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Atomic Shrimp

Knitting with plastic bags

I've just completed my second plastic bag knitting project. I didn't by any means invent this concept, but I like it.

My first project was a bit wasteful in that it used carrier bags that still had a useful life left in them.

That felt wrong to me, so this time, I used only bags that had reached end-of-life and would otherwise have gone in the bin - mostly empty bread bags, but also bags from frozen veg, items of clothing, and a few carrier bags, but only those that were broken or holed and therefore unusable.

I used a two-stage knitting process to create a really sturdy effect - first, I knitted the strips of cut bag on a small french knitting bobbin - then I stitched the resulting rope spirally to form the bag.

This is the end result:


Full details of the project here:
http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/plastic_bag_recycling_2

Next up, I'm thinking of making some open baskets - maybe a fruit bowl or even a bread basket for the table (turning bread bags into a bread basket has an appealing symmetry, to me)
Jamanda

Very smart.
resistance is fertile

Do you do commissions?
Green Rosie

Do you have to make sure the bags are non biodegradeable ones. I left something stored in a bio bag on the wardrobe and after a while I was being showered with flakes of degraded bag Shocked
ksia

Cute bag Atomic Shrimp!

I'm working on a knitted plastic bag something at the minute (along with other projects!) - I'm still debating what I'll actually turn it into.

For this bag (pictured) I wove the plastic bags. Took ages - probably because I only picked it up about once a month. I made myself finish it for Christmas. The front panel is made from the woven plastic bags, the rest from an old pair of ia's jeans and it has a braided plastic bag zip pull!

Most of the p bags came from my parents - I can't believe how p bags are sooooo abundant still in the UK. Or is my parent's shed a breeding ground for them?!

Atomic Shrimp

resistance is fertile wrote:
Do you do commissions?
Not sure - it's difficult to decide how I would price them, as about thirty hours work went into this one. I might be able to cut that down on future efforts, now that I know what I'm doing.
Atomic Shrimp

Green Rosie wrote:
Do you have to make sure the bags are non biodegradeable ones. I left something stored in a bio bag on the wardrobe and after a while I was being showered with flakes of degraded bag Shocked
Yes - although some biodegradable plastics only break down once they're buried in moist conditions - as far as I know, I didn't include any here, but it's possible that not all the bags were clearly labelled.
hedgehogpie

Wow that's freaky, I just put a link you your blog a a favourite on mine and had been admiring the bag.

Spooky..... Surprised
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