Recycled plastic carrier bags by crocheting them into a pencil pot with our home craft how-to

What you need...

• Crochet hook, size 4.0
  Carrier bags: green, yellow, coral, pink, purple
  Felt, purple
  Scissors
  Needle, sewing, tapestry
  Thread, purple, red
  Card, thick
  Zip
  

instructions

1. Plastic Yarn - 1.To make the yarn, trim the bottom off a carrier bag,open out the pleats at the sides and smooth it flat. Fold in half widthways, then again to make quarters. Snip across the creased bag at 5mm-6mm intervals, cutting at right angles to the edge, leaving a series of loops.
   
   2. Following the diagram on the pattern pages, take two loops and place the right end of one (point B) over the left of the other (A). Take A up and over B, then under the other end of the loop at C. Pull gently to make a knot and repeat until you have joined all the loops. To make a multicoloured yarn, alternate the bags in a repeating pattern. When finished, wind into a loose ball to keep it tidy.
   

2. Pencil Pot - 1. Follow the steps to make the yarn, joining a green loop, then yellow, coral, pink and purple. Repeat this pattern for a multicoloured effect.
   
   Round 1: Make 5ch, join to form a loop with a sl st.
   Round 2: Work 4ch, then make 15dtr into loop. Sl st through third ch (16 sts).
   Round 3: Work 4ch, (1dtr into 1ch, 2dtr into next ch) eight times (24 sts).
   Round 4: Work 1dc into each tr.
   Carry on working in a spiral, until the pot is 10cm high. Finish off and thread the ends through a tapestry needle, then weave them into the back of the crochet.
   
   2 Roll a rectangle of purple felt, 10cm x 25cm, into a cylinder and slide it inside the finished pot. With matching sewing thread, slip stitch the top edge to the pot, just below the rim. Overlap the surplus fabric, then sew down the side edge. Push a thick cardboard disc, 8cm across, down into the bottom to
   make a firm base.