Making Cat Mats From Plastic Bags

Basic knit sleep mat recipe.

Making cat mats from plastic bags.

Each 6 foot by 2 foot mat is made from 600 to 700 recycled plastic grocery bags. Approx 140 plastic bags or 1260 yds of plarn size us 11 8mm scissors. Gauge 12 sts x 24 rows 4 10 cm in garter stitch. The mats are lightweight waterproof and help keep plastic bags out of oceans and landfills.

John the apostle catholic church to create their own mats using about 700 plastic bags apiece. The goal is a 3 by 6 size plastic yarn mat. Instead of becoming landfill plastic bags can be used for fun craft projects. I showed you a while ago how to upcycle plastic grocery bags into a usable knitting crocheting material known as plarn.

Like sleeping mats and blankets. So far they have spent at least 100 hours on the project producing 18 mats that have been handed out to the homeless and there are many more to come. Stop with the whining about using new bags already. Each mat takes about 50 hours to make.

One easy project appropriate for ages six to adult is weaving a doormat from left over bags. All bags are used bags i have cut and stored flat. Cast on 72 stitches. Mary ann derryberry shows how she and a group of volunteers make sleeping mats out of plastic bags.

Plastic bags 500 700 grocery bags knitting needles size 10 or higher or crochet needles o or p recommended scissors. The may 2016 auxiliary magazine featured a follow up to its cucumel s compassionate carpets article it published a few months. How to recycle plastic shopping bags into something useful. Make plarn using the above episode of ask me monday as a guide.

Knitters and crocheters will use their experience to test the gauge which will determine the number of plarn stitches. Meanwhile in norwalk iowa the mighty mat makers meet once a week at st. This is another way to do it that can. Materials to make a sleep mat from plastic bags.

Repeat step 3 until mat measures 72 183 cm from edge. Parents can teach about recycling in the house and how plastic bags take years to decompose.