How I make plarn

I hope this is easy to follow - I may have to redo the photos with a darker color bag, but for now this is what I have!

First, take the bag, lay it out. I like to make sure it is flat & smooth.

Next I fold it in half.












Fold in half again.

  

Take the ends & cut them off. I usually cut off the top where the handles are so it is even, and try to get all the bottom off since that is where it is connected.

Hold it from the top middle fold so the 2 other folds are facing down and cut up but not all the way. Leave enough at the top to hold it all together. You can cut however wide you want - I generally try about an inch to an inch and a half.

Open it up! Now you will have a circle - like a hula skirt. This picture isn't the best way to show you, but I had to take the pictures myself.

Now to separate them! Starting from the right (or left, but I start at the right) go in at an angle to cut the strips. Only do this in 1 row. I like to do 1 row at a time. I cut it across the top of another (if that makes sense?)

After you do the row across like that, you then cut the rest of the apart even with your first cut lines. They should all be straight lines.

After you are done with the whole thing, you have one long plastic rope/string whatever you want to call it. Sometimes I cut some wrong, and end up having to make 2 pieces but that's ok! It will all connect. Find one end, and fold it down an inch or so, just enough to make a cut for a hole. Cut in, but don't cut it all the way to the end. This will be a hole where you take the other end and loop it though.

If this is the first piece you have, then you can skip the previous step & roll into a ball. After the first piece you do that step. Now you take a 2nd piece and do the same cut on the end as before. Take the first piece with the cut end & put in.

Don't pull it all the way through, just enough to get the hole you cut out. Take the other end of the plarn & put it through, as to make a loop. Pull that end all the way through. This will make your knot.

Roll into your ball and repeat!

I know I've seen other steps where you have to cut all the pieces & tie them, but I thought why create all the work? I'm sure there are other places out there with these same directions - I just hadn't come across them. I actually got this off a show on PBS, Knit & Crochet NOW, where they were making yarn from material, and this is how the guy connected them all, and the lady knitting bath rugs cut T-Shirts.

I hope this was easy to follow. I will get better pictures when I get to the gray or green bags I have - they are just holding the others right now.  Thanks for reading!

Plarn!

What is it? Plarn is yarn made from plastic! I just learned this last night, and there are lots of good sites to learn more about it. In a later post I'll put pictures up of how I make it.


Why plarn when you don't like plastic? I have TONS of plastic bags in my house. I use to be really good at only using my canvas bags, but I had my son and well...it was more stuff to carry. Now he is older & can sit in the cart, and this makes taking my bags in easier. I really didn't want to just throw them away, so we were using them to put in our recyclables. Then I remembered someone told me about a bag they had made from plastic bags. What a brilliant idea!  I have now made a bunch of plarn to make a market bag. Even better, I've read they can be washed, just not dried in a dryer.

I will be making the Ultimate Recycled Market Bag very soon. It is a great way to do something with all those bags that you just don't have the heart to throw out, but keep forgetting to take back to the store & recycle them there. It looks easy enough to do, so I hope you are inspired enough to do it!

There is also a whole web page I found of other things you can make plastic bags into. It is Crochet Pattern Central. You can also find just about anything else you want too! I also use ravelry.com to find a lot of my things. But that isn't what this post is about!


So...what is holding you back? Start your plarn bag today!

Favorite Materials

Here is a list of my favorite types of yarn.

• 100% Wool. The fisherman's wool is nice for wool soakers! I'm going to be finding something new though, as this is made in China. The other wool I've used is Patons, which I like as it is made closer to home - Canada. Stitch Nation "Full o' Sheep", and Plymouth Yarn "Yalway". My favorite texture wise is the Stitch Nation. It is so soft and comes in very pretty bright colors.
• Bamboo/Wool combo. Stitch Nation has this. I think it is by far my favorite of anything. It is called "Bamboo Ewe" and it is so easy to work with, and super soft. So far with it I've made a bag & almost done rabbit.
• 100% Cotton.

I think I go to the store to feel the yarns way too much. I won't buy any with acrylic. It is harder to find things without it, but my short list is what I've got so far. There are some that say Bamboo, but its only 45% bamboo, the rest is acrylic so it is disappointing to me! I am hoping this list grows soon - but where I live I am limited & I haven't ever bought anything like this online, and a little scared to take that leap.

Have any favorites that you would like to share? Any one that I should try that fits into a renewable source? I realize cotton isn't the best renewable source, but it isn't made from plastics which are made from oil.

Hello & Welcome!

Hello everyone! I am new to blogging - and a lot of the things I'm going to write about I am new in too. I'm not a good writer either, so sorry about that!

I wanted to start a blog on the things I like to make, and the things I like to make them with. I just really started crocheting, and am hoping to knit soon too. I know that there is so many blogs & sites to these things, so thanks for stopping by. I hope that you learn something new!

A little about me! My name is Jen & I live in the Black Hills in South Dakota. It is winter here, so I really don't do much outside. The snow seems to never end this year. I have a 7 month old son, who I have so much fun with every day. He is also the reason why I started doing a lot of crafting. I also like to sew, but that keeps me away from my little guy to much so I don't do too much of it.

Please bear with me while I get things added. I'll post my favorite patterns (their links!), things I did to make it work for me, and well just general stuff.
-Jen