Reusable Grocery Bags

So lately i have been making reusable grocery bags from plastic grocery bags. Basically i cut off the handles and the bottom that is holding it together, and then cut it into strips that i then tie together and crochet. it is pretty awesome. I also have been finding what other plastics i can use for this. I have used clothing store bags, cereal bags, ziploc bags, and just pretty much whatever flexible plastic i find. the more rigid of the plastics i will often use as the base for the bag so that it is reenforced. 

Here is a thicker base:

 Here is a top view of a partially finished bag that has a normal base:

And a side view:

 

Once the bag was completed:

The bag standing up:

Top View:

*Note the bag could have fit a lot more, i just put enough to fill it out for the picture...

So anyways... I make the bag by crocheting back and forth, like making a scarf, until the base reaches the dimensions desired, and then i start crocheting around the edges of the base. When initially crocheting the sides of the base i do about 1.5 stitches per every row. I also do a couple of increasing stitches around the corners for the first few rows. You just keep circling until the bag is the desired height, and then it is time of the handles. I determine where i would like them to attach, and then when i reach the inside point of attachment for one i ch 1 and turn. I crochet back the desired width of the handle, and then ch and turn again. I keep going across that strip until the handle is the desired length, and then i slip stitch the handle onto the bag, ending on the outside of the handle, and continue around the bag until i get to the next handle and make it the same way as the first. With the second one i will still continue around until i reach the first handle before i tie it off so that section of the bag does not appear shorter.

These bags are a pretty cool way to upcycle, and to get reusable grocery bags without buying them. You can feel good about yourself stopping the bags from sitting in a dump somewhere. What size hook you use depends on the rigidity of the plasitic and how thick you make the strips,