This week I present a variation of my cluster stitch bag that I made recently. The main body of this bag is crocheted using recycled plastic bags that have been cut into plarn using the looping method. I have a picture tutorial here for making plarn from plastic bags should you need instructions. Just click on the green link.
I wanted to add a gift bag type closure to the original pattern to create a reusable gift bag. I used some Christmas cotton to top this plarn bag and created a looped handle to finish off my little gift bag. The looped handle works wonderfully for closing the bag. I plan on crocheting several of these bags to use for gift bags for Christmas. They work up quickly and with the looped handle, you have a ready-made gift bag that doesn’t even require a bow.
Special thanks to Helen over at CrochetN’Crafts who was my inspiration for this project. So grab a few of those plastic bags laying around and whip yourself up a beautiful recycled gift bag for Christmas!
Cluster Stitch Plarn Gift Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
Plastic bag yarn “Plarn” about 10 plastic grocery bags
1/2 oz Bernat Holidays Red Sparkle cotton yarn for trim and handle
Hooks:
J (6 mm) metal crochet hook for bag
H (5 mm) hook for top trim and handle
Description: Recycled Plastic Bag Cluster Stitch Gift Bag
Bag measures 6″ wide and 4-3/4″ tall with 12″ handle and 5-1/4″ wide at base
Cluster Stitch Details:
Beg Cluster: Ch 2, (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 4 times, 5 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 5 lps, Ch 1.
Cluster: (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 5 times, 6 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 6 lps, Ch 1.
Directions:
Using J hook with plarn, Ch 11
Many of my recycled bag projects involve taking traditional yarn patterns and converting them into items made from recycled materials. This little cluster stitch bag is just such a project. One of my on-line friends Helen created this adorable gift bag pattern using a medium weight yarn.
With Helen’s permission, I used her pattern for the basis of making this cute little bag project using recycled plastic bags. I then used some scrap yarn to make the top trim and handles to finish off this recycled bag project.
Here is a closeup photo of the handles that I crocheted onto the bag.
Click to supersize
This little plarn bag would make a great gift bag or purse. By adding a ribbon or bow to the bag, you create a re-usable gift bag that can be used over and over. The pattern works up very quickly and because of the pretty stitch pattern, I think it makes an adorable purse too.
Enjoy the free recycled crafting pattern below and happy crocheting to all!
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Cluster Stitch Plarn Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
Ball of plastic bag yarn “Plarn” about 10-12 plastic grocery bags
Here is my picture tutorial on how to make plarn from plastic bags
1/2 oz worst weight yarn for handles
Hooks:
J (6 mm) metal crochet hook for bag
H (5 mm) hook for handles
Description: Recycled Plastic Bag Cluster Stitch Gift Bag or Purse
Bag measures 6″ wide and 5″ tall with 7″ handles and 5-1/4″ wide at base
Cluster Stitch Details:
Beg Cluster: Ch 2, (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 4 times, 5 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 5 lps, Ch 1.
Cluster: (Yo, insert hook into sp indicated, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 lps on hook) 5 times, 6 lps on hook, yo and pull through all 6 lps, Ch 1.
Directions:
Using J hook, Ch 11
Rnd 1
Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in ea chain st down to end. Work 3 Sc in end st, then continue around other side of chain by working a Sc in ea st to other end then work 2 Sc in end st. Join with a Sl St into beg Sc st. (24)
Using these orange plastic bags to create a trick or treat bag was a great way to recycle my newspaper bags. Here is my picture tutorial for cutting the newspaper bags to create plarn so you can crochet with the material.
For this project, I wanted to create large comfortable handles that could be put over a child’s arms for easy carrying of this basket type bag. I recycled a microwave dinner tray and cut the top rim off. I then hole punched around the base evenly so I could crochet into the plastic tray for the base of this bag. The dinner tray provides a flat and sturdy bottom to the bag which allows the bag to stand up nicely on its own.
Enjoy crocheting this recycled bag project and happy Halloween everyone!
