What do you do with all those plastic grocery bags that collect with each trip to the store?

Even when I bring my own canvas grocery bags, the checker and bagger usually end up giving me a couple more.

I can use a few of them - I have cats and a litter box to clean up each week. But I still found them piling up.

What to do with them? I was pondering that question when something came across my RSS feeds - crocheting with grocery bags. Using plastic grocery bags to make a reusable grocery tote seemed appropriate some how.

Here’s how it started, though this is only 10 bags out of however many I used - I lost track!

I had two or three of these bags that were stuffed full of more bags. I didn’t use them all, but I used a lot of them.

The finished tote. The different colors and textures are from bags from different stores.

Interested in the process? More pictures and the beginning steps behind the cut.

If you’re inspired to give a variation of the project a try, let us know how it goes!

Prepping the bags - this involved trimming off the handles and bottom seam, and cutting the bags in to strips.

The strips from the ten bags pictured above:

Next, we have to turn the strips into a continuous length of plastic “yarn”

The hardest part is getting started.

Once you’ve gotten past the first 5-10 rows, it gets much easier and becomes a matter of personal judgement.

Here are the instructions for the first 7 rounds of my tote - you will have to adjust based on the types of bags you are using. The vegetable bags I used had much more stretch than the regular grocery bags, so when I used those, I stuck to rows of single crochets.

When it comes to the tote handles, you’ll have to decide how long to make them. The should be made of only single crochet stitches so that you can be certain they’ll be strong enough.

recycled grocery bag crocheted tote.

chain 38,

Round 1
sc in one loop of each chain (one side only-37 sc),
2 sc in the side of the last sc (in post)
sc in one loop of each chain (other side only-37 sc)
sc, 1 chain, sc in post (last chain)

Round 2
sc in each sc to end
sc in end, chain 3, sc in end again, chain 3, sc in end again
sc in each sc to end
sc in end, chain 3, sc in end again, chain 3, sc in first sc of round

Round 3
sc in each sc in outside/bottom loop,
*3 sc in chain space,
sc in outside loop,
3 sc in chain space, *
sc in each sc in outside/bottom loop,
repeat between *
tie off.

Round 4 & 5
join with slip stitch
chain one, sc in each sc.

Round 6 & 7
join with slip stitch
chain 3, dc in each sc.
repeat

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