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.
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!
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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) size metal crochet 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.
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 aka Plarn in white (approx. 40 bags)
Small ball of pink plarn (approx. 20 bags)
Hook: J (6 mm) metal crochet hook
Description: Tote bag
Bag measures 14 inches wide and 10 inches long with 14 inches handles
Directions:
Using pink plarn, Ch 26.
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 aka 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.
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 Video Tape Designer Handbag
Materials needed:
2) VHS video tapes recycled into yarn
4) 3/4 inch D rings
1) 1 inch Button
2/3 yards of fabric for lining
50 inches of 3/8 inch cording
1) Magnetic closure
1) 15″ long by 4″ wide piece of plastic canvas for bottom insert
Small amount of super glue
Hooks: N (9 mm) and J (6 mm) metal crochet hooks
Description: VCR designer handbag measures 15-1/2 inches wide, 10 inches tall and 4-3/4 inches wide at base with 22 inch handles.
Directions:
Using N hook with 2 strands of vcr tape held together, Ch 28.
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.
I recycled two t-shirts to create this wheelchair or walker tote bag. I crocheted from strips cut from the two tees about 1/4″ wide. Here is my picture tutorial showing how to make t-yarn from old t-shirts. I added a couple of novelty dice buttons to finish off my bag.
Maybe you’d rather crochet your wheelchair tote using regular yarn or even plastic bag yarn. Here is the link to the free pattern to crochet a wheelchair walker bag using regular yarn and this link will take you the tote bag pattern using plarn or plastic bag yarn.
So whether you’re into crocheting with recycled t-shirt yarn, plastic bag yarn or regular yarn, there is a free pattern here for everyone to create this handy wheelchair or walker tote bag. People who receive these totes really love them and they make wonderful gifts.
Free Pattern for T-Yarn Wheelchair – Walker Tote Bag
Materials needed:
2) T-shirts cut into 1/4 inch wide strips of T-Yarn or Tarn
2) 3/4 inch buttons
Hook:
J (6 mm) crochet hook
Description: Wheelchair/Walker Tote Bag
Bag measures 12 inches wide and 8-1/2 inches long with 7 inch straps
Directions:
Using blue t-yarn, Ch 36.
I fell in love with this crocheted ditty bag pattern when I first saw it. It’s so cute and has a handy strap that threads through the front of the bag. You may recognize this pattern by Dot Matthews that she created and used regular worst yarn to crochet her bag. I wanted to try crocheting the pattern using recycled plastic bags or plarn. Here is my finished plastic ditty bag.
Because plastic bag yarn is thicker, my ditty bag came out a bit larger than Dot’s bag. I followed Dot’s pattern except that I had to crochet 27 rounds before doing the handle rather than her pattern that calls for 22 rounds. Other than that, I crocheted the bag according to the free pattern available here.
Click on any of the photos to supersize
My finished plastic ditty bag measures 7 inches tall, 7 inches across the bottom and has a 14 inch long handle strap. So whether you want to crochet with regular yarn or plarn, this pattern makes for a cute ditty bag and would be wonderful reusable gift bag project too.
Just in time for Valentine’s day, here are several recycled craft projects that you can make. First I want to share this cute Valentine’s bag that Carmen sent me a picture of. She crocheted this using my recycled Valentine’s bag pattern and added some red plastic bags to trim her creation.
Next maybe you need a holder for your Valentines, if so here is a fused plastic bag project with a full picture tutorial found here.
For those crafters that enjoy working with recycled denim, here are a few little denim heart purses. The purses are lined and have several different embellishment options as shown in the tutorial.
Well that concludes my recycled crafting roundup for Valentine’s day.
Happy Valentine’s day!
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