The first bag I knit using plastic bags.
I’m big-time into recycling. I hate wasting anything, especially when money is so tight these days. Here’s the ultimate in recycling plastic bags – knitting with them! You can cut up a plastic grocery bag in a way that makes it one continuous ribbon of plastic. Some call it plarn (plastic yarn).
This site shows an easy way to cut up the bags. There are drawings and links to photos.
The plarn makes a crinkly sound when you are knitting that reminds me of a baby walking in diapers! If you can get past the noise, it’s an imaginative way to reuse those plastic bags. You can still recycle the scraps because you do waste the handles and bottom seam when you cut up the bag.
After knitting with this for a while, I have discovered that the cheaper the bag, the easier it is to knit. I don’t recommend using the thicker plastic bags from department stores. It is too thick and difficult to work with. Plastic grocery bags are perfect for making plarn.
All of my friends love the bags I’ve knit with plarn. I’ve seen them sold on sites like Esty (a site for handmade items).
I made my own pattern for kntting a tote bag with plastic bags because I hate sewing seams. I like to knit, not sew! See my article on knitting a tote bag.
The first bag I knit had directions to sew the seams with fishing line. Now there’s something that is something that is really difficult to work with! My knots kept coming untied no matter how many I put in the fishing line. A friend told me to put nail polish on the knots so they wouldn’t come undone. That was a nice idea. Honestly though, it took me a couple hours to sew up all of the seams.
Feel free to try any of the plarn patterns out there. It’s great fun. There are a lot of free patterns on line that I didn’t design and you won’t hurt my feelings if you knit one of those.
I’d love to see anything you’ve made with plarn. Share your photos with me and I’ll set up a slide show with them. You can send them to holli@reptileinfo.com.
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