People ask me all the time about the amount of plarn created by each plastic bag and while it may differ with one type of plastic bag to another, I found the standard white retail bags yield me about 7 yards of plarn when cut them 1″ wide and assembled using the looping method. The orange plastic newspaper bags provided me with 6 yards due to their smaller size.

With that in mind, you need 4 plastic bags to make each one of these scrubbies. The white scrubbies were crocheted just 4 rounds. I found I liked a bigger scrubbie so I crocheted the orange one five full rounds. By crocheting 5 rounds you use all of the plarn created from the 4 plastic bags where the smaller scrubbers only use a little over 3 bags.

You will find as your crochet each round that it begins to twist which is normal. The more rounds you crochet, the more twist you get. Have fun with the colors and mix and match them. I plan to crochet more of these scrubbies and add a different color just on the final round which should create an even more unique coral look for the scrubbies.

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Plarn Scrubbie Coral Pattern

Materials needed:
Plastic bag yarn “Plarn” – 4 plastic bags cut into 1 inch wide strips
as shown in my plarn making tutorial

Hook: “N” (9 mm) size metal hook

Description: Recycled Plastic Scrubbie
Scrubbies are about 3-1/2 – 4″ wide depending on if you do 4 or 5 rounds

Directions:
Rnd 1
Ch 2 and work 8 Sc in the 2nd ch from hook. Do not join and continue working in rounds. Use a stitch marker if necessary so you know where each round starts.

Rnd 2
Work 2 Sc in each st.

Rnd 3-5
Work 3 Sc in ea st.
Option: For a smaller scrubbie, crochet just 4 rounds.

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

Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
Ea – Each
FO – Finish Off
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Inc – Increase
Plarn – Plastic Bag Yarn
Rnd – Round
Sc – Single Crochet
Sk – Skip
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch

This pattern is copyrighted by Cindy of My Recycled Bags {dot com} and may only be used for private individual use. No commercial sales or use is permitted. Links to this pattern are acceptable. ©2011

****Please do not copy my patterns on your blog site or post my patterns on Internet sites. I do not allow my patterns to be republished without expressed written permission. Posting of my patterns, without […]

To the right is my star dishcloth pattern but I did the two final rounds by working Sc’s in each stitch and 3 Sc’s in each point of the star. I thought by working the last few rounds in single crochet with white cotton yarn that it added a nice finish to the dishcloth.

The scrubbie dot pattern was adapted by using plastic bags cut into 3/4″ wide strips to create plarn and then using a “J” hook, I crocheted the pattern as written except for the final round which I used the cotton yarn to match my dishcloth.

Here is my open mesh magic dishcloth pattern using the same cotton yarn. The scrubbers were again plastic bags with the final round done in the cotton yarn to match.

So if you want to crochet some recycled plastic bag scrubbies, consider adding a final round of cotton yarn to them so they can match the dishcloth to create a unique kitchen set. These make excellent eco gifts and people really find the scrubbies handy.

[…]

Here are my colorful plarn scrubbies I crocheted using Doni’s scrubbie dots pattern. I used a “J” (6 mm) crochet hook and followed her pattern instructions using recycled plastic bags cut about 3/4″ wide as shown in my plarn-making-tutorial. The finished dimensions for my scrubbies are 4 inch wide if you follow the exact pattern directions but use plarn instead of cotton yarn.

I just love this quick and so cute pattern. The nice thing about these scrubbies is that they only take about 2 colored and two white plastic bags to crochet each scrubbie. If you are like me, it’s hard to get colored bags so this is the perfect recycled crafting project to use those uniquely colored bags.

Enjoy this pretty and very useful crochet pattern. Have fun experimenting with colored bags to create your own unique recycled scrubbie![…]

Here is part II of my dishcloths I crocheted using recycled plastic bags for pot scrubbers. This cute motif dishcloth was created using some plarn (plastic bag yarn) for the center and then cotton for the dishcloth. The plarn center provides you some scrubbing power when cleaning your dishes. Mix and match your scrap cotton yarn and plarn to make these unique dishcloths!

Here is another example of the same motif dishcloth but with different colors.

Clickable photo
My three different dishcloths that I have crocheted with recycled plastic bag centers.

The other two patterns for the blue-green and red round dishcloths can be found at this link.

As always, I hope you enjoy this recycled project and happy green crafting to you all!

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Free Motif Square Pot Scrubber Dishcloth Pattern

Dishcloth measures: 9-1/2” Square
Hook: Metal “H” US sized hook

Materials:
1- Sugar & Cream Cotton yarn ball – Marble (used about 2/3 of ball)
Small amount of Pink Sugar & Cream Cotton yarn
Small amount of plastic bag plarn for scrubber center

With center color (White shown) Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.

Rnd 1
Using White plastic bag yarn, Ch 2, (counts as 1 Hdc) in ring work 2 Hdc,
Ch 1, 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, Ch1, 3 Hdc, Ch 1, Sl St to top of Ch 2.
(4 corners & 4 shells made)
Fasten off and weave ends under on back side of Motif.

Rnd 2
With next color (Blue plarn) attach in any Ch 1 corner space.
Ch 2, 2 Hdc, Ch1, 3 Hdc, all in the same ch 1 corner space.
*Sk next 3 Hdc (shell), 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, all in the next Ch 1 corner space.*
Repeat between * 2 more times, Sl St to top of the beginning Ch 2.

