Recycled Bag Yarn Bra Instructions

A recent string of posts to the Knit List got me thinking about making a "yarn bra". For those who aren't familiar with this term, it is similar to a traditional bra: its purpose is to control the unwieldy - in this case a ball of yarn. Many on the Knit List suggested recycling the netting used to package certain fragile veggies, such as cherry tomatoes. The stores I shop in don't seem to sell them packaged this way, so I got to thinking. And, I know, I should not do such things while my head is hazy from a bad cold, but I did it, and here is this result.

A Knitted, Recycled Grocery Bag Yarn Bra (see photo below instructions):

I know it's a mouthful, and if my brain were a bit less foggy I might come up with something snappier, but here's how I did it, in case I'm not the only nut out there who likes the idea.

Get out a few plastic grocery bags (Clean ones. Please, no food goo). Cut them with a pair of scissors as if you were peeling an apple and wanted the peel to stay in one piece. If you like things slightly more complicated, make use of the handles in making this one long string of plastic. If you don't, chop them off and start your coil just after the handles. I'm the complicated type. Be as haphazard as you want here, it's not going to matter much. I cut my string about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. And, if you hold a sharp pair of scissors just right and pull lightly on the bag, you can actually slide-slice without doing much of a chopping motion.

Okay, now you've got your "yarn". So, cast on as many stitches as it takes to get the circumference you want on the biggest dpns you've got. I used 24 cast-on stitches and separated them among 3 US size 11 (8 mm) needles (this means 8 stitches per needle).

I knit a couple of rows in stockinette stitch (but, in hindsight, K1,P1 ribbing might have been nice). On the 3rd row, do a row of the following sequence: k2, yrn, k2tog, k1, s1, k1, psso, yrn, k1 (one time on each needle).

Then, continue knitting till the bag is as long as you want (mine was 4" or 10 cm). On the next row, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1 (one time on each needle). You should have 6 stitches on each needle. On the next row k2, k2tog, k2 (once on each needle), leaving you with 5 stitches on each needle. I did one more row of decreases: k2, k2tog, k1 (once on each needle) and started to get bored, so I used a crochet hook to pull what was left of my second bag through the remaining stitches on the needles, tied off and used the crochet hook to weave the "yarn" in.

I'm thinking I could have done a better job with the decreases, but I was just experimenting. So, play with it a bit if you don't like my decreases.

Lastly, I made a chain with my trusty crochet hook and fed it through the holes formed on row 3. And, there you have no doubt the classiest thing you've ever knit! If you really want to make it perty, try alternating different colored bags for stripes. Oh, and trim off any shaggy bag edges that hang (not that anyone is going to examine this piece of art for shoddy craftmanship).

Note: I found the cheapy, grocery store bags knit more easily than the thicker, shiny ones I got in a nice boutique, which caught on my needles.

Another tip: So easy to attach a new bit of "yarn". I just tied a knot with the two strings, leaving a length of about 2 to 3 inches on each side. I twisted the one closest to my work (because it was running the opposite direction from my string going in to the work) and it got knit up in the stitches just fine. Since I changed colors, I made sure to twist the white tail back in the direction of the white and the green tail back in the direction of the green. The tail going away from my work didn't even really need to be twisted. It did it on its own as I knit. You can't even tell I did it, and and there's no weaving in ends there.

Who wouldn't love this idea (please don't all raise your hands at once, it will make me dizzy)? You get an excuse to knit. With free "yarn". It was quick. Your yarn balls will love you. Mother Earth will love you. Your cat - maybe not so much, but when did she ever care what YOU thought? One of these days, I may try to do one with some aloo yarn I've got, which is supposed to have moth-repellent properties, but that would be my fancy, going-out-on-the-town yarn bra.