15 Free Plarn (Plastic Yarn) Crochet Patterns
With Earth Day coming up I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a roundup of some awesome free crochet patterns using plarn or plastic bag yarn. If you’re not already familiar with the term plarn (plastic yarn), it is just yarn made from plastic. It’s most commonly made from plastic grocery bags and is a great way to turn used plastic into recycled material to make reusable things with.
Watch the video below to learn how to make plarn and how to crochet with it. Then keep scrolling for some fun and unique crochet patterns to make with your own plarn!
When Covid was in full swing and I was having groceries delivered every week instead of going to the grocery store, I found myself with piles and piles of grocery bags. I knew I wanted to reuse them in some way, and I decided crocheting some bags would be the perfect way to give them new life! If you’ve been around for any amount of time, you know I LOVE making bags, so it just made sense to me.
Below I’ve gathered some of my favorite crochet patterns across the web using plarn. A plarn tote bag is the common type of project, however, there are some other types of projects here as well. Some of them are really creative and can be a great addition to your home decor. I hope you find one that you love and put those plastic bags to good use.
Click here to read more about how to make plarn and crochet with it.
Doily Clock
Designer: Creative Jewish Mom
About the Pattern: How stinking cute is this doily clock made of plarn? This one isn’t a pattern but was too good not to share. Find a simple doily pattern of your choice and add a clock mechanism to turn it into a fun and functional piece of home decor.
Giant Mandala
Designer: Celtic Knot Crochet
About the Pattern: This designer used disposable tablecloths in different colors to make this gorgeous giant mandala measuring in at a whopping 36 inches. Plarn will typically have a similar WPI (wraps per inch) to a bulky weight yarn, so this mandala works up very quickly.
Fun Placemats
Designer: Creative Jewish Mom
About the Pattern: These fun placemats are a great way to use up small amounts of different colored bags you may have. The designer even used a trash bag versus grocery bags to get the orange stripe. Using only single crochet stitches, this is a fast, fun, and functional project perfect for recycling and reusing.
Scrubbies
Designer: Heidi Gustad for favecrafts.com
About the Pattern: This easy 4 round scrubby starts with a magic ring and uses only single crochet stitches making it perfect for even beginner skill level crocheters. The designer used plarn from plastic grocery bags and an 8 mm hook to create a small scrubby perfect for around the kitchen.
Soap Dish
Designer: Crochet Is The Way
About the Pattern: This soap dish would be the perfect accessory to add into a thoughtful gift basket with a bar of handmade soap, a dishcloth, and whatever other items you’d like to add. The pattern is worked in the round from the center of the base and includes some cluster stitches which help the soap from getting soggy.
Pumpkin
Designer: Crafty Tuts
About the Pattern: If you’ve ever made a basic amigurumi pumpkin with regular yarn, this is the same general concept except you get to recycle at the same time. And the great thing about a pumpkin using alternative materials such as plastic? You can very easily paint them as well!
Wine Bottle Holder
Designer: Recycle Cindy
About the Pattern: Whip up fun wine bottle holders as thoughtful and affordable gifting using plarn, or heck, even t-shirt yarn. There are so many different ways to make crochet wine bottle holders and this one is a great beginner friendly pattern using chains and single crochets.
Japanese Knot Bag
Designer: My Recycled Bags
About the Pattern: If you haven’t jumped on the Japanese knot bag trend yet, you can do so while also jumping on the plarn crochet patterns trend. With this style of bag, one handle is longer than the other and you simply loop the longer one through the shorter one to close the bag.
Large, Durable, Reusable Tote
Designer: Yarnbending
About the Pattern: This large and durable tote bag gets it stability from using a smaller hook and tighter tension. Using your core material (whether that be plarn from plastic bags or other materials), you’ll create a rectangular base, then crochet in the round in single crochet stitches for the body and handles.
Satchel Styled Tote Bag
Designer: My Recycled Bags
About the Pattern: I love a good satchel styled bag, how about you? It looks more red in the photos to me but the designer says it’s pink. I love the color contrast either way! Pattern calls for single crochet and half double crochet stitches making it a nice mostly mindless make.
Tote Bag
Designer: Repeat Crafter Me
About the Pattern: Next up on our list of plarn crochet patterns is this cute and beginner friendly tote bag. The designer used two different colors of plastic grocery bags to get the color palette desired and single crochet stiches in continuous rounds. I especially love the finishing touch of the buttons.
Market Bag
Designer: Share Bear Crochet
About the Pattern: I love how the designer of this market bag used different colors of bags to make the fun and modern color palette. You’ll start with an oval base for the bottom of the bag then work the body in the round in all half double crochet. I especially love the slip stitch trim around the handles and top of the bag.
Giant Rug
Designer: Crochet Is The Way
About the Pattern: Thick yarn is typically used for crocheting rugs for thickness and stability. Using plarn or t-shirt yarn is a great option to provide the qualities you’re looking for. I think this rug would make a great addition to a foyer or mud room.
Roll-Up Sleeping Mat
Designer: Craft Gossip
About the Pattern: Did you know crocheting mats for homeless people using plarn is a thing? They’re very simple to make and are a great way to recycle and give back to your community at the same time. The video pattern is simply a large rectangle made using all single crochet stitches.
Finger Crochet Square
Designer: Crochet Is The Way
About the Pattern: Even non-crocheters can make this giant plarn square using finger crochet. The designer’s square measures 10″ with only 2 rounds! Pattern includes a photo tutorial and a video tutorial for more visual learners.
Final Thoughts on Plarn Crochet Patterns
Are you ready to transform those plastic shopping bags into a fun crochet project? Let me know in the comments below which pattern is your favorite!
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Happy recycling and crocheting!
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