Is anyone else excited about Earth Day? I know I’m super early…..
I have several transitions and needs happening in my life that need fulfillment…. which lead me to this project.
1) The Etsy store has been a little slow after Christmas. Hoping for big Easter Bunny Hat boom! {fingers crossed}
2) Speaking of Easter baskets… the boys don’t have any…. hmm… I bet I can make a basket…
3) We’re gearing up for a Spring Toddler School unit where we’re going to compost, grow vegetables and celebrate the Earth as it makes things grow.
4) Hey, I bet the boys could use some harvest baskets….
5) April is right around the time we’ll be planting, and talking about Earth day… I wonder if there is anything I can upcycle that I have a TON of all over the house….
Enter Plastic Yarn…
All 5 points addressed.
In my Toddler School prep search for how to get kids involved with recycling I stumbled across these beauties on Etsy: Recycled Plastic Tote Bag. Gorgeous right? And so ingenious.
Dude, I can totally do that!
You’ll get to see the boys’ Easter Baskets soon I promise, but this is just the How to post for the yarn…
Step 1: Lay out your bags. Cut off the bottom, then start cutting them in long strips, which are actually then LOOPS. {Lesson Learned} If you roll/fold them up to about an inch long strip you can cut them much faster! But for my pictures and instructions I think this is more informative.
Step 2: If you rolled up your bag before you cut it you can now unfold all of your loops. Then comes the tricky part…
Step 3: Connecting your loops can be a bit tricky so you don’t stretch the plastic too much and break it… Lay the ends of 2 loops over each other and pull one loop through the other enough for your hand to sneak through it, we’ll say 4-5 inches. Then, double back and pull the remaining tail end of the same loop through itself, interlocking the original loop you pulled the piece through.
Step 4: Ever so carefully, tighten the 2 loops against each other by gingerly tugging them closer together. This is when you can accidentally break the loop by pulling too hard.
Step 5: When you add on a third loop, be sure that there is just enough tension on loop #2 that you tighten #3 evenly. For example, you want Loop #2 to have exact placement of Loop #1 at Noon and Loop #3 at 6:00. Do you get it? If Loop #3 is tightened on at 4:30, you’re going to have more plastic on the left side than right and it will be uneven.
Helpful Hint: After I connect Loop #3 I start to roll it up in a ball so that I can keep the tension in all the right places. This also helps make sure that the next loop is tightened at exactly 6:00 to the previous on! Then I add on more loops.
Here is the interlocking image sequence one more time…
I can’t wait to see what you do with your upcycled plastic yarn!
See more DIY & How to Tutorials and get Crafty with our Mommy Made Team
HERE
Sneak Peak…. Check out our Easter/Earth Day Baskets! Post coming soon!
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Is anyone else excited about Earth Day? I know I’m super early…..
Sneak Peak…. Check out our Easter/Earth Day Baskets! Post coming soon!
[…] Before we went outside today I surprised them with their Spring Baskets. I made myself some plastic yarn out of grocery bags and crocheted them some Harvest Baskets {I know, super #crunchymom} which I filled with garden […]