Crocheted Basket Using Plastic Bags For Spring

Once upon a time I made a crocheted doily clock using plastic bags, as well as a crocheted placemat using plastic bags, and now at long last I had the chance to use up some of the balls of purple plarn (plastic bag yarn) that I had hanging around to make a fun crocheted plastic bag basket, which makes a sweet basket for tiny toys, fruit or even for Purim gift gift giving! Crocheting with plastic bags is so much fun, and for those of us who do care about minimizing our footprint, using those plastic bags instead of tossing them is so very satisfying!

As you may or may not know, I love the challenge of crocheting with non-traditional materials, and I have to say, that crocheting with plastic bags is actually quite enjoyable as the material is somewhat flexible, as opposed to rope or yarn made from rags.

So gather a ton of grocery bags, scour the neighborhood (or an adjacent state if you live in California!) f you have to, make some yarn from those bags, and lets get crocheting! This sweet basket can be made easitly in an evening in a few hours, and if you're like me, you'll probably want to make a few more!

You'll Need:

• lightweight or pliable plastic bags to make "plarn" (thick plastic bags like used in clothing stores could work, just haven't tried it myself and results will be different)
• a tutorial for how to make yarn from plastic bags
• a 6.5mm crochet hook, or the size that works for you
• a 2mm crochet hook, to pull ends through stitches to hide them

Crochet Plastic Bag Basket Pattern:

To Start: Ch 4 and join with a slip stitch.

Round 1: Ch 3 and dc 11 into the ring, join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch

Round 2: Ch 3 and dc into same stitch. 2dc into every stitch around. join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch.

Round 3: Ch3 and dc into same stitch, dc, 2dc into next stitch. Continue from * around and join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch.

Round 4: Ch3 and hdc into same stitch. hdc, hdc, 2hdc into next stitch. Continue from * around and join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch. Break off plarn/yarn.

Sides of Basket (consult my diagram:  Identifying the Third Loop On A Half Double Crochet Stitch)

Round 5: Join yarn/plarn, and ch2, crocheting into the third loop of each hdc, hdc around join to top of ch2 with a slip stitch. (This method is better than simply crocheting in the front loop, the standard way to start the sides of a basket)

Note: The shape of my basket is very round, if you want straighter sides, crochet row 6 also in the third loop. That should help, though the shape of a basket varies depending on the plarn/yarn used, and your stitch tension. it is always a bit of a surprise!

Round 6-8: Ch2, hdc around and join to top of ch2 with slip stitch. Note: You need a total of 48 stitches to complete trim. Compensate for this in round 8 by increasing or decreasing if necessary.

Basket Trim:

One "shell" is made by crocheting the following stitch sequence into one stitch: sc, hdc, dc, trc, dc, hdc, sc

Round 9: Make 12 total shells around by following this stitch sequence: sc, skip 1, shell, skip 1, sc skip 1,shell.

Weave in ends by pulling them through stitches with a much smaller crochet hook.

That is it, I hope you enjoyed my little plastic bag basket, and please send photos if you make one, I'd love to see yours!