I used regular yarn to crochet this cup holder and the free pattern is found below. If you’d like to use vcr tape with yarn, here is that free pattern link.

Recycled Halloween Treat Cup

Materials needed:
1 oz Black yarn
Small amount of Orange yarn
Yogurt cup
Orange sheet of construction paper
Craft glue

Hook:
“N” US size metal crochet hook

Description:
Halloween Treat Cup – measures 3” wide and 3” tall with 9” handle strap

Directions:
Rnd 1
Holding two strands of black yarn together, Ch 4 and join with a Sl St to form a ring.

Rnd 2
Ch 2, then work 6 Hdc in ring, join with a Sl St to top of Ch 2. (7 sts)

Rnd 3
Ch 2, Hdc in same st, *2 Hdc in ea st*. Repeat between * – * to end of round. Work 2 Hdc in st before joining with a Sl St to top of Ch 2. (16 sts)

Rnd 4
Ch 2, working in BLO, Hdc in ea st and join with Sl St to top of Ch 2.

Rnds 5-9
Ch 2. working in both loops now, Hdc in sm st and then Hdc in ea st around. Join with a Sl St to top of Ch 2.
Leave yarn attached to begin handle.

Handle:
Using yarn still attached from last round, chain 17 for handle. Attach with a Sl St into opposite side so handle in centered and matches other side.

Turn and working back up chain with a Sc around the chain evenly. (Approx. 23 sts)
Finish with a Sl St into base of handle at other side.
FO and weave ends under. Cut and trim any loose ends too.

Edging:
Attach orange yarn in st near handle along the top edge, *Ch 3, Sl St into next st*. Repeat between * – * along top edge of cup holder. Finish with Sl St into base of beginning Ch 3.

Cut triangle eyes and mouth out of orange construction paper. Use craft glue to paste on to holder as shown.

Insert cleaned yogurt cup inside and stretch as needed to make fit inside the cup holder you crocheted. Fill with treats!

If you have any questions or find discrepancies in this pattern, please email me using contact tab.

Abbreviations:
BLO – Back Loop Only
Ch – Chain
Dc – Double Crochet
Dec – Decrease
Ea – Each
FLO – Front Loop Only
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Plarn – Plastic Bag Yarn
Rnd – Round
Sc – Single Crochet
Sk – Skip
Sl St – Slip […]

Below you will find the picture tutorial that I made while I was creating this little Valentine’s heart bag. Here is the step-by-step picture tutorial on how to DIY.

I used a retail plastic bag that had some red on it as I wanted my Valentine heart to have a red background. I cut out the store name and folded over the plastic so the red was all together in a block. I then covered the red with a piece of plain white plastic bag. You must cover over the ink when fusing otherwise when the ink gets hot, it runs and gets real messy. I created two separate sheets for this project. Each sheet was made with 3 sheets of plastic. White on the bottom, red in the middle, and another white sheet covering over the red ink on the top.

All photos are clickable to supersize
Next cover your plastic with a sheet of wax paper and apply heat using a medium setting on your iron. Don’t get it too hot and keep your iron moving as you apply the heat. Let cool a moment and check your fusing. Repeat the process on the other side of the fused piece as you need to apply heat to both sides of your project. Make sure you have the wax paper completely over the plastic bag so you don’t melt the plastic or create holes with the iron. If it needs more heat, apply heat from iron again but be careful not to get too hot as this will wrinkle up your plastic sheet. Once your fusing is to your liking, peel off the wax paper and here are the two pieces I created. As you can see the red is inside the plastic fused sheet I created but still shows through.

Next I cut a heart template using a piece of newspaper and then cut out my two hearts from the fused plastic pieces. Use whatever size of a heart that you want to make your project.

Next I used some red yarn to lace around the outer edge. Put the two cut hearts together and I started by lacing through both layers on the upper right side as shown. I used a big darning needle which works well to poke the big holes into the fused plastic. I continued around by lacing through both layers until […]

Here is the finished plastic bag keeper

Below is a picture tutorial that I put together to show the steps for this project.

Click on photos to view full-sized
Punch a small hole on either side of the cup for the bag hanger. I used a metal one-hole punch and just punched several times to make the hole big enough for 3 strands of plastic bag yarn or plarn to fit through.

I cut 3 plastic bag loops about 1 inch wide. This is the same method of cutting strips that I use when making plastic bag yarn. Here is a link to show how to cut the plastic bag into loops. Hold the 3 loop strips together and thread it from the outside of the cup to the inside. Make sure you keep your strands flat and evenly held together. Tie a knot at the end of the plastic to secure it on the inside of the cup.

Click to super-size photos
Using the three strands, braid or chain the plastic bag yarn together. Once you have braided the plastic bag yarn together, insert the loose end from the outside of the cup to the inside. Tie a knot on the inside to secure your hanger.

This cup had a pre-formed 2″ circular bottom which is just right for the opening for your plastic bags. Cut the bottom of the cup around as marked.

Fill up your plastic bag keeper with bags and hang it up so you can reuse all those plastic bags easier. And as always, happy green crafting to everyone!

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