Making roll-up mats for the homeless using recycled materials, such as plastic shopping bags, can be a rewarding and meaningful way to give back to your community. These mats can provide a comfortable and durable surface for homeless individuals to sleep on, helping to improve their quality of life and protect them from the elements.
To make a roll-up mat, you’ll need a large quantity of plastic shopping bags (also known as “plarn”), scissors, and a crochet hook. Here’s a simple process for creating a roll-up mat:
- Cut the handles off of the plastic shopping bags and flatten them out.
- Cut the flattened bags into strips, about 1-2 inches wide.
- Tie the strips together to create a long strand of plarn.
- Begin crocheting the plarn into a mat, using a basic crochet stitch. Make sure to crochet tightly to create a strong and durable surface.
- Continue crocheting until the mat is large enough to provide a comfortable surface for sleeping.
- Once the mat is finished, roll it up tightly and secure it with a string or ribbon.
Making roll-up mats for the homeless can be a fun and fulfilling project for individuals, groups, or even entire communities. It’s a simple way to make a difference and help those in need.
You can learn more about the mats here.
You can also purchase plarn ready made here via Etsy.
How to Make Plarn:
What you’ll need:
- 500-700 plastic shopping bags (for a person-sized mat, but can vary depending on what you’re using the mat for)
- 10mm or larger Crochet hook
- Scissors
Instructions:
Flatten the plastic bag to best you can and straighten any of the bags creases
Cut off the handles and the bottom seam so that you’re left with a rectangle. This can then be cut into four strips that become loops when opened up.
After you have lots of loops, hook them together with a basic larks head knot. This is done by overlapping two of the loops end-to-end, then pulling the top of one end through the middle intersection of the two loops. Repeat this step.
From here you can start to crochet! You’ll need approximately 42 chain stitches, and then continue to crochet until you arrive at your desired length.
Recycle the scrap plastic at your local grocery store to ensure that nothing is wasted.
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Glad to see someone else doing this, I’ve been doing them for a while and have my friends cutting bags and putting the strips together …so worthwhile…
Only using a chain stitch? I am learning how to crochet and wondered if this would be too hard for me to try.
What happens when they biodegrade?
Is there any way that a type of pillow can be made out of these bags to go with these mats. Many homeless suffer when laying down flat, and having something that can help prop their heads up would be a huge benefit to them, too. Thanks to all who are making these mats to help the homeless!! It seems there is an increase to homelessness, not a decrease, and anything we can do to help them is a blessing.
In Italy we very rarely use plasic bags any more, do any of you lovely creative people have any ideas for nylon substitute, I work with homeless people and these would be amazing! Thanks x
Where do you send the mats?
Pelase send a a video!!
Is there a video or pictures that I can follow to do this? I would like to try this out. I think that it is a good idea 🙂
Angela, are you familiar with Pinterest? A search there can bring up anything you could possibly imagine! Just search on the terms “plastic bag crochet”. Best wishes 🙂
Reply to Lucy in Italy – you can recycle old tshirts for this. Just search google for rag rug weaving 😀
What about old pantyhose?
I make these. They are cheap. I make bags with handles. They are good for the beach.
Yo he tejido bolsas al crochet para hacer bolsas para mandados!! quedan bárbaras y son super resistentes,
Hay que intentarlo
These mats can also be made out of nylons or pantyhose. They will not degrade. You could braid them and make a long rectangular shape the same size as the plastic ones. Then make a smaller one and stuff with rolled up pantyhose to make a pillow. Many churches collect and send to third world coutries–particularly wet ones. I think that teddy bears could also go to third world countries for the children…….made from nylons…….cuddly but do not mold or rot.
Are you still doing the mats? My church does these and we have found a new way to cut that is more efficient and faster. Instead of folding the bags. We lay them flat and cut them with a fabric cutter and mat and we can cut 15 at a time with no folding and then unfolding the strips to make the plarn. Then edges are straighter and more uniform. What use to take the job five now take one person and it’s faster. please let me know if you want to hear more.
You can make a plarn pillow by single crocheting a rectangle twice the length of the desired pillow top, then folding it over. Put the bag scraps in a plastic bag, tie it closed, and stuff the pillow. Crochet around the three sides to close.
I can’t figure out how to make the strap.. I made one but how does it attach to the mat?
Are these really being used? Appears to be a good use for plastic bags and keeping them out of the environment however are they being used?