I have been married to Dexter, a wonderfull man since 1977. I have 2 boys, Dexter Jr. and Jesse, and one girl, Heather Mae. I served in the United States Air Force from 1974 thru 1984. I am a cancer survior and because of being sick is how I got started crocheting with plastic bags. With bills pileing up and being to sick to go to the store to buy yarn, much less have the money to buy any, my friends started saving me bags. I had crocheted some rugs and wanted to try something new. My friends kept bringing me bags and I had no room in my home to put them. Just from 5 girls, I had filled my 3/4 ton van in less then a month, so I figured we have to do something to help mother nature out!! So I made angels, hats, bears and wreaths for alot of my friends and also alot of the new friends I made in the hospital. I just want to teach people that we can use these bags up!! It takes a little longer because you have to cut up the bags, but in the long run the work really pays off, it's free, and they last forever!! Take Care, Paula @:D

Instructions:

1. IMPORTANT: Do not use bags that have been used to carry meat. Bacteria and other unseen organisms left in the bag can make you very sick!
2. Start by cutting the bags. There are two methods for cutting bags:
   1. Method one is used for a J hook or smaller hook. Lay your bags down, leaving the creases in. Cut off the handles and the bottom end of the bag. Save the handles and bottom ends to use for stuffing or as fringe. Hold the bag in your hand and cut at an angle. Start cutting about 3" wide, or just use your index finger to measure. The strips don't have to be perfect! Keep cutting around until you finish with the entire bag. You should have one long strip.
   2. Method two is for used for a J hook or larger hooks. Lay your bags down, leaving the creases in. Cut off the handles and the bottom end of the bag. Save the handles and bottom ends to use for stuffing or as fringe. Decide how wide you want your strips. I usually cut mine about 2" wide. Cut the bags across and you'll end up with loops. Then, connect the loops to make your strips as long as you want them. You can roll the strips up in a ball and start crocheting! You can also use this method with a cutting board and a rotary blade, the kind they use in quilting. You can use two of these strips with a Q hook.
3. Now, select any pattern and start crocheting!

Make stuffed animals, pumpkins anything! All you need to use is a hot glue gun to put it together, because the heat melts the plastics together, but don't let children play with these, they are for decorative purposes only.

When stuffing an item, place your stuffing inside two bags; that will make it water proof, and the stuffing will not come out. Tie the bags closed and tuck the ends in the bag. Use smaller bags for small projets to stuff and larger ones for big projects. These make great outdoor decorations!

I also make alot of rugs, and yes they are washable, I usually wash them with my towels, but if you add bleach to them the reds turn an orange color, and please don't put them in the dryer, let them air dry. The more you wash them the softer the plastic gets, feels so good on your feet! To finish a project like the rug, reverse sc in each of your stitches it makes it look more professionaly done and adds strenght to the edges.

Plastic bags are fun to work with and are very sturdy, I didn't need to starch the angel I made as she stands all by herself! I also added a row of reverse sc on the Angel for more strength.

Plastic will not give like yarn does, so you need to take more breaks until you get use to the feel of it. I crocheted a big bag and two men holding the handles ( one of them a manager from a grocery store) bet me it wouldn't hold this 6 year old boy with the bag falling apart. I won!! The boy didn't fall thru, my bag held him and didn't hur the bag a bit!! He gave me an entire box of plastic bags!! Go wild and see what you can do!!!!