FREE PATTERN WITH VIDEO TUTORIAL
You don’t even have to look for yarn to make these items, you can just take your unused plastic bags and make it yourself. You may have heard about “plarn” (plastic yarn) before and well, this is your chance to up cycle and re-use.
I had a lot of plastic bags at home, policies for use of plastic are different from one place to another so, it might happen you don’t have that many. But you may also use old fabrics from unused clothes or some other material. I managed to make 95 meters from approximately 100 bags (in different sizes) for the big basket and 60 meters from 65 bags (also, in different sizes) for the small basket. And you can make it as thin or thick as you wish. For these designs, I wanted chunky stitches so, I gave my plarn a super bulky weight.
Complete process, from turning my plastic bags into yarn and all the way to completing each basket is included in the video tutorial. Both sharing the same structure, with single crochets worked in the round, with basic increases. Made from the bottom up and practically no finishing, because of colors and texture within the plastic bags.
Written round by round instructions for you to check as well, can be found below.
SUGGESTED MATERIALS
- 12 mm crochet hook
- 342 gr (95 m) of super bulky plarn (100 medium size bags, approximately, for the big basket)
- 216 gr. (60 m) of super bulky plarn (65 medium size bags, approximately, for the small basket)
- Stitch marker
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
FINISHED SIZES
18.9″ x 5.9″/ 48 cm x 15 cm (BIG BASKET)
12.6″ x 7.1″/ 32 cm x 18 cm (SMALL BASKET)
GAUGE
5 sts x 5 rnds= 4″/ 10 cm
SKILL LEVEL
Easy: This pattern uses basic stitches, basic shaping and finishing techniques
STITCH GUIDE
- ch: chain
- Rnd: round
- st: stitch
- sc: single crochet (UK double crochet)
- sl st: slip stitch
- rep: repeat
BASKETS
BIG BASKET
Crocheted in the round, in a spiral, starting from the bottom. Ch 2.
Rnd 1: Make 4 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook= 4 sts
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around= 8 sts
Rnd 3: 2 sc in each sc around= 16 sts
Rnd 4: (sc 1, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 24 sts
Rnd 5: (sc 2, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 32 sts
Rnd 6: (sc 3, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 40 sts
Rnd 7: (sc 4, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 48 sts
Rnd 8-17: Sc 48= 48 sts
Rnd 18: Sc the necessary amount of sts until there are 15 or 20 cm of plarn left.
Sl st in next st.
Fasten off and weave in all ends.
SMALL BASKET
Crocheted in the round, in a spiral, starting from the bottom. Ch 2.
Rnd 1: Make 4 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook= 4 sts
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around= 8 sts
Rnd 3: 2 sc in each sc around= 16 sts
Rnd 4: (sc 1, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 24 sts
Rnd 5: (sc 2, 2 sc in next st) rep ( ) 8 times= 32 sts
Rnd 6-18: Sc 32= 32 sts
Rnd 19: Sc the necessary amount of sts until there are 15 or 20 cm of plarn left.
Sl st in next st.
Fasten off and weave in all ends.
