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Month: April 2007

Crocheted Plastic Eco Tote

Cindy7 Comments

This crocheted Eco tote features a granny square motif and recycled materials to create an unique look. I used yellow and grey plastic grocery bags, vcr vhs tape, and white plastic retail bags in this project. My goal in creating this Eco tote was to crochet a bag that would be strong enough to use as a book bag and could be used for an everyday carry tote. I also crocheted this bag as a Crochet-a-Long (CAL) at one of my favorite craft website forums Crochetville.

My Eco tote measurements are 12″ wide, 13″ long, 1-1/2″ deep at sides with strap that is 1-1/4″ wide and 28″ long. I have included some closeup pictures below to help you in this project. I must warn you that I did have problems keeping my tote bag square. I believe it’s because of the different materials that I used and because the plastic tends to stretch a bit during crocheting.

Closeup of edging on bag

Click to view full-sized

Closeup of handle attachment

Click to view full-sized

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Plastic Eco Tote Pattern

Size: Approx. 12″ square bag with strap that is 1-1/4 inches wide and 28 inches long.
Hook: N (9 mm) metal crochet hook used in this Motif pattern.
Materials: Plastic bag yarn and 2 partial reels of vcr vhs tape.

Crochet a Recycled Handbag from Plastic Grocery Bags

Cindy27 Comments

Crochet this cute eco-friendly handbag from recycled plastic grocery bags. It’s a great size for an everyday handbag purse. Handbag features a roomy oval bottom and comfortable handles.

Here is a closeup of the bottom and handles.

I want to show these closeups so you can see how the bottom has been made oval by adding increases at the sides. The handles are shown laying flat to show how each side is done to matched each other so that the bag is evenly formed.

I have explained this further in the pattern below. If you have any questions while working this crochet pattern, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

As always enjoy this recycled bag project!

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Crocheted Hand Bag Using Plastic Grocery Bags

Materials needed: One large ball of plastic bags cut into strips and interlocked to create a ball of yarn or Plarn to crochet with.

Hook: M (9 mm) size metal crochet hook

Description: Small handbag tote purse –
Bag measures 10 inches wide at top and 9 inches long with 6 inches oval bottom and 5 inches handles.

Directions:

Crochet a Star from Plastic Bags

Cindy5 Comments

Crochet this star / flower using plastic bags. This little star or flower was made from recycled plastic bags. It’s a quick and simple project that can be used to make a hair barrette as shown.

The star or flower can be used to embellish any project as it’s a cute addition to any purse or bag. Use your imagination and have fun adding this to your crafting item!

Here’s the free pattern.

Recycling a Plastic Wedding Bag

Cindy6 Comments

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 (5 mm) 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 inch long strips

Hook: Metal H hook

Crocheted Plastic Bag Patterns

Cindy13 Comments

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.

September 2014 update:
It has been over 7 years since I first wrote this post and over the years I have added many new recycled plastic bag patterns to my blog. You can find a list of all the patterns with thumbnail photos of each project at my free patterns page.

Thanks for visiting My Recycled Bags!