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Free Crocheted Pattern for a Recycled Plastic Trick or Treat Bag
Materials needed:
Orange plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips for plarn (approx 25 newspaper sacks used)
1) Plastic frozen dinner dinner tray with the rim cut off
(One used in project was 6-3/4 inches long & 3-1/2″ wide)
Hooks:
G (4-4.25 mm) sized metal hook for base row only
J (6 mm) sized metal hook
Description: Recycled Plastic Halloween Trick or Treat Bag
Bag measures 7 inches long, 5 inches wide and 6 inches tall with 8-1/2″ handles
Directions:
Using the tray after cutting off the rim, punch holes around the base as shown in the photo.
I used a heavy duty hole punch to put the holes around the base.
I present my latest creation — Variegated plastic bag yarn or plarn as it so commonly is known as in the crafting world. Pink, orange, and white plastic bags were used to crochet this variegated recycled bag. The pink and orange bags are plastic bags that newspapers are delivered in and the white is from just regular retail bags. I used these 3 colors to create my variegated look by assembling 3 loops of pink plarn, 2 white loops, 3 orange loops, and 2 white loops, then repeat this order for the variegated look. Here is my plarn making tutorials for creating yarn from newspaper or retail plastic bags should you need to see how to make plastic yarn.
This plarn ball was made using newspaper and retail bags together to create the variegated colored yarn. As I outlined below, if color pooling becomes a problem just add another white strip of plarn to offset the pooling. I found if I added an additional white strip to the 2 white ones, it solved the pooling issues with the tote bag as I crocheted it.
Enjoy the free crochet pattern below and happy crafting to all!
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Variegated Plarn Tote Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
Plastic bag yarn or Plarn – Approx. 50 white plastic grocery bags along with 20 pink and 20 orange plastic bags for the variegated yarn
This variegated plarn is created by assembling 3 loops of pink plarn, 2 white loops, 3 orange loops, and then 2 white loops, repeat pattern for variegated look.
Hook: N (9 mm) size metal hook
Description: Recycled Plastic Tote Bag
Bag standing up measures 14″ wide and 11″ tall with 12″ handles
with measurements flat 17″ across, 12″ high, and 11″ long base.
Directions:
The bottom of bag is crocheted with just plain white bags. Using just white plarn, Ch 20.
Rnd 1
Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in ea chain st down to end. Continue around other side of chain by working a Sc in ea st to other end.
I’m back to share my latest recycled cassette tape craft project. I crocheted this little sachet bag with two strands of cassette tape along with one strand of ribbon yarn. The ribbon yarn gives the cassette tape a better texture to crochet with and makes the crochet hook move more easier.
I added a sachet liner that I crocheted from some cotton thread so you could remove it from the cassette tape sachet. I filled the liner with some spicy potpourri before closing the end up. Then I just inserted the liner inside the sachet.
This is a quick and easy recycled crafting project which requires just a small amount of materials. The result is a pretty sachet that makes a great gift idea.
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Free Cassette Tape Sachet Pattern
Materials needed:
2 Cassette tapes (only 1/8 of a reel used on each)
1 oz Lion Brand Lion ribbon yarn
One bead for drawstring
Small amount of #10 Cotton thread for liner
Hooks:
J (6 mm) U.S. size metal crochet hook
C (2.75 mm) U.S. size metal crochet hook
Description: Crocheted Sachet Bag –
Bag measures 4-1/2 inches wide and 5 inches long
Directions:
Ch 15
Rnd 1
Hdc in 2nd ch from hook and in ea chain st down to end. Then continue around other side of chain by working a Hdc in ea st to other end.
This week I present my first pop tab tote bag project. I was asked to create a tote bag using soda pop pull tabs and recycled plastic bags by a member of my Trash to Treasures group on Ravelry. I have been saving soda pop tabs and beer pull tabs so I could complete this project. It took 252 tabs for my bag. I decided that I would alternate rounds so that it didn’t take so many tabs to do this bag. Plus I like the look of the plastic bags by themselves to separate the pull tab rounds.
I used cotton cord on the base of the bag to give it a sturdy bottom and also on the handles. I found if I wrapped the plastic bag yarn (plarn) around the cord as I crocheted around it, it hides the white cord better. As you may see in the closeup pictures of the base, the first few rows I didn’t wrap it as close as I did in later rounds. The later rounds look better and the white cotton cord doesn’t really show through. I found if I wound the plastic around the cord in small sections and then crocheted around the cord, it worked best to keep the plastic tighter and uniform.
