How to Make Yarn Out of Plastic Bags
  • August 3, 2011
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How to Make Yarn Out of Plastic Bags

Alright…I have wanted to try crocheting using plastic bags for a while now, I just haven’t gotten around to it until now.  I won’t even try to make excuses.

Now, how the heck do you make yarn out of plastic bags?

Start by laying your bag out flat on any flat surface.  I used the kitchen table.

Then, carefully cut off both the top (the handles) and the bottom (where it’s fused together).  Then, unfold the bottom corners.  This will give you a big rectangular tube, still laying flat.

Fold said tube in half, away from you.  Then fold it in half two more times.  This gives you an easy “stack” of plastic to cut up.  If your edges are jagged, cut them off first to straighten them out.

Next, cut your plastic into 8 – 10 equal pieces.  They will each be 1/12 to 2 inches wide.  Really though, you can cut them as wide as you like.  This will just make your “yarn” thicker.

If you are cutting multiple bags at once, it’s best to have somewhere to keep your pieces until you’re ready to unravel them.

 Once you’ve cut up a few bags, take out two of your pieces and open them up.  You’ll be left with two tubes.

Now, you want to loop them together, creating a chain.  Place one loop over the other…

Pull it under and through itself…

Pull steadily…

Until you have a knot…or one link in your plastic chain!  Keep adding links until you’ve exhausted your pile of cut pieces.

Each piece of the chain will wind up being about 18 inches long.  I used 10 bags to start off with which wound up giving me a little over 118 feet of yarn!  Crazy, right?!

I then rolled it all up into a ball…

 and started making a plastic bag out of plastic bags 🙂

I still have a long way to go, but I am excited about the process.  And I am excited about actually being IN the process 😉  I’ve never crocheted a bag before…I usually stick to baby blankets and scarves…so this will be a double adventure!  I’ll let you know when it’s completed!

WARNING: 
This process may prove too hard to resist for your cat.  
Plastic becoming yarn?  
It’s like cat torture!
Bo pounced my pile at least 15 times while I was rolling up my ball of “yarn” 🙂
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Written by Melissa @ Ever Growing Farm