Need a little cozy for your Ipod Nano? Well crochet yourself this quick and easy cozy project!
Free Pattern:
Crochet this cozy using about an ounce of 100% wool yarn with a “G” hook. Chain 13, single crochet (sc) in 2nd stitch from hook and in each stitch down to end of chain (12 sc). Working around the back side of chain, sc in each stitch to create a seamless cozy. Do not join. Continue working in rounds until your cozy measures 3-1/2″ long before felting (approx. 15 rounds.) Slip stitch into last few stitches of final round so your finished edge is smooth. Fasten off and weave under ends on the inside of your cozy. Finished size before felting was 3-1/2″ long by 3-1/4″ wide.
Place your completed cozy inside an old pillowcase and tie it closed with a knot. I felted my cozy 20 minutes on the hottest water I had with an old pair of jeans. Check your cozy after 8-10 minutes of agitation to make sure it hasn’t felted too much. Mine needed more so I put it back into the washer. After a total of 20 minutes, mine was perfect. I pulled it out and cold water rinsed it in my sink. Shape your cozy so it’s square and check to make sure the opening is wide enough to insert your Nano. If it’s a bit tight, just stretch the opening a little. Air dry and shape as it dries if needed.
My final felted cozy measures 2-3/4″ wide by 3-1/8″ long. This cozy is a great way to use up scraps of wool yarn you may have on hand. Just make sure you use 100% wool so your project felts properly.
Here is my cozy with the Ipod Nano inside. It’s soft and thick so it protects the Nano nicely. This frugal project is much better than a store bought cozy plus its handmade!
Happy Earth Day 2008!
In honor of Earth Day, I have crocheted this recycled green tote bag which I’m calling my Green Greenie Bag.
The project is made using recycled plastic bags which have been repurposed into plarn or plastic bag yarn. Here is a picture tutorial to show you the step-by-step process to making plarn. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than creating an eco-friendly greenie bag for yourself, a family member or friend.
Free Green Greenie Tote Bag Pattern
Materials needed:
One ball of green plastic bag yarn aka plarn
One small ball of dark green plarn for stripe
Hooks:
Q US size plastic crochet hook
N US size Metal crochet hook
Description: Green Greenie Grocery Tote Bag
Bag measures 11 inches wide and 14 inches long
Directions:
Using N hook, Ch 28.
Doctor called last night after finally receiving the pathology reports following my surgery on Tuesday. The wait was almost unbearable but the news is wonderful. The lymph nodes are negative for cancer and so were the margins taken around the tumor. Hallelujah!
I’m sore from the incisions of surgery but this news has lifted my spirits and I’m feeling so much better now. Thank you again to everyone for your powerful prayers and good thoughts for my recovery.
First and far most I want to say thank you. Thank you for all the kind comments, words of encouragement, prayers, and other support everyone has given me. I am truly overwhelmed by the response I have received from so many blog friends and crafters out there.
My surgery on April 15 went well and I’m feeling pretty good today.
Second, I must tell you about a wonderful thing that happened before surgery yesterday. Prior to surgery, I was scheduled to have a MRI pin positioning procedure to mark with a wire the second suspicious spot that was found last week on my MRI. The surgeon wanted to remove this also while he was doing the already known cancer tumor. We didn’t know if this second spot was cancer and rather than wait for more biopsies, it was scheduled for removal too.
At about 1 p.m., a regular MRI was performed to precisely graph and mark this second spot. Once the MRI was done, the Radiology doctor and the techs went into the control room to look over the slides to determine the location which then the pin and wire would be inserted around the suspicious spot. This process can take several minutes as they do their calculations and careful location mark for inserting the pin. Many minutes went by. Several of the MRI techs came by and talked and reassured me that they should be done soon but until then I must remain exactly still. More time went by.
Finally the Radiology doctor came up to me, where I lay with my head turned to the side, trying not to move a muscle during this wait. She said, “Cindy, we can’t find it. It’s completely not there, it has disappeared. I looked at her trying to understand the ramifications of this. She said again, it’s not there and we don’t need to do anything further. You can just go to surgery. At that moment, I fully understood and could only say, “Praise God.” I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t speak. Even now as I type this I am emotionally shaken and have tears. I was allowed to sit up finally and was able to tell everyone in the room what I had known for several minutes. I told them it was a miracle! I told them that so many people were praying for me and sending good thoughts that our prayers had been answered. One tech told me that God works and moves in mysterious way which is so true.
So up to surgery where only the one known tumor was removed successfully and two sentinel lymph nodes were removed. Doctor stated that the nodes looked good and he should have the test results on them by Thursday. So keep those prayers and good thoughts coming as miracles and healing truly do happen.
Now on a crafting note, I am finishing up my recycled bag in honor of Earth Day on April 22. It’s a grocery tote bag […]
Sadly I must add a new category here at My Recycled Bags.com. As this post states I have started my journey into the pink. When I say pink I am referring to breast cancer. I recently received the news that I have breast cancer. I feel I am able to post about it now after several weeks of processing the news and coming to the difficult realization that this diagnosis has and will forever change my life.
