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 […]

I finished up this crocheted earthtone kitchen set for my Mom’s birthday. It includes a round ripple dishcloth that I made using Julee’s RR dishcloth pattern. I changed it up a bit and made the center flat.

Below is my open mesh magic dishcloth along with a scrubbie dot I crocheted using recycled plastic bags.

Click on photos to supersize them

Next is a hostess gift I put together for a friend. It includes another RR dishcloth and a plarn scrubbie dot. The little flowered tag is cut from a recycled greeting card. I thought it matched the gift and look perfect for a Spring gift so I used it as my gift tag.

Anyway just wanted to check in with everyone and show some of my recent crocheting. I’ve am busy finishing up a fat bottom bag I am crocheting from pink plastic newspaper bags and just started a special order purse being crocheted from vcr tape for a repeat customer of mine. I will be back soon to share all those recycled craft projects with you as soon as I get them done.
Happy crafting everyone! […]

For that last minute holiday crafting, here are some quick crocheted items to share. I crocheted this kitchen set above as a Christmas gift. It includes one potholder, round ripple dishcloth, open mesh magic […]

Here is a photo showing a net and a sample of the cut strips. You can click on any of my photos to supersize them.

The nets are circular and open on both ends so I just cut across the middle to make my strips. Here is the link to my picture tutorial I made showing how I cut green plastic lettuce netting into strips and assembled them.

To complete this little kitchen set, I crocheted my star dishcloth. The free pattern for this dishcloth can be found here.

My star dishcloth shown here was crocheted all in cotton yarn but I do have an option if you’d like to add a recycled plastic center for extra scrubbing power to the dishcloth.

Below you will find the free pattern for the scalloped pot scrubber.
Enjoy!



Scalloped Pot Scrubber Pattern

Scrubber measures: 4-1/4” Square
Hook: Metal “J” US sized hook

Materials:
3/4 oz – Bernat Holly Jolly Prints cotton yarn
1 – large red produce plastic netting bag (cut and looped together)

Holding cotton and netting together, Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.

Rnd 1
Ch 2, (counts as 1 Hdc) in ring work 2 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, Ch 1, 3 Hdc, Ch 1,
Sl St to top of Ch 2. (4 corners & 4 shells made)

Rnd 2
Sl St over to 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 netting but leave cotton yarn attached.

Rnd 4
Using just cotton yarn now, Sl St across remaining Hdc’s to corner. 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 […]

Of course no kitchen set of mine could be complete without a touch of recycled materials so I included one of my kitchen scrubbies which are reinforced by adding recycled lettuce netting for extra scrubbing power. The free pattern link and tutorial on how to create the scrubbie is found here.

The granny motif dishcloth, star dishcloth and the potholder are my original patterns. Click on the green links above for the free patterns to those projects. I also have options on these two dishcloth patterns to add a plastic center so they can be used for extra scrubbing. The multi-colored nubby dishcloth pattern shown in the lower left hand corner is from Charlotte over at Crochetville and is available free here.

This has been a wrap up of my latest completed crochet projects. I continue to create new recycled craft ideas. As a sneak preview, I will share that I am finishing a striped purse crocheted in a shell stitch. Each row is a different color as I changed colors of the plastic bags I used every row. It is turning out very colorful and definitely has a unique look. I will be back soon to post that free recycled shell purse pattern. Until then, enjoy your summer!

[…]

Here is a scrubbie I made using Rachel’s pattern that she calls her all purpose scrubbie. As soon as I saw this handy scrubber, I knew I had to crochet it and add some of my recycled plastic to the project. So I added some recycled lettuce netting along with Sugar and Cream Country Stripes cotton yarn on rounds 2-5 on the bottom only. And because I’m lazy and don’t like to sew, I just put my two round disks together and worked SC sts around to join the two together. Rachel’s pattern calls for using a yarn needle to join the two rounds together so use whichever method you desire to complete your scrubber.

If you need a tutorial on how to make and crochet with the recycled plastic lettuce netting you can find it here. Here is Rachel’s free all purpose scrubbie pattern link.

