Green Alert - A Word About Plastic Bags

Okay, all the talk about going green is really getting old, but in an effort to do my part I thought I would just throw this out there. A quilting group I am on is getting a lot of chat going about making grocery totes using up fabric in their stash. Since we all have used plastic bags to bring home our stash, supplies to use with our stash, food to supply energy to use or stash, okay you get the drift. At any rate, I can remember my aunts using bread bags to crochet rugs for the bag door foot wipe before coming in and of course crocheted slippers to use over our shoes in the snow. I kind of got to thinking, in my weird way of reasoning, especially when I am sick, what's old is new. I did a Google search and found some offerings for using up those plastic bags to crochet them in to reusable bags for the beach and shopping. Making a not so green product, turn green friendly in the end.

I am not feeling up to writing these in so that they will open in a new window, but you should be able to just click on them. You may be able to right click and tell the computer to open in new window, depends on your system I guess.

Here are a few of the links I found:
Marlo’s Corner
http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/Plastic%20Bag%20tote.html

Recycled Bags.com
http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/03/29/crochet-a-recycled-plastic-shoulder-bag/

http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/11/09/fun-fur-recycled-tote/

http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/08/11/crochet-a-recycled-clothes-pin-bag/

uses cassette tape
http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/03/14/recycled-cassette-tape-granny-square-bag/

uses VHS tape
http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/04/09/crocheted-sling-bag-of-recycled-vhs-tape/

uses bread bags
http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/10/19/recycled-bread-bag-handbag/

Vegan Crochet
http://vegancrochet.wordpress.com/about/

Amelie Redman
http://www.ccthita-swan.org/pdf/Crocheting_bags.pdf

Bev’s Beach Bag
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/beachbag.html

Also, for your entertainment, I found this really neat You Tube clip of Cristen Andrews explaining how to make bags and such out used plastic bags. Really is king of cool to watch.



In fact, once you cut your bags in to strips and make your "plarn" (kind of like pleather) you can pretty much use any favorite pattern to crochet or knit. You really need to make at least one. I know I am. Have decided that cutting the bag into strips and joining them together will be the perfect "Job" for DD, 11, who is currently grounded due to grades. DON'T even think how mean I am, she is going to love this job. She really does like doing anything craft related.

That is all for now about that.