The plastic bag!

August 12, 2006

Indestructible, unappreciated, omnipresent and versatile: The plastic bag!

They seem to multiply in that dark closet, don't they? I mean those grocery store plastic bags. And the plastic bags from the department store. The ones the newspaper came in, the ones from the dry cleaner and the drug store and the shoe store and the bakery.

What do we do with all of them? A lot of things! The Plastic Bag Pages are filled with uses, tips, ideas, and advice. As a matter of fact, there are so many uses for them that you may be overwhelmed. Don't try to do them all, but pick and choose the ones that will work for you.

To get started, here are the top ten best things to do with plastic bags:

Give them away. Well, that makes sense, but who is going to appreciate a gift of a pile of plastic bags!? Actually, some people/places do! You can probably think of more with this jump start:

Libraries Charity food distributors Charity clothing distributors or stores Daycare centers Elementary school teachers Farmer's market vendors

Find ways to store them? If you're going to save them, you have to store them somewhere, some way.

Crochet wreaths. Or rugs. Or angels. Or... use your imagination and plastic bags to make your own creations!

They're perfect for outdoor decorations for Halloween (or Christmas or Easter - use your imagination). They're waterproof and colorful.

Picker uppers for nasty stuff.

Keep a few (or more!) in your car for a multitude of uses. Use them to contain trash, the kids' books and crayons, snacks and other daily and road trip needs.

Carry food. As in food packed for a picnic or a potluck. (Put your container inside!) Roll a plastic bag into a small ball, or fold it over and over and put it in your pocket. When you need it, it expands to a full grocery bag sized container! Amazing magic! Seriously, use it to carry vegetables from the garden or wild foods. One reader said she never goes to the garden without a plastic bag or two in her pocket.

Stuffers. You know, for pillows and balloon types of curtains. For boxes of things when you want to mail them, too. And for decorative needlework figures and shapes.

They are waterproof containers. Use them to keep water in or to keep water out. Examples: Keep water in by carrying wet bathing suits in a plastic bag. Keep water out by keeping matches and paper products in a plastic bag when camping.

Use plastic bags to help get organized. Store things in them, make up "travel kits" for the kids, make your own daily travel kit to get through each morning more frugally. Use plastic bags to help get organized. Store things in them, make up "travel kits" for the kids, make your own daily travel kit to get through each morning more frugally. Once you get started, you'll never look at a plain plastic bag the same. I don't know whether to call that a warning or a promise. Just don't go shopping for the purpose of accumulating more!

Once you get started, you'll never look at a plain plastic bag the same. I don't know whether to call that a warning or a promise. Just don't go shopping for the purpose of accumulating more!

Make it with Plastic Bags!

NOTE: First and Most Important - please do not use bags that you bring meat home in. This is very important so no one will get sick.

There are 2 ways to cut bags.

This first way is to use for a J hook or smaller. Lay your bag down, leave the creases in and fold in half longways. (See Figure 1 and Figure 2. Cut off the bottom and the handles (see Figure 2 and Figure 3. [Note: I save these for stuffing or to use as fringe for rugs, or makeing wreaths.] Hold you bag in your hand and cut at an angle. (see Figure 4. Start cutting around the bag (see Figure 5) about 2 - 3 inches wide, or just use your finger as a guide, they don't have to be perfect!! Just keep cutting around and around until you finish up with the bag.

Now you have a long strip and can start crocheting, or cut alot of bags, wind up the strips, and start crocheting!!

The second method is for a J hook or larger.

Lay your bag down, leave the creases in and fold in half longways. (See Figure 1 and Figure 2). [NOTE: You can cut more than 1 bag at a time using this method, by putting the folded bags on top of each other, not too many, they do slip and slid when cutting!!] Cut off the bottom and the handles (see Figure 2 and Figure 3) [NOTE: I save these for stuffing, fringe on rugs, or making wreaths.] Again, you can decide how wide you want your strips. I cut mine about 2 inches wide. Just cut the bags across and you'll end up with loops, then connect the loops to make your strips as long as you want them. You can roll them up in a ball and start crocheting. You can also use this method with a cutting board and a rotary blade, the kind they use in quilting. When you're crocheting it's easy just to add another ball to it, just slide the beginning loop under the last loop and push the new ball through the new loop and pull - its attached!!

(.For a Q hook use 2 of the strips together, as directions above. )

If you bought bags - I hope you didn't, but if you did - to match your color in your kitchen/bedroom or whatever, cut these bags 4 to 5 inches wide as they are really thin and will tear easly.

You can also make stuffed animals, pumpkins anthing! All you need to use is a hot glue gun to put it together, because the heat melts the plastic's together, but don't let children play with these, they are for decorative purposes only! When stuffing an item, place your stuffing inside two bags; that will make it water proof, and the stuffing will not come out. Tie the bags closed and tuck in the ends in the bag. (These make great outdoor decorations!)

I also make alot of rugs, and yes they are washable, I usually wash them with my towels, but if you add bleach to them the reds turn an orange color, and please don't put them in the dryer, let them air dry. The more you wash them the softer the plastic gets, feels so good on your feet!!

Plastic bags are fun to work with and are very sturdy, I didn't need to starch the angel I made as she stands all by herself!! Plastic will not give like yarn does, so you need to take more breaks until you get use to the feel of it.

I crocheted a big bag and two men holding the handles (one of them a manager from a grocery store) bet me it wouldn't hold this 6 year old boy without falling apart. I won!! He gave me an entire box of new plastic bags, it held the 6 year old and didn't do anything to my bag!

You can use just about any pattern you find, just let your imagination and plastic bags make a creations all your own!!Blessed Be!Jodi

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