Once the initial shock wore off and the tests continued, I have been able to get a more full understanding of my cancer situation. The good news is that the tumor is small and was detected fairly early plus I am an otherwise strong, healthy 48 years young woman. The bad news is that it is positive for HER2 neu which is a more aggressive growing cancer and the tumor is invasive with evidence that it has invaded nearby tissue and a nerve.
I have surgery scheduled for Tuesday, April 15, 2008. My doctor will be performing a Lumpectomy to remove the tumor and some surrounding tissue. He will also be removing a “suspicious” spot that showed up on my MRI which he doesn’t think is cancer but wants to remove it to be safe. Additionally he will be removing some sentinel lymph nodes to see if the cancer has moved into my nodes.
I am grateful for your support and hopeful that I will be in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days. Please pray that the cancer can be completely removed on Tuesday and my lymph nodes are cancer free.
I plan to keep you all informed and will continue making recycled craft projects for this blog. I love creating recycled bags and other green projects and this cancer will not change that. I have a strong faith and am believing that I will be back soon to share good news with you all. Until then, on with my pink journey…
Cindy
Here is my messenger bag crocheted using recycled plastic bags. I am tempted to call this my ultimate recycled bag because it is so big and could be used for so many different purposes. This was a fun and challenging project as it fulfilled a request I had received.
Awhile back someone asked me to make a bag big enough to hold a scrapbook album. Well, I think this recycled bag would work wonderfully to hold your scrapbooking projects along with extra supplies. I added a plastic canvas sheet to the bottom of my bag to provide more stability. I just placed it inside rolled over at the center in the base of the messenger bag.
Clickable
I hope you enjoy this messenger bag project and happy green crafting!
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Free Crocheted Messenger Bag Pattern
Bag measures 15-1/2 inches wide and 13 inches long
Strap length is 42 inches
Materials: One large ball of plarn (plastic bag yarn) Appox. 60 bags
Picture tutorial is found here on how to make plarn
Hooks:
Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook for main bag
Metal J (6 mm) crochet hook for edging
Chain 32.
Want to cover up those old metal hangers? Do you have some old chipped up hangers that need a new look? Here is a quick and easy method using recycled plastic bags. First you need to create some plarn or plastic bag yarn. Here is the link on how to make the yarn using recycled plastic bags. You only need about 5 bags or so to complete this project.
Using a “H” US crochet hook, join your yarn at the throat of the hanger with a slip stitch. Single crochet (sc) around the entire hanger ending back at the beginning of the hanger throat. Fasten off and use the ends to weave in around the hanger throat to make a nice smooth finish to the hanger cover.
Here is a close-up of the beginning to show in detail.
Click to view full-sized
Be creative and mix or match your plastic bags for unique hanger covers. Once your old hangers are covered, these are very handy for line drying items.
This is a great way to recycle old metal hangers and give them a new colorful life while saving them from the landfill!
Here is my latest VCR tape sling bag crocheted along with some ribbon yarn. A local group is making purses for girls in foster care in my area. I crocheted several different purses and decided that I would create one sling bag using recycled VCR tape for the purse drive. It has that funky teen-look so I hope some young lady enjoys it.
If you are new to the concept of crocheting with recycled VCR or VHS tape here is the link to the picture tutorial which shows how this process is done.
Creating purses and bags from recycled materials is always fun. Try adding different yarn or ribbon together with the VCR tape to accomplish different looks. Add additional embellishments to your finished bags to create that unique one-of-a-kind look.
Have fun and happy green crafting to you all!
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Free Crocheted VHS Tape and Ribbon Sling Bag Pattern
Purse measures 8 inches wide and 8 inches long
Strap length is 44 inches
Materials:
2 VCR VHS Tape Reels (only used about ¼ of each reel)
One button 1-1/2 inch button shown on bag
Small amount of Lion Brand Incredible Ribbon Yarn (City Lights shown)
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
Using 2 strands of VCR tape held together, Chain 18.
Okay, I know everyone’s been felting wool bags for years. But this is my first attempt and here is the results.
I found two small balls of 100% brown wool at my local thrift store. Apparently someone didn’t finish their project or didn’t need these two leftover balls so I thought I’d buy them to crochet my first felted bag. But fearing I didn’t have enough and wanting to crochet a good-sized purse, I splurged and bought a small skein of 100% variegated wool to make some colorful stripes on my purse.
It is very important to use 100% wool for your felting projects. I almost made the mistake of using some other “wool” yarn I recycled from another project, but found out it was only 20% wool. If I had used that, it would not have felted properly or evenly.
My bag was crocheted and then felted twice in my washing machine. The first time I used the hottest water setting for 10 minutes and then a cold water rinse. I put my bag inside an old pillowcase and tied it shut with a knot. I also threw in an old pair of jeans for added agitation. It wasn’t quite enough so I felted it again for about another 6 minutes. I added two recycled buttons to finish off the bag.
Here is the free pattern for anyone interested in crocheting this felted sling bag purse.
Felted Sling Bag Purse Pattern
Purse measurements:
Before felting – 11-1/2″ wide and 11-1/2″ long with 48″ strap
After felting – 9″ wide and 9″ long with 43″ strap
Materials:
3 ozs -100% brown wool yarn
2 ozs -100% variegated wool yarn for stripes (Bernat Natural Wool Meadow shown)
1 inch button or two recycled buttons as shown on bag
Hook: H (5 mm) crochet hook
Chain 40
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