Hope you enjoy this free crochet pattern. Happy 4th of July to everyone!
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Free Plarn Pop Tab Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
One ball of plastic bag yarn aka Plarn
(Approx. 50 plastic newspaper bags cut into 1″ strips of plarn)
252 Soda pull-tabs
4 yards – 12/32 (9.5 mm) cotton cord
Hook: J (6 mm)size metal crochet hook
Description: Plastic Bag & Pop Tab Tote Bag
Bag measures 12 inches wide and 10 inches long with 18 inch straps
Directions:
Ch 20 loosely.
This week I present my latest recycled plastic bag project. I call this my orange crush plarn purse. The purse was crocheted using orange newspaper bags and white plastic grocery bags. You can check out my plarn making tutorials that show how to make the bags into a yarn from either newspaper or plastic retail bags. The base was made using just the recycled bags from orange newspaper delivery sleeves. I then crocheted with two strands of plarn held together — one strand orange and one white. This combination created the orange and white color blend for the main body of the purse which was crocheted using a granny stitch.
Next I added a beautiful pair of purse handles that I picked up from my local thrift store. I was so excited to purchase these brand new, still in the package, handles for just 99 cents. The black handles just added a great final touch to the purse.
This cute purse crochet pattern can be found free over at Debi’s Hooks and Yarns blogspot. I modified her pattern by working 10 rounds in the granny stitch as I needed just a bit more height for my purse. Debi crocheted her bag using two strands of worst weight yarn so you can change up this pattern pretty easily depending on if you want to use plarn, yarn, or even tarn (t-shirt yarn).
Until next time, happy crafting and make it a great day!
If you are into recycled crafting, you might want to try crafting with vcr video tapes. The beauty is using these reels of pre-made materials is that you simply just need to open up the cases and away you can go with your crafting. You can use my tutorial on how to turn vcr video tape into “yarn” to craft your projects.
This week I broke down some old vcr tapes that I had to crochet this purse. I added some lacy ribbon yarn that I got at the dollar store for 99 cents to add a different look to the project. Below is closeup of my finished project.
Recycling video tapes into craft projects is always fun and while it’s not the easiest material to work with, the results are very pretty. The unique shine of the tape is beautiful and the ribbon yarn gives it a colorful finish. Plus its a great way to recycled those old video tapes that so many people just have laying around and can’t figure what to do with them. Well here ya go!
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Free Crocheted Video Tape Purse Pattern
Purse measures 9 inches wide and 7 inches long
Strap length is 32 inches long
Materials:
2 VCR VHS Tape Reels (only used about 1/4 of each reel)
One 3/4 inch button
3/4 oz Lion Brand Trellis Lacy Ribbon Yarn (Pastel Garden shown)
Hook:
N (9 mm) crochet hook for main purse
J (6 mm) crochet hook for flap trim
Using 2 strands of video tape held together, Chain 20.
Rnd 1
Hdc in 2nd ch from hook in each chain. Continue around the corner and down the back side of chain by working a Hdc in every stitch of chain.
I crocheted this pink and orange striped tote bag from recycled plastic bags. The pink and orange bags are newspaper bags and the white bags are just normal plastic retail sacks. As most people know, white bags are abundant while its hard to find colorful bags but I’m lucky to obtain the pretty pink and orange bags from my local library. They save the bags that they receive their daily newspapers in and I collect them weekly.
I used my jumbo plarn beach bag pattern to crochet this bag with just a few minor changes from the original pattern. My base was a chain of 30 as I didn’t want quite as large a tote bag for this project. I also just crocheted 41 total rounds. The result is a tote bag that measures 14-1/2″ wide by 17″ long with a 30 inch long pull-through strap.
You can check out my plarn making tutorials here whether you are using newspaper plastic bags or regular plastic bags to create your plastic bag yarn.
This tote bag makes an excellent market bag as the long strap can be slipped over your shoulder or looped around your hand for carrying. You can craft this tote bag project or if you aren’t a crocheter, my pink and orange recycled plastic tote is for sale here.
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