Recycled Crafts

December 14, 2019

Scrap Happy

 

Kate has a fun Scrap Happy Day that I am participating in this month.  Most people I know, are aware that I love to use up my scraps and recycle as much as possible.  Well…

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T-shirts galore!

I have lots and lots of t-shirts that my kids (all 5!) have grown out of.  The t-shirts that were suitable to donating we donated; however, many of them had stains or rips or were just too worn out to donate to anyone.  I knew I wanted to use them so I started making t-shirt yarn with them.

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1″ strips

I use the rotary cutter to cut one inch strips.

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Lots of shirts!

I usually cut many over the course of a day or two and then…

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t-shirt yarn!

Turn them into t-shirt yarn.  It does make a bit of a mess!!  But these are ready to use.  Sometimes I crochet hats, bags, bowls etc with them.  This time I am making some more rag rugs.

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Rag Rug

I’ve been trying out a bit of clasped weft for this one.  In the winter we use lots of rugs what with the dog, students and my own kids traipsing in from the rain.  I love these because they have a nice feel to them, are very sturdy, hold up to tons of washing and drying AND it’s a repurposed craft!  Now, back to weaving!  I’ve got some t-shirt yarn to use up.

March 6, 2019

Rag Rug #2

The second rag rug is off the loom.

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Rag Rug #2

I am still having lots of tension issues so instead of continuing with the warp and the next rug, I rolled the warp all forward and re-rolled it back onto the back beam.  This time with paper between the warp strings instead of the card board strips.  We’ll see how that goes.

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Twill for this rug.

I wove twill this time and really like the pattern, but it’s not as tight as the first one that was woven in even weave.

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Hem.

This one also has a hem instead of fringe which I like much better.  The third rug will have a hem and be woven in even weave.  I’m learning as I go!

February 5, 2019

T-shirt Rag Rug Weaving

I finally got my table loom up and warped!!  Boy did that take a LONG time!

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312 ends warped!

I have been wanting to weave some rag rugs out of t-shirt yarn.

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T-shirt yarn from the kid’s old t-shirts.

I have saved the kids t-shirts and they are stored in boxes.  The plan all along was to make yarn from them and weave rag rugs.  Finally, I am getting around to doing it!

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The first little bit.

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Closeup of t-shirt weaving.

It seems to be going ok.  My warp is not as even as I would like it.  I will need to figure out what I did before I warp again so I can get a more even one next time.

January 16, 2019

Plastic Crochet Tote

I’m at it again!!  I had more plastic bags from bread, TP, and other things that I have been saving.  img_5186

Here it is!  This one is different from the others that I have done as this one has a rectangular base.  I like this much more as it is easier to pack.img_5188

It looks on the smaller side, but it actually holds quite a bit.img_5187

I liked it so much I started a new one!!

Linking up with Hookin on Hump Day over at Petals to Picots!

September 13, 2018

Recycling…

I love to make things out of stuff that would otherwise go in the trash! In that vein…img_4268

I made a little tote bag out of the bag our wild bird food came in.  It’s actually quite sturdy.

I put in a box pleat on the bottom to give it a little depth and I cut off part of the bag to make the handles.img_4269

I think this is going to be the perfect size bag to bring to the grocery store!

December 16, 2017

Ta Da!

The second crochet plastic bag is finished!IMG_1721

This rectangle shape is much better and I think it will be more useful that the first one.  It’s still a little big so the next one will be about half this size.IMG_1720

What a sport she is!  This bag went together much more quickly than the other one.

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In use!

It was quickly put to use on my next shopping trip and worked really well.  I did get a few strange looks when I pulled it out of the cart, but no one actually said anything to me.  I wouldn’t put anything super heavy in here – no cans, but I used it for boxes of crackers, small baking supplied and of course my son’s favorite chips!