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How to Repurpose plastic shopping bags into weavable plarn

Hand cutting plastic strips from a roll on a cutting mat.

Plastic bags on their own aren't quite strong enough to hold anything too heavy (at least not for an extended period of time), but when broken down into "plarn" - plastic yarn - they can be woven into some very sturdy fabric.

This video teaches you how to make "plarn" for weaving. You can use this same exact technique for T-Shirts (except cut the strips 3/4").

Start with a plastic grocery/shopping bag. Fold and cut off the bottom and handles so that now you have only a tube. Fold one edge over leaving an edge of appx 3 ". Cut 1 1/2" strips in the folded edge. Open it up and then make the diagonal cuts for one continuous strip. This will yield appx 9 yards of "plarn".

You're now ready to weave some nice fabrics for tote bags, make up cases, maybe even a rain coat for your dog?

I have 2 projects posted at http://rigidheddleweaving.com for this fabric.

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