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


Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Hat

September 1, 2013 7 comments
Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Hat

Here is my first attempt at a recycled t-shirt yarn hat. I did a little trial and error to get the hat so it fit comfortably on my head. Here is the finished hat that I crocheted from recycled t-shirt yarn.

Here is a photo of the hat taken flat. It’s a comfortable bucket type hat that could be worn to keep the sun off your head and face while fishing, in the garden or at the beach.


Free T-Yarn Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern

Materials needed:
2) T-shirts cut into 3/8 inch wide strips and gently pulled to curl the t-yarn or tarn in two colors if doing the 2-color hat as shown. Click here for my T-Shirt Yarn making tutorial for recycling old shirts into T-yarn.

Hook: N – 9 mm U.S. size metal crochet hook

Finished measurements:
24 inches head circumference and 7 inches long

Rnd 1
With dark blue t-yarn, work 6 Sc in a magic circle. (6)

Wavy Ripple Dishcloth Pattern

August 16, 2013 9 comments
Wavy Ripple Dishcloth Pattern

Here is my free crochet pattern for a wavy ripple dishcloth. I first used this wavy ripple style to crochet a lapghan and just love the look of the stitch pattern. So after some trial and errors, I came up with a dishcloth using blue tie-dye cotton Sugar ‘n Cream yarn.

Here is another dishcloth I crocheted using the wavy ripple pattern. I ran out of the pink twist cotton yarn so I only crocheted 13 rows. I added a white edging around the entire dishcloth by working single crochet stitches around evenly. I worked 2 single crochet stitches in the corners. This trim edging gives the dishcloth a little different look and may be useful it you are trying to use up scrap pieces of cotton.

My crochet pattern may be used to make a wavy ripple dishcloth or washcloth. Mix and match colors to create your own unique crocheted cloths.

Free Crocheted Wavy Ripple Dishcloth Pattern

Description: 9-1/2 inches by 9 inches dishcloth
Hook: H (5 mm) crochet hook
Materials: 2 oz ball of cotton yarn such as Sugar n Cream

Ch 36.

Row 1
DC in 3rd st from hook,

Audio Tape Reels

August 9, 2013 5 comments
Audio Tape Reels

Earlier this year someone sent me several vintage audio tape reels. I had never crafted with this type of film tape before and was excited to give it a try. I figured the tape would be similar to vcr video tape or cassette tape when I crocheted with it.

The tape from vcr and cassette tapes is strong and a bit stretchable. You can crochet and knit with the recycled material without it breaking very often. The material while strong is still flexible enough to create many different recycled video tape projects and cassette tape items. Unfortunately this was not the case with these old audio tapes.

My first attempt at crocheting with the tapes resulted in the tape strand breaking almost immediately. I could only crochet a stitch or two before one of the tapes broke. I typically crochet with two strands of recycled tape as it provides a more durable product. I tried one strand, I tried two strands, I tried adding a strand of yarn for stability, and nothing worked.

Crocheted T-Yarn Wash Mitt

August 2, 2013 Comments Off on Crocheted T-Yarn Wash Mitt
Crocheted T-Yarn Wash Mitt

Here is a car wash mitt I crocheted using t-shirt yarn I recycled from several old white tee-shirts. I cut this t-yarn as narrow as I could to crochet this wash mitt. The result is a very thick wash mitt that you can use to scrub the car or other things you may need to clean.

I crocheted the wash mitt using the crocodile oven mitt pattern as the base of the mitt. I changed the cuff portion of the pattern to finish off the wash mitt using a colored t-shirt cut just as thin as possible. Make sure you stretch your t-shirt strips to create curled t-shirt yarn. Crochet the cuff using the colored t-yarn to complete the project.

I hope you enjoy this free crochet pattern and make yourself a cool recycled wash mitt from your old tee-shirts.

Crocodile Stitch Wash Mitt Pattern
J (6 mm) hook

Materials:
T-shirt yarn cut 1/4 inch wide (about 2 white tee-shirts)
Small amount of a contrasting color for the cuff (1/3 of a colored tee-shirt)

Finished crocheted wash mitt measures 7 inches wide by 9 inches long. The cuff portion is 1-3/4 inches long with a 4-1/4 inch wide opening.

Special Stitch:

Crocodile Scale Stitch: Dc 5 stitches down first post of the 2-Dc base set, Ch 1, and then work 5 Dc up the 2nd Dc of the 2-Dc set.

Directions:
With J hook and t-yarn, Ch 42.

Wavy Ripple Lapghan Pattern

July 24, 2013 7 comments
Wavy Ripple Lapghan Pattern

This is my first wavy ripple project. I was inspired by Attic24 who did one of her beautiful colorful afghans using this stitch design. Here is a closeup of my wavy ripple pattern after I crocheted the stripes for one side of my lapghan.

I set out to crochet my lapghan to fit a person in a wheelchair. I wasn’t sure about the starting chain number of stitches I would need for the lapghan so I ended up doing a chain of 145 stitches for my base row. Well it’s a lot wide than I would have liked at 44 inches so I ended up doing this as a long lapghan that goes down and covers a person’s legs. I crocheted this lapghan working it in rows vertically for a total of 48 rows. I used a Bernat 14 oz pounder-style worst weight yarn in a clay color along with some scrap brown yarn for stripes.

Here is the finished photo of my wheelchair wavy ripple lapghan.

