How to make Granny Bags using "PLARN"

"Plarn"  (plastic yarn) isn't a new concept, it's been around for a long time. I fondly recall my grandmother making bags and rugs out of bread bags. It wasn't until about 2 years ago, after I had stuffed over 1,000 plastic grocery bags into a box in the garage, that a new sense of urgency came over me to make some sort of use out of them. The only problem was, I couldn't crochet or knit a stitch to save my life. In comes my sister and YouTube, in which I quickly become a single-stitch professional. I've tried using other stitch techniques with plarn, it just isn't easy to do, and it makes for some rough callouses on your hands and wear on your fingers and wrists. Single-stitch works best when making plastic bags.

You'll need the following:

• A good pair of large sharp scissors


• A size K crochet hook


• A large empty (recycled) margarine tub for cut strips


• Empty paper grocery bag for clippings

Step 1:

I cut up to 10 bags at a time, but for first timers I recommend cutting at least 5 bags at once when starting out. The first thing we need to do is flatten out the bags like so:

Step 2:

Now you need to fold the bag length-wise (you can cut in quantity by folding several bags together at once), like so:

Step 3:

Cut off the bottom near the seam, and recycle the pieces as packing material or discard.

Step 4:

Cut the bag into 1" to 1.5" strips. (A bit of advice: cut thicker  mil plastic bags into thinner strips, you'll thank me later).

Step 5:

To join strip pieces together, end to end, you'll need to use the square knot technique.

Then pull it through:

Now you're ready to crochet!

Don't know how to crochet? Do what I did and watch YouTube videos here and here. You can pause and replay until it makes sense to you.

Happy crocheting!