Come Learn and Share Information about Recycling, Crocheting & Green Crafting


Striped Wool Felted Purse

September 4, 2010 6 comments


Here is my latest felted wool purse project. It’s crocheted using 3 different colors of wool yarn. I crocheted each section using the blue, teal, and then creme yarn. Below are my before felting pictures of the bag and a side shot.


I felted my pieces on the hottest setting on my washer for about 18 minutes.


Here is a picture taken after I felted the main bag.

Click on photos to supersize
Here are photos of each side of my strap which was crocheted using one of main colors on each side.


I finished off the felted purse by attaching the strap and lining my bag complete with a zipper. Here is a my purse lining tutorial if you need instructions for lining a crocheted bag. The full detailed crochet pattern is below — Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Free Pattern for Crocheted Felted 3-Color Striped Purse

Materials needed:
3) 100% Wool Yarn (100 grams/110 yard skeins each)
Blue, Teal, and Crème colors used
Small amount of fabric for lining and pockets
9 Inch Zipper

Hook: “H” U.S. size metal hook
Description: Felted Blue Striped Bag
After felting bag measures 13” wide at base and 9” long with 39” strap

Directions:
Using blue wool yarn, Ch 45. […]

Camo Plarn Ditty Bag

July 25, 2010 7 comments
Camo Plarn Ditty Bag

I’m here to introduce my camo plarn ditty bag. My camo plarn is made from green, tan, brown, creme, white, grey and orange recycled plastic bags. Making camo plarn is a wonderful way to use up your odds and ends of plastic bags. I used just one or two bag strips of the same color together and as I worked the ditty bag then I added more bag strips as I crocheted in an effort to create a staggered camo look.

Here is my first sample of the camo plarn after 6 rounds complete of the ditty bag pattern. I used Dot’s Ditty Bag pattern found here.

I did have to change the pattern a bit to make it work with recycled plastic bags. First I used a N (9 mm) crochet hook as I did in this plastic ditty bag version. My finished camo ditty bag is 7 inches tall and about 7 inches wide.

Then I did another experiment and made a winter or snow camo ditty bag. For this recycled bag project, I used only black, white, and grey plastic bags. While I like both of the camo plarn bags, I think I prefer the snow camo bag best.

My plan is to crochet a few more of these camo plarn bags and donate them to soldiers for Christmas. Hopefully some soldiers will find it useful for toiletries or just as a little storage tote. […]

All American Plarn Bag

July 17, 2010 4 comments

I present my All American Plarn Recycled Bag! It is crocheted using red and blue newspaper bags and white grocery bags that were recycled into plarn. Here is my plarn making tutorial and I use the same method for cutting and attaching the newspaper strips together. They are much shorter strips but it’s the same loop method as regular plastic grocery sacks for making your plarn.

I got these nice wooden handles from a local thrift store for just 99 cents. This is my first recycled purse project using round wooden handles and I wanted to make sure to attach them firmly to my bag. I ended up working two rows of single crochet stitches around the handles and into the bag. I have explained the process below and hopefully it’s understandable to everyone. You could work this same pattern with bulky yarn and end up with about the same sized bag. Either way I hope everyone enjoys my free crochet pattern below. Happy Crafting!

*****************************************************************************************************************************

All American Plarn Recycled Bag Pattern

Materials needed:
Plastic bags cut into 1 inch wide plarn strips in red, white and blue.
(Approx. 17-18 bags in each color.)
1) pair of 7 Inch wide wooden handles

Hook: “N” (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook
Description: Red, White and Blue Plarn Striped Bag
13-1/2” wide by 12” tall with 9” at top opening

Directions:
Using salmon red plarn, Ch 26. […]

Satchel Styled Tote Bag

June 18, 2010 12 comments

I am back sharing another free recycled plarn pattern that I created. I used a satchel style strap design in this crocheted tote bag using plastic bags. The white bags are just regular grocery sacks and the pink ones are plastic newspaper bags that I have been getting from my local library. I used the combination to craft this satchel styled tote which I hope you will enjoy.

Best wishes and happy crafting to all!


