Here is my latest baby wearable I made for my granddaughter. I crocheted this cute pattern by Beverly called Cat’s Meow Toddler Jacket using Bernat Baby Jacquards. It is a fairly easy pattern but I did have some questions and I thought I’d clarify a few issues that I had as I worked the pattern.
First I wasn’t sure what the pattern was referring to when it read “Work over 26 patterns for 3 rows” after you finish the sleeves. I figured out it was talking about the vertically rows that this stitch pattern forms as you crochet the repeat pattern. I counted over 26 pattern rows which was about 10-1/2 inches from the sleeve edge and 4 inches from side edge in to neck.
Next I found that the border needs to start on the left side as you are looking at it which is the actual right hand side of sweater. I also found that it was easier for me to do the buttonholes on the right side of jacket by starting from the top edge and working down. Because I started at the top, I worked single crochet (sc) stitches in the first 8 stitches from the collar down to the first buttonhole. Then I worked the first buttonhole ch 2, skip 2 sts, and then worked sc in the next 8 stitches and repeated down to bottom of the right side.
I finished off the border by working a sc around in each st and 3 sc in corners the same as row 4 calls for in the pattern. I worked the collar’s first row by sc in each st and then skipping every 4th stitch but then I worked the remaining rows of the collar by sc in each stitch and 3 sc at collar points. I edged my sweater jacket with white contrasting yarn by working sc around the collar and cuffs and then I crocheted the ruffled edging around the rest of the sweater.
I hope my notes may help anyone else that may have questions working this pattern. It’s really an adorable finished baby jacket and I can’t wait to see my sweet granddaughter model it.
Recycling thrift store sweaters is a great way to reclaim some nice yarn at a reasonable price. I recently picked up this mohair blend sweater from my local thrift store with high hopes to unravel the yarn. Well I soon found out that this sweater didn’t want to unravel and appears to be an interlocked knit.
I put on my thinking cap in an effort to upcycle this old sweater into some new and useful items. First I used the lower portion of the sweater to create a scarf cowl. Using some scrap yarn, I added two rows of single crochet along the lower edges to finish off the raw edges where the sweater body had been attached. My upcycled cowl was finished off with some wooden buttons from my stash.
Next I tackled using the sleeve as a plastic bag holder. The natural cuff on the sweater was perfect for transforming the sleeve into a handy bag keeper. As shown in the pictures, I folded under the top of the sleeve to the inside. Using a basting stitch, I sewed around the top edge about 1 inch from the top to create a casing for the ribbon tie closure. I machine stitched the basting to hold the fold in place and also so I could crochet in a straight line to create my casing. I left the back of the casing open where the sleeve seam is. Then using a small D crochet hook and some scrap brown yarn, I worked a slip stitch over the basting and through both layers to create my casing for the ribbon tie closure. See photos below and you can click on any other them to enlarge the pictures.
I added a hook hanger at the back by chaining the length I wanted and then worked back down the chain by working a single crochet stitch around the chain and attached both ends into the back of the bag keeper. I threaded a piece of ribbon through the casing and tied it at the back with a bow to complete the plastic bag keeper. I present the upcycled thrift store sleeve which has been transformed into a plastic bag holder.
I present my plarn apron which was crocheted from recycled plastic bags. Some time ago I had a request for an apron pattern and put it on my to-do list. I add project ideas to my list all the time in an effort to create a comprehensive library of free recycled craft patterns here at My Recycled Bags. So depending on what pattern you may be looking for, here is the link to all my free patterns. If you don’t find a pattern for something you would like to make, let me know and I will try and create a pattern for you.
Just a word a caution about this plarn apron, don’t use it around an open flame or bbq. It is plastic and would be best used to protect your clothing when washing the dog or maybe working around the house. If you’d like to waterproof it, consider fusing plastic bags to the back side as I did with my sit-upon project. Enjoy and happy crafting to all!
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Free Pattern for Recycled Plastic Bag Apron
Materials needed:
One large ball of plastic bags or plarn cut into 1 inch wide strips
Approx. 60-70 bags
Hooks: N (9 mm) size metal hook & J (6 mm) hook for straps
Description: Recycled Plastic Apron
Apron measures 25-1/2 inches wide and 25-1/2 inches long
with 25 inches long top strap and 20 inches long straps on sides
Directions:
Row 1
Ch 19, Hd in 2nd ch from hook and in ea chain st down to end.
What do you do with your old cell phones? Do you recycle them? Each year nearly two hundred fifty million phones cell phones are discarded and many get thrown away and end up in our trash and landfills. Cell phones contain toxic chemicals and hazardous materials such as copper, lead, arsenic and zinc products just to name a few of the concerning materials.
And we all know what happens to stuff in landfills — It ends up leeching into our Earth, contaminating our water aquifers, poisoning our animals and thus harming all of us.
Recycle Mobile Phones in the UK is a company that is promoting the safe recycling of cell phones. The company provides useful information on suppliers who are paying cash for old cell phones. Through the process of phone recycling you can get your old cell phones disposed of correctly, into responsible hands. These companies know exactly what to do with the old models and how to recycle them efficiently and responsibly. Consequently, fix the phones (if need be) and put them to good and practical use again, as the phones were initially intended. For example, there are mobile phone recycling companies who repair old broken cell phones or use the parts to repair other recycled phones.
