Halliday Plays With String

Upcycled Plastic Plarn Container Cup & Dish

These little cup and dish pair of crocheted plastic containers work great as penholders (or crochet hook holders as shown here) and I've also lined them to use as flowerpots before. They're made of upcycled plastic from used grocery shopping bags.

These crochet upcycled plastic containers are made out of “plarn.” That’s yarn made from used plastic grocery shopping bags. Plarn is a fantastic way to keep some single-use plastics out of landfills. If you’d like to learn how to make it or could use a quick refresher, check out the video at the bottom of the page that shows the process.

I’ll often use a plarn container cup as a penholder or a catch-all for my fiber arts supplies. They’re great for holding crochet hooks, DPNs, and my measuring tape. If I leave out the inner liner, I can stick my cabling and tapestry needles straight through the side like a pincushion. The bottom dish is perfect for stitch holders, beads, or baubles.

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What You’ll Need:

  • Size H (5mm) Crochet Hook
  • 10 Plastic shopping bags made into plarn
  • Leftover plastic bag scraps from making plarn (for optional lining)

Legend:

ST: Stitch
SP: Space
CH: Chain Stitch
SC: Single Crochet
BLO: In Back Loop Only
SLST: Slip Stitch
**: Repeat

Pattern:

Plarn Container Cup

In magic loop, ch1, sc6. Slst in first sc.
Row 1: Ch1, sc in same space as slst. 2sc around. Slst in ch1sp. (12st)
Row 2: Ch1, 2sc in next space. *sc, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (18st)
Row 3: Ch1, sc, 2sc. *sc twice, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (24st)
Row 4: Ch1, sc twice, 2sc. *sc 3x, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (30st)
Row 5: Ch1, sc 3x, 2sc. *sc 4x, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (36st)
Row 6: Ch1, sc 4x, 2sc. *sc 5x, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (42st)
Row 7: Ch1, sc BLO around. Slst in ch1sp. (42st)
Rows 8 – 23: Ch1, sc around. (42st)
Weave in ends.

Plarn Container Dish

Begin as with planter Continue through Row 6.
Row 7: Ch1, sc 5x, 2sc. *sc 6x, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (48st)
Row 8: Ch1, sc BLO around. Slst in ch1sp. (48st)
Row 9: Ch1, sc around. Slst in ch1sp. (48st)
Row 10: Ch1, sc 6x, 2sc. *sc 7x, 2sc* around. Slst in ch1sp. (54st)
Row 11: Ch1, sc around. Slst in ch1sp. (54st)
Row 12: Ch1, slst around. Slst in ch1sp. (54st)
Weave in ends.

Finishing

If you want to cover the spaces between stitches, you can apply the scrap plastic leftover from making your plarn flat against the interior surface. Hot glue or Mod Podge work well for this, but if you choose to use hot glue, you’ll need to exercise caution with the tip of the gun to avoid melting the plastic. I’m sure there are other adhesives that would work for this as well. I would love to hear what others have tried on theirs.

How to Make Plarn for Plarn Container Cup & Dish Set