Plarn. Yep, it’s a real word, even if my editing tool is currently telling me otherwise.

What is this plarn, you might ask? It’s a fun, easy way to upcycle AND get virtually free yarn! Win-win!

In simpler terms, plarn is “PLastic bag yARN.” See, mash the words together: plastic, yarn, plarn! Any plastic bags, like grocery store bags and trash bags, work great for this DIY.

Gather lots of plastic bags, then watch this week’s Tutorial Tuesday below to learn how to make this creative yarn called plarn!

Cool, right? I’m just slightly obsessed right now. I have a million ideas whirling through my mind, and I can’t wait to try  them all! Of course, I need to make enough plarn for these projects. Hopefully, I have enough plastic bags saved; I asked several people to collect them for me, and they’ve pulled through for me!

Once you get some plarn made, you might be wondering what comes next. That’s why I made this follow-up video! In it, I show you how to spin plarn, use every last scrap of the bag, and give some suggestions on hook sizes to use when working with plarn. Watch below for some extra pointers!

Now that you know the basics of plarn, it’s time to make enough for a project! Now I wonder if I have enough bags saved yet… I’m going to make a tote bag as my first plarn project. (Funny, right? I cut up a ton of bags to make a… bag. At least this one will last longer. 😉 ) Once I decide on my pattern, I’ll post an article with the pattern so you can be inspired too!

Have you made some plarn yet? Tell me in the comments what you will make with your plarn!

Happy Crafting!

-Amanda