure out how to create my own plarn and subsequent projects. Finally, I stumbled across this great website. Eureka! My first couple of exploits have been small and humble, yet I am already finding fun ways [...]
Let the Blogging Begin! « Perpetually Nerd says:

March 15, 2011 at 10:54 pm

[...] tad bit obsessed with collecting stuff I can make recycled crafts out of (like magazine bows and plastic bag yarn). My bus pass is my best [...]
5 ways to be green with your kitty | modcatlove says:

April 22, 2011 at 12:34 pm

[...] 2. If you can’t flush your litter, then use bags from packaging (cereal bags, chip bags, etc.) for disposal. These bags typically aren’t recyclable, and they just go in the trash anyway, so why not find another use for them before tossing them? A lot of people use plastic grocery bags for this purpose, but these bags can be recycled (and also upcycled—ever heard of plarn?). [...]
Adventures in Plarn! « myknitche says:

July 31, 2011 at 2:16 pm

[...] easy. I searched through blogs here and found Flextiles blog post about a plarn bowl with a link to myrecycledbags.com‘s instructions for making plarn. I followed the instructions and cut all my loops somewhere [...]
65¢ Knit Project! « myknitche says:

August 3, 2011 at 7:11 pm

[...] I mentioned in my previous Adventures in Plarn post I used the instructions found here to make my plarn. 12-13 bags were used to make this [...]
PLARN! « Kitonet's Cartel says:

August 9, 2011 at 11:20 pm

[...] [...]
PLARN! « Kitonet's Cartel says:

September 23, 2011 at 11:08 pm

[...] wanted to share this today with you,my loyal readers.Learn to recycle those old Wal-Mart bags! Make yarn.I found her site to be informative and interesting,she is most certainly an eco-warrior.Don’t [...]
Sewing with recycled plastic | Ingenuity for life says:

December 29, 2011 at 8:53 am

[...] use, get rid of it and convert it into something useful. You can make strips with them and create plarn, which then you can knit or crochet like regular yarn. I haven’t tried that, but I’ve [...]
Out of Yarn? « Stuff Made from Stuff says:

January 9, 2012 at 1:14 am

[...] bags make yarn in a cool, inexpensive way. I decided to give plastic bag yarn making a try, using these instructions. Note: normally I would not have plastic bags, but I am living in a world of no reusable bags, if [...]
This Bag IS Plastic « ispy at the ischool says:

April 14, 2012 at 9:56 am

[...] Her site also includes a picture tutorial on how to make your own plastic yarn [...]
Plarn – I hope I didn’t disappoint « knitnrun4sanity says:

August 26, 2012 at 10:05 am

[...] how do you make Plarn? I had no idea and so turned to Google and came up with this page which I found easy to follow. As I had no handles on my bags I simply had to cut the bottom off, [...]
reuse, recycle and crochet with PLARN! PLastic yARN ! | Goodsmiths says:

September 18, 2012 at 8:17 am

[...] Make Plarn from My Recycled Bags [...]
OWS FOs | Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! says:

June 5, 2013 at 7:06 am

[...] is a portmanteau of plastic bag yarn. I used this tutorial to make yarn from the collection of plastic bags I’ve got kicking [...]