Upcycle: Earth's greatest plarn lunch tote!

My friend Ruth recently tried her hand at a plarn project. Lucky for me she recorded her steps so I get to share her experience with you! For a roundup of 11 other plarn DIYs, click here.

Ruth followed this tutorial and the accompanying grocery tote pattern care of Petals to Picots. What I'm showing here are the basic steps but definitely click through for more detailed instructions. 

You start by flattening and folding the bags length ways. To make a tote about this size, you need to make about 40 bags worth of plastic yarn. 

 Once flattened, cut the bags into 1 inch strips. 

You make plarn by chaining the loops together. Again, for the exact details visit this tutorial.

Once you have a bunch of plarn chained, you can roll it up into a ball, and you are ready to crochet!

And here's the finished product. You'll notice Ruth used a drawstring and plastic cinch - something she had lying around.  But you could find one at a fabric or hobby store. You also don't need the drawstring in order for the lunch tote to work.  You could also keep crocheting and make this lunch tote much deeper into a grocery bag, or beach bag.