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Recycled Plastic Fat Bottom Bag


I present my plarn fat bottom bag that I crocheted using recycled plastic newspaper bags. You may remember me saying that it is difficult for me to obtain pretty colors in plastic bags for my crafting. Well thanks to a suggestion from a blogger friend, I asked my local library to save their newspaper bags for me. They have been giving me one pink and one orange plastic bag daily from their newspapers. Anyway I saved up the plastic bags and crocheted my first fat bottom bag.

You may notice that the pink shade on the last few rounds of the bag and handles are darker. That was because the newspaper company changed the color of bags they were using. At first I was upset that I couldn’t finish my recycled bag using all the same color of pink but then once I was forced to use the darker bags, it turned out to be a nice contrast for the finished project.

As I mentioned this is my first fat bottom crocheted bag. The original pattern in written only in Portuguese. But there is an English chart and a wonderful tutorial including the lining over at Bend Beanies Blog which is a life saver. She has great pictures and helpful tips to help translate this awesome free pattern.

Below you will find some pictures I took as I worked the pattern.

Recycle a Cup into a Plastic Bag Keeper

I have had several requests for recycled crafts projects that kids can do. With that in mind, here is a quick upcycle project that children and adults can both enjoy. First you need a large plastic container. The container I used was a 64 oz. soda pop cup that I found and decided that I would re-purpose into a plastic bag keeper.

Here is the finished plastic bag keeper

Below is a picture tutorial that I put together to show the steps for this project.

Recycled Plastic Hobo Handbag

This hobo handbag was crocheted using recycled plastic bags. It is a pattern that I adapted from Dao over at ShortyLamCrochet Blogspot. I emailed Dao several times to work out some details because to create her bag using plastic bag yarn or plarn, the pattern required some modifications. We agreed that I would post her pattern link which is done with regular yarn. Below you will find my variation of her pattern done in plarn.

Inside of Lined Hobo Bag Click to View Full-Sized

Strap Made Using Spool Knitter

Free Plastic Bag Hobo Handbag Pattern

Materials needed:
One large ball of brown plastic bag yarn aka Plarn
1 set of 1 inch D rings or circle rings
2 yards of ribbon (1/2″-3/4″ will work)
Magnetic clasp closure
Material for lining if desired

Hooks:
N (9 mm) Metal crochet hook
J (6 mm) Metal crochet hook

Description: Recycled Plastic Hobo Bag
Bag measures 14 inches wide and 10 inches long

Directions:
Rnd 1
Ch 29