Next I present Rhelena’s dishcloth that features a granny style stitching. Here is the free pattern link. The only thing I added to her pattern was a sl st around the center circle to tie in my yarns as I used up a bit of scrap yarn I had for the center. The main dishcloth was crocheted using the same Sugar and Cream Country Stripes cotton yarn that I used in my scrubbie project. I really like this yarn as it naturally provides you a type of striping to your crochet items.

Well this wraps up my latest addition of crocheting with recycled materials here at My Recycled Bags. By adding the recycled lettuce netting, my scrubbie is extra durable but gentle enough to use on non-stick pans. My dishcloth completes the kitchen set which I will be saving for a future gift-giving idea.[…]

Here is another scrubbie I crocheted using one of those plastic nets that they put around a ham. The ham netting is much thicker and harder to crochet with. I had to cut the ham netting into wider strips of about 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide otherwise I couldn’t connect the cut links. The lettuce sleeves are much softer and easier to crochet with. But the ham netting does make for a very good and stiff scrubber. I crocheted only three times the 2-row sets using the gold colored ham netting to complete this scrubbie.

Anyway I just wanted to share this fun spiral scrubbie pattern and show how by adding a bit of recycled material, you could create a very handy scrubber. Enjoy this green craft idea![…]

Here is another variation using scraps I had leftover and is one round less than the original pattern as I ran short of materials.

Click to view full-size

These dishcloths with center scrubbies are very durable and handy for cleaning your dishes. Here is a picture tutorial on how use plastic bags to create plastic bag yarn or plarn. This is a great way to use up scrap cotton yarn and also re-purpose those unique colored plastic bags as you only need a small amount of plarn for the centers. Here is the free pattern for everyone to enjoy this fun recycled green craft project.

Stumble It!
**************************************************************************

Sunshine Dishcloth with Scrubbie Pattern

Dishcloth measures: 9” Square
Hook: Metal “H” US sized hook

Materials:
1-1/2 ozs. of Cotton yarn – variegated yellows
Small amount of white Cotton yarn
Small amount of plastic bag plarn for scrubber center –
white (1 bag) and yellow bags (2 bags needed)

Option: This pattern can be worked all in cotton if you’d rather.
Allow about 2 ozs. of cotton for project.

With center color (white plarn 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 (yellow 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, (variegated yellow cotton 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 – 9
Continue in pattern with variegated yellow cotton yarn for each rnd. FO.

Rnd 10
Join white cotton yarn in corner space. […]

It is an eco-friendly greenie that you can scrub your dishes with. The cotton with the recycled green netting is very scratching and works well as a scrubbie. It measures 4-1/2″ by 4″.

Here is a mini tutorial on the prep for the green netting bags.

Lay out the green netting bag and I used a paper clip to hold the end closed.
Click to view full-sized

Cut the bag in strips across about 1 inch wide. Cut all the way down to the end and discard the hard end piece.
Click to view full-sized

Take the loops you have created and interlink them using the same method for making plastic bag yarn or plarn. In the picture below, the top two loops aren’t pulled tight yet so you can see how to loop them together. Then the bottom ones show how it looks once you pull the loops tight. Just pull on the ends gently to tighten your knot between the two joined pieces. Continue to add loops to create a long strip of netting that you can crochet with.
Click to view full-sized

I used about an ounce of white cotton yarn and combined it with the netting strips I created. Hold it together and crochet with a larger hook. The crocheting is a bit harder with the netting but just keep your work loose and it goes easier. Also I would recommend handwashing this pot scrubber for longer life.

Well that’s the project and here’s the free crochet pattern. I hope you enjoy this eco-friendly project and happy green crafting to all!

**********************************************************************************
Free Greenie Pot Scrubber Pattern

Scrubber measures: 4-1/2” x 4”
Hook: Metal “J” US sized hook

Materials:
1 oz – Sugar & Cream cotton yarn (white used)
3 – green plastic netting bags (cut and looped together)

Holding cotton and netting together, Ch 4, Sl St to form ring.

Rnd 1
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)

Rnd 2
Sl St over to 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 […]

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.
___________________________________________________________
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 […]