Plastic Waste

Thousands of plastic bags are used every day all over the world. They take hundreds of years to decompose, sitting in a landfill or floating in the ocean.  

Repurposing plastic bags instead of disposing of them gives them new life—and keeps them out of the environment.  

Try your hand at making plarn! 

What is plarn?

Plarn is yarn made from plastic bags. It can be used in various hobbies and activities like macrame, crochet, knitting, and weaving!  

Follow these steps!

brown plastic bag

Step 1: flatten a plastic bag completely against a smooth surface. 

 

 

 

brown plastic bag with lines showing where to cut along the bottom of the handles and the bottom of the bag

brown plastic bag with handles and bottom cut offStep 2: cut off the very bottom of the bag lengthwise as well as the handles.

 

 

 

brown plastic bag folded accordion style

Step 3: fold the bag accordion style. 

Step 4: cut the bag into strips from closed end to closed end. 

 

 

 

strips of brown plastic bag connected by a knotStep 5: take two strips of plastic. Thread one of them through the other. Take one end of the strip you threaded and feed it through the end of itself. 

 

 

 

brown ball of plastic yarnStep 6: pull taught and continue attaching new pieces of plastic.

Step 7: roll into a ball or roll around an empty toilet paper roll.

 

 

 

Info from the Center for Biological Diversity and Florida International University.