What Is The Weirdest Thing You've Repurposed As Yarn?

[McD]

A friend of mine recently sent me a picture of a grocery tote sack that she made by turning plastic grocery sacks into yarn. It made think of my Depression-Era neighbor who used to knit doormats/ragrugs out of plastic sacks.

Now I am fiendishly cutting up my plastic grocery sacks and turning them into 'yarn'. A LYS has yarn made out of opossum hair and dog hair. A friend turned old t-shirts into yarn.

What weird items have you turned into yarn?

[Spirit Deer]

I made a rug recently by cutting tee shirts into strips. You can make an endless strip by cutting off the hem and then cutting in a spiral all the way to the top.

Rugs made from bread wrappers were popular when I was a kid in the seventies.

[Ceashels]

I've used the plastic bags for knitting little rugs. I have a stack of old tee shirts waiting for cutting into strips.

[Brat]

The core of oil filters..I worked at a factory and we get a bunch of bad cores so I uses the string to make pot holders..

[frugalfranny]

Love reading this type of post.......to see all the creativity here.

I, too, have been saving the plastic bags. Started cutting them up last week. Was reading about it on-line and looks fun.

(will have to wait until I am finished with my 'felted bags' though---that are
made out of thrift shop wool sweaters)

The fleece yarn is neat too.........cut the same way as a t-shirt, it is one complete spiral. Not unusual but very soft...friend made some things out of it.

[zakity]

My mother used to make scrubbies (like to use on your dishes) out of netting. She crocheted them somehow.

[mauimagic]

plastic bags that I cut into spiral strips and then crocheted into over the shoulder water bottle holders. Maui has now banned all plastic bags, so this won't be happening anymore.

[Judi Dial]

Old blue jeans...but I found someone who made these mats from bubblegum bag string I think? It was really fine string and the stuff they made was pretty, but I couldn't imagine doing it....

I can't find the link, darn it. The stuff was spectaular!

Judi

[Ali Lee]

Maui..what kind of bags are stores giving the customer or are you using reusable cloth bags?
Years ago, my mom crocheted small size round rugs, made from bread sacks.

[dinah]

i've made yarn out of plastic bags as well. stores are charging for them...so you see them less nowadays but i've got people saving them for me and i've got quite a stockpile in the basement.

i've also unraveled old sweaters to reuse the yarn. i haven't done this in a while, but it is lots of fun.

i've been wanting to cut up t-shirts and use them to crochet rugs with...i've gotta get on that!

[jas]

Way interesting thread! I don't even do needlecrafts, but this sounds fun and very resoursefull.

[sunshine]

Dog hair (spun it into yarn)

Rolled paper srtips, then used them to knit on very large needles

Rolled tall grasses into "bundles" and crocheted them into baskets

Human hair - made an amulet bag from human hair (my cousin is a beautician)

[mauimagic]

Shoppers these days are supposed to bring their own bags. If they don't the stores have paper bags for them - ooops there goes another tree or ten thousand!!

[Minner77]

I have made a number of things with tarn, including a beautiful headband for a beautiful young lady. The Tshirt I made it from was made from sustainably grown organic cotton, so I thought that was a double bonus!

I also buy sweaters and afghans, etc., to unravel and reclaim yarn from. Tons of fun - and lots of great yarn that I otherwise could not afford for just a bit of work.

Check youtube, BTW, for good videos on making tarn and plarn as there are some pretty simple ways to do it. All so much better for the environment and the pocketbook