Come Learn and Share Information about Recycling, Crocheting & Recycled Crafting
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.
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.
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
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!
Here is a crocheted plastic bag keeper made from recycled plastic and bread bags. This is the second installment of my to-do list that I promised you all that I would work on. I had never crocheted a bag keeper so last week I tackled this project. I had to experiment a bit with the pattern to figure out how big it should be and also how I was going to create my bag holder. Many bag keepers or holders that I see have elastic holding the bags in. I wanted to keep this a completely recycled product so I tried a few different things before settling on using some pretty red bread bag strips to weave between my stitches. I then gently pulled on my bread bag strip to clinch it up and tied a bow in the front which created my bag holder. You can untie the bow should you need to put in or take out plastic bags without it being clinched up.
Anyway here is my completed recycled plastic bag keeper that you can crochet from plastic bags and bread bags. You could also use ribbon or strips of fabric rather than bread bags to make your bag holder. As always, here is the free pattern to crochet your own recycled bag keeper.
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Free Recycled Plastic Bag Keeper Pattern
Finished Bag Keeper measures 4 inches circular wide and 18 inches long.
Strap holder length is 10 inches.
Material: One large ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
This is one of my all time favorite bags that I have created. It’s a crocheted shoulder bag made of recycled tan plastic grocery bags. It is a quick and easy crochet project to try if you are just starting out doing recycled crafts. If you need to know how to create yarn from plastic bags, here is my link to the step by step process to make the plastic bag yarn. If you want a larger bag, just add more stitches to your beginning chain and if you would rather have a deeper bag, just increase your rounds as desired. This pattern is worked in rounds and you do not join at the end of each round. Because of this you do not need to sew side seams together. As you work the first few rounds, the bag will turn up at the sides. Just continue working one Hdc in each stitch around and it naturally forms your purse without having to sew any side seams.
Enjoy this fun eco-friendly project!
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Crocheted Recycled Plastic Shoulder Bag Pattern
Purse measures 9 inches wide and 6 inches long.
Strap length is 42 inches when not tied.
Material: One large ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
One button 7/8 inch button shown on bag.
Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook
For complete pattern just click on read more link below.