Satchel Styled Recycled Tote Bag Pattern

Materials needed:
One large ball of plastic bag yarn “Plarn” in white (approx. 40 bags)
Small ball of pink plarn (approx. 20 bags)

Hook: “J” U.S. size metal hook

Description: Tote bag
Bag measures 14” wide and 10” long with 14” handles

Directions:
Using pink plarn, Ch 26. […]

Spike Stitch Tote Bag

May 29, 2010 2 comments

Here is my latest recycled tote bag which features spike stitch striping. I added the recycled pink newspaper plastic bags in an effort to spice up my mainly white tote bag. It’s amazing how just a few brightly colored bags can add a nice touch to a plain-looking bag.

So if you only have a few colored bags, you might want to try this crochet pattern to add some diversity to your tote bag project. Should anyone be interested in purchasing this bag, it is available on my products page for sale. For all those crafters out there who make their own recycled tote bags, please enjoy my free plarn pattern below.

Spike Stitch Recycled Plarn Tote Bag Pattern

Materials needed:
One large ball of plastic bag yarn “Plarn
Approx. 50 plastic grocery bags – white in color
One smaller amount of pink plarn – Approx. 8-10 bags

Hook: “N” (9 mm) metal crochet hook
Description: Recycled Plarn Tote Bag
Bag measures 14” wide and 13-1/2” tall with 12” handles

Directions:
Ch 26 with white plarn. […]

VCR Tape Designer Bag

May 1, 2010 21 comments

This is my first vcr tape designer bag. This bag was a custom order from a customer of mine that sent me a picture of a specific purse she wanted crocheted from recycled vcr tape. I crocheted the shell and added the two handles as outlined in the description that accompanied the photo. I lined the purse and also added a removal insert that I created from plastic canvas to give the bottom of the bag a sturdy base.

I took several photos of the project as it progressed. I hope you will find the photos useful as you craft this recycled vcr tape bag. You could also use the crochet pattern below to make the bag using plastic bags (plarn) or bulky yarn. Just adjust your gauge and work the pattern to create your own unique recycled designer bag.

Free Pattern for Crocheted VCR Designer Handbag

Materials needed:
2) Vcr video tapes recycled into yarn
4) ¾” D rings
1) 1” Button
2/3 yards of fabric for lining
50 inches of 3/8” cording
1) Magnetic closure
1) 15″ long by 4″ wide piece of plastic canvas for bottom insert
Small amount of super glue

Hooks: “N” and “J” size metal hooks
Description: VCR designer handbag measures 15-1/2” wide, 10” tall and 4-3/4” wide
at base with 22” handles.

Directions:
Using N hook with 2 strands of vcr tape held together, Ch 28. […]

Recycled Plastic Fat Bottom Bag

April 15, 2010 18 comments

I present my plarn fat bottom bag that I crocheted using recycled plastic newspaper bags. You may remember me saying that it is difficult for me to obtain pretty colors in plastic bags for my crafting. Well thanks to a suggestion from a blogger friend, I asked my local library to save their newspaper bags for me. They have been giving me one pink and one orange plastic bag daily from their newspapers. Anyway I saved up the plastic bags and crocheted my first fat bottom bag.

You may notice that the pink shade on the last few rounds of the bag and handles are darker. That was because the newspaper company changed the color of bags they were using. At first I was upset that I couldn’t finish my recycled bag using all the same color of pink but then once I was forced to use the darker bags, it turned out to be a nice contrast for the finished project.

As I mentioned this is my first fat bottom crocheted bag. The original pattern in written only in Portuguese. But there is an English chart and a wonderful tutorial including the lining over at Bend Beanies Blog which is a life saver. She has great pictures and helpful tips to help translate this awesome free pattern.

Below you will find some pictures I took as I worked the pattern. […]


Recent Visitors

Archives

  • [—]2012 (18)
  • [+]2011 (50)
  • [+]2010 (69)
  • [+]2009 (58)
  • [+]2008 (65)
  • [+]2007 (63)

About Me

Hello, I’m Cindy or aka RecycleCindy. I love to learn and share information about crocheted and other items crafted from recycled materials. This is a green, eco-friendly website that is dedicated to recycling and crafting.
This blog and my life have taken on a new journey when on March 10, 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have added a special area on my blog in which I chronicle my journey into the pink.
Thank you for stopping by to visit and for your interest in My Recycled Bags!

Calendar

May 2012
S M T W T F S
« Apr    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031