plarn DIY basket from plastic shopping bags, Digi Mart USA News: A home craft guide published by House Digest explains how surplus plastic shopping bags can be recycled into plastic yarn, called plarn, and woven into a storage basket. The publisher notes that keeping a few bags for household uses such as lining small trash bins or picking up after pets still makes sense, but that larger stockpiles can be repurposed.
The project has two stages: making the yarn and building the basket. According to the source, plastic t-shirt bags and scissors are needed to make plarn, along with a crochet hook if the basket is made entirely from plarn.
An alternative method uses a paper-based foundation of kraft paper, old newspapers or magazine pages, a glue stick and an 18-inch bamboo skewer.
Crafters quoted in the article suggest starting with at least 30 plastic shopping bags, though the exact number depends on the basket’s size and design. The source recommends non-biodegradable, recyclable bags for greater durability.
To make plarn, each bag’s handles and bottom seam are cut away, the plastic is folded lengthwise into strips about 1½ inches tall, and those strips are cut into roughly 1-inch-wide pieces. The loops are then threaded through each other, and strands can be braided for a stronger or wider yarn.
For a paper-supported basket, the publisher describes rolling paper into tight strips with a wooden skewer, gluing them to hold their shape, and coiling them into a base. Vertical paper strips are then attached around the perimeter as ribs, and plarn is woven horizontally, alternating over and under each rib.
The strands should be kept snug without being pulled so tightly that they snap. The source notes that loose ends should be trimmed and stray pieces glued for a finished look.
