How to Make Plarn (Plastic Yarn)
| Why use yarn when you can have plarn? Inspired by eco-friendly crafts, I decided to make my first ball of “plarn”. Plarn is plastic yarn. The image to the right is my first proud ball of plarn. The ball contains about 10 plastic grocery bags. You can use plarn to crochet just about anything. To make plarn, all you need is a bunch of old plastic bags and a pair of scissors. Here is how I made it. |
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Step 1: Lay bag flat
Step 2: Fold bag in half
Step 3: Fold bag in half again
Step 4: Cut off handles and bottom of bag. Discard them into a recycling bin.
Step 5: Cut bag into 1 inch strips. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You can also make thicker or thinner strips if desired. Just remember that thinner strips are more likely to tear.
Step 6: Open two strips and lay one on top of the other
Step 7: Take the loop that is on the bottom and pull it through itself
Step 8: Continue to add more loops to the end as desired
Once you have a nice ball of plarn, you are set to start making your first plarn crochet project!
If you need help making plarn, just leave a comment!
[...] 20 plastic grocery bags, cut into a ball of plarn (How to Make Plarn) Crochet Hook Size G ( 4 mm) Yarn [...]
Good morning Rachel!
Using plarn is a great way to use those plastic bags we have under our sinks.
They also make fun rugs to use under the bbq pit when cooking on your apt
deck; anywhere u need extra coverage. Easy to make, use and clean…run
it under water, turn down to dry and its ready to use again.
Thanks for The Crochet Spot!
[...] crochet project to start you off in exploring the world of plarn (plastic yarn). You can use the “How to Make Plarn Tutorial” if you don’t know how to yet! It is fun and a great way to recycle your old plastic grocery [...]
OOOK, Im going to give it a try, Ill E-mail you the results lol
Awesome! I can’t wait to see
I am having problems with my plarn tote bag. I have tried it three different times now, but the bottom piece, which I am crocheting in the round, keeps rolling up on me. It seems like there are too many stitches and it folds over on itself and refuses to lie flat. I don’t want to take it apart for the third time if I might be doing it correctly. Do I just have to block it or something? I’m afraid to keep going and waste too much time if it is never going to lie flat and look like a tote bag! Oh and thanks for this page, it was super easy to learn from your pictures!
Hey Andrea!
I’ve never blocked plarn before, but I would definitely try blocking it before taking it out and doing something else. Also if there is a gauge on the pattern you’re using, try to match it. If you are able to contact the designer on the pattern you can ask them if there are any corrections on it, because you never know if there’s an error in it
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Hello! Fantastic idea. I want to try this project, but I have a doubt. I am a very begginer in the crochet thing. At the ilustration of the Plarn, I observe that the pieces of the plastic bag form a series of loop. My question is how I reduce the plastic so far I can take it with the gauge. Thank you. I am very please with your web site.
Hey Alba!
For my patterns I try to cut 1 inch wide strips to make the plarn consistent. Also to help match gauges you may have to try different hook sizes. That’s the thing with plarn though it can be tricky to get the right size so experimenting is key!
I’ve made several plarn bags. Instead of buying the fabric bags sold in the grocery stores, I made a plarn bag the same size. Now I have 3 of them I take to the grocery store with me. Everyone wants to know where I bought them and are surprised when I say I made them. My sister wants a big bag to take all her stuff to the beach, so she’s getting a very large one for her birthday next month. Here we can get yellow, white and brown plastic bags, so the combinations are all attractive and unique. Plarn is very easy to crochet with, but don’t try bread bags or the black garbage bags, they are very hard to crochet.
[...] knew why people used can cozies, but now I know. Here is one that I made for my soda can with plarn (plastic yarn). I’m so proud of how nice and tight the cozy fits on a can. This cozy can also be made with [...]
Am I seeing this right? The strips are double? You do not sew them together?
Hey Wanda!
No sewing needed at all
The bags are cut into “loops” that are weaved/knotted together. Let me know if you need help with it.