Free Crocheted Wavy Ripple Lapghan Pattern

Description: Wavy ripple wheelchair lapghan blanket

Hook: H (5 mm) crochet hook

Gauge: 2 rows = 1 inch; 7 stitches = 2 inches

Materials: Bernat 14 oz/400 g yarn in clay and 3 oz of worst weight brown

Finished size: 30 inches wide by 44 inches long (wavy going up and down)

Crochet pattern written in US crochet terms.

Instructions for starting:
Chain 145 for base row.

Fade to White Plarn Tote Bag

July 13, 2013 2 comments
Fade to White Plarn Tote Bag

I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile on how to create a tote bag that fades from black to white using recycled plastic bags or plarn. Here is what I came up with. I used recycled black plastic bags to start and then grey bags to the dirty-white colored bags and ended with white plastic bags.

I used the ultimate plarn tote bag pattern to crochet the bag with just some minor changes. On round 3 at the curve of the ends, I crocheted 2 Half Double Crochets (Hdc) in the first stitch at the curve. Then I worked just 1 Hdc in next stitch and 2 Hdc in the stitch at the other part of the curve. Repeat for the other side’s end.

For round 4 curve, you want to identify the 4 stitches on the curve of each end. Crochet 2 Hdc in the first stitch, then 1 Hdc in each of the next 2 stitches and 2 Hdc in the next stitch. Repeat for the other end. This should give you a nice rounded corner on each side of your bag.

Now follow the original pattern directions, changing colors as follows:

Recycled Denim Christmas Stockings

July 7, 2013 8 comments
Recycled Denim Christmas Stockings

It’s Christmas in July for me as I’m working on mini Christmas stockings. The Warmth for Warriors organization needs 2000 mini Christmas stockings for the troops. They have just kicked off their 2013 Christmas Stocking Drive. The socks need to be around 6 inches long and will be filled with a small bar of soap, shampoo, body wash or similar item and given to the troops as a little Christmas gift. The socks can be sewn, knitted or crocheted and do need to be all handmade.

These recycled denim Christmas socks were all sewn on my Singer treadle sewing machine. It was fun to use the treadle to sew the denim sock shells. Once sewn, I just turn the socks so the right sides are showing and fold under the top to the inside. I then crochet a top

Recycled Plastic Bag Baskets

June 28, 2013 8 comments
Recycled Plastic Bag Baskets

Here are two plastic baskets I crocheted from recycled plastic packages and plastic retail bags. The red basket has several rounds from a large red hashbrown plastic package that I cut into plastic bag yarn or plarn. The blue basket has two large recycled toilet paper packages cut into plarn too.

All of the plastic package materials were cut into plarn using a single strand. I used the single strand cutting method as the plastic was so thick and it was easier to cut it about 3/4 inch wide in a single strand to crochet with it. For the plastic retail bags, I made plastic bag yarn using my plarn making tutorial which is done using the looping method.

I wrote up the pattern details and have listed it on my free pattern page. In case you aren’t familiar, I offer all my patterns and tutorials free of charge. You can find everything from recycled bag patterns, repurposed denim projects, to crocheted regular yarn items. I have a large library of free patterns available so check out the link above to see all my patterns.



Free Crocheted Plarn Basket Pattern

Materials needed:
Plastic bags cut into strips 1 inch wide (Approx. 15 bags)
and recycled plastic packaging from hashbrowns and toilet paper packaging cut about 3/4″
wide using the single strand method

All pattern details are written in US crochet terms.

Hook: K (6.5 mm) size crochet hook

Description: Crocheted Recycled Plastic Bag Basket –
Basket measures 6-1/2 inches tall, 6-1/2 inches base and with 3-1/2 inch wide handle openings

Directions:
Rnd 1
Starting with a magic circle, work 8 Sc into circle. Join with Sl St to first Sc.

Crocheted Helmet Hat Pattern

June 19, 2013 11 comments
Crocheted Helmet Hat Pattern


I have been crocheting helmet hats for the troops. After using a few different patterns, I tweaked my own basic pattern and thought it might be helpful to write out the crochet pattern for everyone’s free use.

These helmet caps are designed to only come to the edge of the ears. If you want a longer hat or a cuff, repeat round 6 a few extra times for a longer hat. Then add the 2 rounds of single crochet for edging trim. The two rounds of single crochet add a nice tight trim for the hats.

I only chain 2 for the beginning of my rounds. I find the joining seam is tighter this way. Here is the back joining seam. You can click on it to super size it. If you prefer you can chain 3 but I think by just chaining two, the seam looks better.

As always please enjoy the free crochet pattern below!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Free Crochet Helmet Cap Hat Pattern

Finished adult helmet hat measures: 21″ circumference by 8″ long
Hook: H (5 mm) US sized crochet hook
Materials: 3 ozs Wool or Worsted Yarn

Mix and match yarn to add stripes as desired.

With H hook, Ch 4 and join to form ring.
Rnd 1
Ch 2, work 11 Dc in ring. Join with Sl St to beg Ch-2. (12)


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About Me

Hello, I’m Cindy or aka RecycleCindy. Welcome to my blog site that is dedicated to recycling and crafting. I love to crochet and create crafts and other useful things from recycled materials. I share many free tutorials and patterns for creating recycled projects as well as other handmade items.


Here is a direct link to all my free patterns available here on My Recycled Bags.


Thank you for stopping by to visit and for your interest in My Recycled Bags!