Additionally some recycled cell phones are made available to under-developed countries, the military, and nations suffering from natural disasters, such as the recent major earthquake in Haiti, in which thousands of cell phones were sent to that impoverished nation.
It is so easy to simply compare the best price you can get for your handsets that are just lying around and send it to a phone recycling company. Some mobile phone recycling programs will even prepay your delivery cost to help you out. So please check out Mobile Phone Recycling sites like recyclemobilephones.co.uk, to recycle your old phone and as they say in their slogan Get the most for your old mobile and do your bit for the planet!
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I recycled two t-shirts to create this wheelchair or walker tote bag. I crocheted from strips cut from the two tees about 1/4″ wide. Here is my picture tutorial showing how to make t-yarn from old t-shirts. I added a couple of novelty dice buttons to finish off my bag.
Maybe you’d rather crochet your wheelchair tote using regular yarn or even plastic bag yarn. Here is the link to the free pattern to crochet a wheelchair walker bag using regular yarn and this link will take you the tote bag pattern using plarn or plastic bag yarn.
So whether you’re into crocheting with recycled t-shirt yarn, plastic bag yarn or regular yarn, there is a free pattern here for everyone to create this handy wheelchair or walker tote bag. People who receive these totes really love them and they make wonderful gifts.
Free Pattern for T-Yarn Wheelchair – Walker Tote Bag
Materials needed:
2) T-shirts cut into 1/4 inch wide strips of T-Yarn or Tarn
2) 3/4 inch buttons
Hook:
J (6 mm) crochet hook
Description: Wheelchair/Walker Tote Bag
Bag measures 12 inches wide and 8-1/2 inches long with 7 inch straps
Directions:
Using blue t-yarn, Ch 36.
Here is my diagonal cotton baby bib pattern. It is a variation of my t-yarn baby bib I posted recently. I wanted to crochet a cotton bib and came up with this pattern after a little work. I wanted to create a pattern using regular cotton yarn as I know that not everyone wants to crochet with recycled t-shirt yarn. So I present the diagonal cotton baby bib and hope you enjoy working this quick crochet pattern.
Free Crocheted Diagonal Baby Bib Pattern
Materials needed:
Main color cotton yarn 1-1/3 ozs
Contrasting trim yarn approx. 1/2 oz
Hook:
H (5 mm) USA size crochet hook
Description:
Baby Bib measures 10″ across and 8″ long from neck edge to bottom center
(5-12 month size shown in parentheses is 11″ across and 9″ long)
Straps are 10″ long each
Directions:
Ch 18 for Newborn to 4 month old (Ch 20 for 5-12 month larger size bib.)
Need a new bathmat? How about making one from your old t-shirts. I share with you all my recycled t-shirt bathmat rug. I crocheted this bathmat during a RAL (Rug A-Long) over at the Trash to Treasures group on Ravelry. If you are member of Ravelry, you should check out our group. It’s a fun bunch of people who love to create cool stuff using what some may call trash.
Anyway I crocheted this using about 3 different shirts and wanted a half circle rug to place in front of my shower. I had to rework my rug several times to get the shape right. Please keep in mind that you may have to add or subtract a stitch or two here and there to get your rug to lay down flat and to have the half circle shape. Remember that crafting with recycled materials is never an exact science so my patterns should be used as a guideline to help you create your own finished projects.
If you are new to crocheting or knitting with recycled t-shirts, you can learn the process by using my curled t-yarn tutorial. Enjoy this tarn rug project and happy recycled crafting to all!
Free Pattern for Crocheted T-Yarn Bathmat Rug
Materials needed:
3) t-shirts cut into 1/4 inch wide strip and stretched to curl into T-yarn
Hook:
N (9 mm) USA size aluminum crochet hook
Description:
Bathmat rug is 27″ tip to tip and 13-1/2″ wide at middle
Directions:
Row 1
Make magic circle and work 7 Dc in circle.
I fell in love with this crocheted ditty bag pattern when I first saw it. It’s so cute and has a handy strap that threads through the front of the bag. You may recognize this pattern by Dot Matthews that she created and used regular worst yarn to crochet her bag. I wanted to try crocheting the pattern using recycled plastic bags or plarn. Here is my finished plastic ditty bag.
Because plastic bag yarn is thicker, my ditty bag came out a bit larger than Dot’s bag. I followed Dot’s pattern except that I had to crochet 27 rounds before doing the handle rather than her pattern that calls for 22 rounds. Other than that, I crocheted the bag according to the free pattern available here.
Click on any of the photos to supersize
My finished plastic ditty bag measures 7 inches tall, 7 inches across the bottom and has a 14 inch long handle strap. So whether you want to crochet with regular yarn or plarn, this pattern makes for a cute ditty bag and would be wonderful reusable gift bag project too.
Just in time for Valentine’s day, here are several recycled craft projects that you can make. First I want to share this cute Valentine’s bag that Carmen sent me a picture of. She crocheted this using my recycled Valentine’s bag pattern and added some red plastic bags to trim her creation.
Next maybe you need a holder for your Valentines, if so here is a fused plastic bag project with a full picture tutorial found here.
For those crafters that enjoy working with recycled denim, here are a few little denim heart purses. The purses are lined and have several different embellishment options as shown in the tutorial.
Well that concludes my recycled crafting roundup for Valentine’s day.
Happy Valentine’s day!
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