Close

Striped Recycled Plastic Bag Tote

I crocheted this latest recycled plastic bag or plarn tote using lots of white plastic bags and a few red and grey plastic bags. Recycling all the white retail plastic bags I get can be challenging. Let’s face it, the white bags are boring and need something to help brighten up the project when you crochet or knit with them. So by adding some colorful bags, I created a few stripes to spice up this recycled tote bag.

I used the free recycled round grocery tote pattern to crochet this bag. I just changed up the stripes of colored plarn a bit for a different look than the original pattern. But otherwise it’s the same pattern. As with any pattern, you can always just make a few changes which will result in a new look.

Below is another picture taken with the tote bag laying down flat.

Recycled Basket with Kitchen Items

I crocheted this plastic basket from recycled plastic retail bags. The bags are cut 1 inch wide and connected using the loop method to create plarn or plastic bag yarn. Here is the free plarn basket pattern I used to crochet the basket.

The basket is filled with kitchen items for an upcoming Relay for Life fundraiser. Included in the basket are potholders, an oven mitt, dishcloths and pot scrubber.

The jute and green granny square kitchen items were shared in a recent blog here

Mini Plarn Flower Basket

I needed a little mini flower basket for a garden theme crochet project so I cut some plastic bags very thin to accomplish this tiny recycled plastic basket. The basket is filled with wild Yarrow and Lupine flowers.

I used 2 recycled plastic bags and cut them in long continuous strips just a 1/4 of an inch wide. Here is one bag cut just 1/4 inch wide and rolled into a little plarn ball. As you can see this is thin, single strand plarn. I joined strips with a small knot and then just crocheted over the ends on the inside of the basket to hide the splices.

Mini Crocheted Plarn Flower Basket Pattern

G (4 mm) crochet hook
2 plastic retail bags cut 1/4 inch wide in one continuous single strand

Finished basket size: 3 inches wide x 2.75 inches tall

Directions:
Rnd 1
Ch 2 and SC 5 times in the 2nd ch from hook.

Weaving a Recycled Plastic Strap

I needed to make a strap for my grey and pink colored recycled bag so I used a spool knitter. There are many variations of this 4-prong tool and you weave the loops around the posts by slipping the bottom existing loop off and over the new loop. You work around to each post in this manner to weave a long braided-style strap.


I love how by using the grey and then pink bags, the strap has a variegated look about it.

Here is a photo of the spool knitter I used which is made by Rugworks.

The handle is being made from recycled plastic bags made into plarn. I created a striped look for the strap handle by attaching two pink plastic bag loops together and then adding one grey loop. Then two more pink strands and one more grey and just keep repeating the process.

Red White & Blue Plarn Basket

Here is my latest crocheted recycled plastic bag basket. This basket uses mainly grey Walmart plastic bags and then I added stripes of red, white and blue “plarn” to decorate it with a patriotic theme.

I used an old plastic-coated clothes hanger for the handle. I cut a piece 19 inches long and put some curved ends on the hanger so I could attach it to the sides of my crocheted basket.

Once I had the hanger attached to the inside of the basket, I used a pliers to squeeze closed the curved hooks around the top edge to secure it to the basket.

Now for the free crochet pattern details for the basket.