One Word: PLARN.

I am a huge fan of upcycling. Simply the idea of already having what I need as well as using something in a new way. It involves random thoughts and needs to be filled. This could also be my downfall because before I throw anything out, I always ask myself, "Can I use this?" It's usually an epic battle within my head as the brainstorm commences. Some of my story characters run to hide as the thought bubbles rain from on high. Different ideas unsheathe their flaming swords of reason and step out onto the muddy battlefield. Blood splatter as weapons clash. Arrows of suggestion mix with the thought bubbles, causing disaster to the warriors of ideas. Yet in the end, I usually throw the thing out anyway... or recycle it. Recycling's good too. I would really like to avoid hoarding things, so unless I see a use in the foreseeable future (like how I save pieces of wrapping paper for cards that I make and write on a monthly or so basis), I usually will throw something out. Yet I feel that's when I feel my grief over the brave thoughts that lost their lives during the battle in my head. Unfortunately, they are gone and we must live on because that's what they would want.

Something like this,,,

That paragraph is a mess of nonsense, but I was really enjoying the metaphor, so I'm not getting rid of it. Might draw a picture of it some day and clean it up, but it is about an argument in one's head, so my defense tonight is that war's supposed to be messy.

Anyhoo, on to the plarn. What is plarn, you say? Well, it's upcycling at its finest. One day, I noticed a lot of plastic bags in my room and I decided to use them. Granted, they were in my room because I use them for garbage, but since I have been buying things faster than throwing things out, the pesky bags have started to collect. One option is to simply recycle, but before I did so, I figured I would do a little research and see what creative people did with such bags. In some cases, people simply took a whole day and folded them into little triangles. As much as I might be a perfectionist, I can't bring myself to do this. I don't have the time. Then, I stumbled upon this gem:

Plarn, or plastic yarn, is a method of cutting plastic bags into strips so that you can use them for crochet or knitting. As someone who enjoys the occasional granny square, I immediately liked the idea and found that making a bag out of the stuff to be genius. After a week of cutting up bags, I ended up with this result:

My own plarn bag

My favorite part about plarn is that it doesn't look like plastic bags when you're done. Sure, if you get really close and feel the plastic, you can tell, but it doesn't even make that annoying crinkling noise of plastic bags. To get the different colors, I just used different bags, but the splashes of color in between the layers came from the images that had been on the bags. It gives a nice semi-random design.

Getting that close up of my crochet skills

I decided to line the inside with some material I bought and gave myself a few pockets. It involved mainly hand-sewing it to the plarn, but I first used a sewing machine to make the pockets. You know, for the essentials like my phone, wallet, change purse, and pens. An artist/writer can't go anywhere without pens and paper. I chose this size because I could fit my tablet as well as a book (or two) inside without making it too heavy. I then added some simple straps because this is really my first bag and I didn't want to overwhelm myself by making them adjustable or anything. I also fused one plastic bag together and attached in between the plarn and my lining on the bottom to give it extra support and water resistance in case I put my bag down somewhere questionable. I have a link here to show you how that works.

The inside. Made a point to match the blue bags I used in the stripes.

So there you have it, my latest creation. I like how I don't really have to worry about it in the rain or the snow. Many people have complimented me on my bag and every time I tell them that 1) I made it and 2) that it's from plastic bags, they're always amazed.

If you are new at crochet, I still suggest this project because the plarn does not fray like yarn and you don't have to be extremely loose with your stitches (which I know comes with practice). Still, the plarn sticks to itself and sometimes fights against you, but it still wasn't so bad. Not to mention, it's pretty easy to get a bunch of plastic bags, so you can make as many mistakes as you want without breaking the bank! I do also suggest recycling the scraps you get while making the plarn because you do not use the handles and the bottom of the plastic bag. Perhaps put them all in a plastic bag you won't use and recycle them. I will admit I did not always do this, and thus why I'm saying it here in hopes that others will not follow my horrible example. I'm lazy and I know it... don't judge me. In the least, I will take the time to make a bag and love it to pieces, as I'm sure if you do this, you will too.