Rnd 3
Sl St across remaining Hdc’s to corner.
Ch 2 (counts as 1 Hdc) 2 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, all in the corner space.
*Sk 3 Hdc, make 3 Hdc in between shells, Sk next shell, make 3 Hdc, Ch 1,
3 Hdc in corner.* Repeat 2 more times then Sl St to top of first Hdc. FO.

Rnd 4
Attach cotton yarn, (“Marble” Sugar and Cream used) in any corner space. Ch 2, 2 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc all in the same
corner space. *Sk next shell, 3 Hdc in ea sp between shells. At corners work 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc in corner space *. Repeat between * around and join with a Sl st to top of Ch 2.

Rnd 5 – 8
Continue in pattern with white “Marble” cotton yarn for each rnd. FO after 8 rnds.

Rnd 9
Join Pink Sugar and Cream yarn in corner space. Ch 2, 2 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc all in same corner space.
Continue is established pattern by working 3 Hdc in space between shells and in corner work 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc. Join with a […]

Here is my parade of pot scrubbers crocheted from recycled plastic bags!

I used several different types of plastic to create these pot scrubbies. The yellow and white/red ones were crocheted using the pattern below with a “N” hook. The white/gold one was made from a recycled plastic wedding bag. You can read about that project here. This scrubber was made using a “H” hook rather than the bigger hook as the plastic yarn was single strand. It is a much tighter stitched scrubber than the ones with the bigger hook. Here is the free pattern link for that scrubber.

So depending on your project either use the pattern below for pot scrubbers made from recycled plastic grocery bags or the link above for the single strand plastic strips.
____________________________________________________________________

Free Crocheted Pot Scrubber Pattern using Plastic Grocery Bags

Scrubber measures 3-1/2 inches wide across. (Make 2 round disks)

Material: Plastic bags cut into 1” strips

Hook: Metal “N” hook

Round Disk
Round 1
Ch 4, Sl St to join in first st of chain to form ring.

Round 2
Ch 2 (counts as first Hdc), work 11 Hdc in ring (12 Hdc), join with Sl St at top of Ch 2.

Round 3
Ch 2, work Hdc in same stitch, then work 2 Hdc in each st, join with Sl St at top of Ch 2.
Fasten off and weave ends under. (Tip: leave yarn attached when you complete 2nd disk that way you don’t need to attach yarn to join two disks together.)

With wrong sides together, join your two round disks together by working sc through both layers in between last rnd sts. Work *1 Sc in next st, then 2 Sc in next st* — repeat between * -* to last st. End with Sl St in last st. Fasten off and weave ends under.

Variations: Use all one color of plastic bags or vary colors as desired.

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

Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
Sc - Single Crochet
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
Rnd – Round

This pattern is copyrighted by Cindy of My Recycled Bags {dot com} and may only be used for private individual use. No commercial sales or use is permitted. Links to this pattern are acceptable. ©2007

****Please do not copy my patterns on your blog site or post my patterns on Internet sites. I do not allow my patterns to be republished without expressed written permission. Posting of my patterns, without written permission is in violation of my copyrights and is content theft. […]

My son recently got married and left us this plastic gift bag along with some other trash at our house after they opened some of their gifts here. Being a recycling person, I looked at the trash and saw some treasures.

Above is the picture of the very big plastic gift bag that had been cut to cover a large gift. It was such a pretty plastic bag that I just couldn’t throw it away even though it had been cut into pieces, had splits and other holes in it. I thought – wow I could make something out of that plastic. So out came the scissors and I began to cut strips. Now because of the damage to the plastic bag, I couldn’t cut it into circular strips as I do normally with plastic grocery bags. With this I needed to cut long strips and try to avoid tying too many knots because the plastic is so thick. The knots do not hide well when your plastic is thick or heavy gauge.

I cut up as much usable plastic off the bag pieces to create 1 inch wide yarn. I used a smaller hook — an “H” metal hook to crochet these items. I must say it was a bit hard on my finger joints. The thick plastic is difficult to work with and it caused me to pull harder on my work as I crocheted.

I crocheted this coaster out of my recycled wedding bag. The coaster is crocheted using the same pattern as the link here but with 1 inch single strand strips of plastic bag. You also need to add one additional round to make the coaster big enough as I used an “H” hook instead of the bigger hook I usually use.

Star and Pot Scrubber

The star is also a new project for me. I am experimenting with it using plastic bags for a hair barrette. You could also use the star as an embellishment to any project you may be crafting. I am crocheting more stars now and will be posting the pattern here shortly.

Then I crocheted this pot scrubber out of my recycled wedding bag. The scrubber pattern is below and varies just slightly from my other scrubber that is coming out soon using plastic bags.
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Crocheted Scrubber Pattern using a Recycled Wedding Bag

Scrubber measures 3-3/4 inches wide across.

Material: Single strand plastic cut into 1” long strips

Hook: Metal “H” hook

Round Disk (Make 2 round disks)
Round 1
Ch 4, Sl St to join in first st of chain to form ring.

Round 2
Ch 2 (counts as first Hdc), work 11 Hdc in ring (12 Hdc), join with Sl St at top of Ch 2.

Round 3
Ch 2, work Hdc in same st, then work 2 Hdc in each st around.

Round 4
Ch 2, work Hdc in same st, then *work 1 Hdc in next st and 2 Hdc in next st* — repeat […]