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 “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” U.S. size metal hook
Description: Plastic Bag & Pop Tab Tote Bag
Bag measures 12” wide and 10” long with 18” straps
Directions:
Ch 20 loosely.[…]
Here are some gift tags I made from a pretty Kleenex box I had. The box was just so cute that I wanted to recycled the cardboard into something useful so I got out my tag die cutter. I cut as many tags as I could from the panels of the box and then used a hole punch to put a hole into the top of the tags. I used scrap yarn and some leather strips for ties to finish off my gift tags.
Here is one other set of gift tags I cut from another Kleenex box. The bottom had some plain white so I cut out a few of those to show you that with some pretty yarn, they make great gift tags too. For the other tags, I used pieces of plarn (plastic bag yarn) for my ties.
This is a really quick and easy project that you and the kids can both enjoy. Let the kids cut strips of yarn or other recycled materials for the ties and voilà — you have yourself some cute and free gift tags.[…]
Here is my version of an Altoids tin repurposed into a pincushion and sewing gadget box. The materials used in this project were from an Envelope of Doom (EOD) swap I participated in. If you aren’t familiar with an EOD swap, its where you put some crafting materials into an envelope and mail them off to your partner. The challenge is to use the materials you receive to make things for your partner and then return the finished items back to your swap partner. It was a fun swap and this pincushion sewing box was one of my creations from the materials I received from my partner.
I was inspired by this Altoids project which used a magnetic sheet on the inside of the lid to hold needles and such. There are lots of different crafting versions and great ideas on the web for reusing the tins.
Over at Craftsters Rackycoo’s tutorial is outstanding and has step-by-step photos showing how to decorate your tin. I used a few ideas from the post to finish off my Altoids pincushion box.
I hope my swap partner will enjoy her recycled Altoids tin as much as I did creating the little sewing box. Until next time, happy crafting to all![…]
Welcome to plastic bag pattern headquarters! I am building a library of patterns here for crocheting with plastic grocery bags and other recycled materials. Currently I have free patterns available for purses, a plastic bag keeper, shoulder bags, coasters, and other bags.
If you are new to crafting with plastic bags – here is the tutorial on how to create yarn from plastic bags.
You may also want to read my tips on crafting with plastic grocery bags, just click here.
I love to share my free patterns and recycling ideas with others to promote recycled crafting. My plan is to continue building this website blog into one of the best resources for crafting with plastic bags as well as covering other materials that can be used. More patterns are being added all the time so please make sure you check back often.
Thanks for visiting My Recycled Bags.com![…]
I wanted to bring everyone up to date on my latest discoveries and completed projects using different recycled materials. Recently I used VHS tape to crochet an evening bag and also a round Motif bag purse. It works fairly well to crochet using the VHS tape but you do need to pull a bit on your stitches to make them uniform and even. Be careful as it can be a bit hard on your fingers and joints. It is a wonderful way to use those old VHS tapes that so many of us have lying around. The black tape gives a pretty sparkly sheen to your project. It appears to do be an excellent eco-friendly way to recycle those tapes!
Next I experimented using cassette tape as yarn. It’s much narrower and you need to use a small hook. I used single strand tape to make a set of Barbie Fashion Doll purses. The free patterns are available under my pattern link on the right. I must say that crocheting with cassette tape is easier on my joints and smoother to crochet stitches with. Another nice discovery was that you do not need to open up the case to use the brown tape as yarn. You simply use a rewound tape and cut off the clear lead so you just have the brown tape to pull out of the case. You can then just work your project by pulling out the tape as you go. It reels out smoothly and you don’t have to worry about your “yarn” getting tangled. Be careful as the tape colors do vary so check your color shades when you do your projects.
My latest project consists of plastic bags and cassette tape used as “yarn.” The brown center was a plastic grocery bag I cut very narrow to match my cassette tape width. I cut the plastic bag strips at about ¼ inch. Now I know this is narrow but you need this to match the brown cassette tape. I believe this is a bit like working with thread. While I don’t work with thread much, this was an easy item to stitch as you don’t need to manhandle your work. The stitching seems to move along effortlessly unlike some of the other recycled materials I use. I will post a picture of the bag here when it is completed.
Knitting Links for Recycled Bags
I will continue to try out new and test other recycled materials here on this website. My motto continues to be that this website blog is dedicated to recycling and crafting. In an effort to expand beyond just crocheted recycled crafts, I wanted to share with you several knitted recycled bags. Thanks to Mike at www.pieandcoffee.org who agreed to allow me to link this knitted recycled plastic bag in a post.
So for you knitters out there, click on this link for instructions on creating a knitted recycled tote bag using a different method than I do for the […]
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