Guest Post: Kathy makes a plarn dress

Since I'm visiting my mom during spring break, I thought I'd share some of her crafts. She has an Instructables account and writes tutorials for the things she makes often. This is me in high school in a dress my mom made out of plastic grocery bags. Isn't it awesome? She made strips out of the bags (ever hear of plarn?) and then crocheted them. The purse is also crocheted plarn. Here's how she did it:

Flatten out the bag. cut off the bottom and the handles. Open up the bag and begin cutting a spiral strip about 1-1/2" wide, turning the bag as you go. Keep cutting until you have one long strip. Tie the ends of the strips together, cutting off the excess.Start rolling the strips into a ball. Continue tying strips together until you have 20 or 30 bags cut up.

You will need to use a large metal crochet hook, I use a size N/15.  It might be a good idea to make a simple rug first, just to get the feel of the plastic. If you pull on the plastic too hard it will break, but once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty fast.

Measure under the arms, all the way around and make a chain stitch that long. Then do a couple rows of double crochet and then add a few extra stitches in the next 3 rows or so to accommodate the bust. I just kept working my way down to the waist skipping a few stitches to make it tighter. From just under the bust to right below the natural waist it is the same amount of stitches in each row. Leave the back open so you can put in a zipper. To make the full skirt, add an extra stitch every 7 or 8 stitches.

I cut up 3 white cotton shirts from the thrift shop and made a lining for the dress. I hand stitched the lining to the dress and then sewed in the zipper. I found a pretty blue plastic bag and cut it into strips, then wove them in and out around the waist. 

That's it! We took it to a Recycle Arts Show in Santa Fe and won third place in the adult division. It was awesome! Hope you enjoy your week.

Love Liz and Kathy