Shopping Bag Rug

So! Next time you are totally bored, and are looking for a new project to crochet, how about recycling all those accumulated shopping bags? Crochet yourself a Shopping Bag Rug.

I have actually made several of these and just recently wore one out after 3 years of every day use.

To view step-by-step instructions and pictures, click on this link. Double Click on the "shopping bag rug" set, Click on "view as slideshow", and make sure you click in the middle of the first photo in the "!" to see the commentary on each photo, then enjoy.

For some reason, Flickr downloads your pictures backwards, so when you first come to the site, it shows #22. I have fiddled and fiddled and cannot make it start with #1 on that first page, but if you view as a slideshow, they will be in the correct order. I have labeled the pictures 1-23 with a comment below, and a few of the finished rug as well.

I did NOT include the actual crochet pattern, because I don't want to infringe on any copyright, so you have to come up with your own doily or rug pattern for your rug. I got mine from a Leisure Arts Floor Show pamphlet (LA2915), made for yarn. My pattern is called "Lacy Cluster". It says to use three strands of yarn, but I used just one 3/4" strand. I am sure mine turned out a different size than the original, but I like it. Mine measures about 24" across. I used about 15-20 bags, I am not sure exactly. Another one I made with wider cut strips and a larger hook turned out about 40" across, and used about 50 bags. The finished size varies with size of crochet hook and width of strands.

One thing I did not include in the instructions is how to join the two strands when you run out of one bag. I actually overlap the last strand with the new one by about 7 inches and just crochet my way through the two, tucking in the ends if they want to pop out. They are tapered from how you cut them, so they should fit in nicely. The ones I didn't overlap as long, eventually worked their way out, and that is what actually made the old rug wear out. So overlap them a good ways when you start a new strand. It was the washing machine that was its demise, because I didn't overlap it as well. That learned, the next rug has more overlap.

Another thing, Wal-Mart will not sell you a bunch of new bags, but some grocery stores will. The first one I made was from the local grocery store and had touches of blue and red in it. This one has only black specks. One I made for my daughter has red and green because it was a Christmas shopping bag. I use only ONE kind of bag per rug to make it look better.

Tip: I xeroxed the instructions and laminated them. Then I used a safety pin to mark my place on the instructions.
~ I also cut several bags in one sitting, and rolled them into balls, tucking the end of the ball inside so they wouldn't unravel and storing them in another plastic shopping bag. Store your crochet hook in a snack sized Zip-loc bag to keep from losing it.

I know it sounds pretty red-neck to have a plastic rug in your kitchen, but you really cannot tell when you look at it. I like it for the kitchen. And they can be tossed in the washing machine, which makes them very practical. I actually made this one for the boat, but liked so much that I kept it in the kitchen.

where to find the pamphlet link and here as well
and Amazon has four and if you check often, Ebay might have them once in a while