Friday, March 25, 2011

Getting Loopy For Recycling






I know that most of us really don't like throwing things out, but what do you do with a sock that has a hole too large darn beyond tossing in the landfill?
Well, if you really want to give them a new life check out what I did.

I had one of those little looms to make potholders when I was a child so I bought my daughter one thinking it would be fun to work on them with her. The loops that come with those kits are made out of nylons and tights. They can be very hard to work with on those looms and you will find many are too small and thin for the loom.

I used to wear those fuzzy no-shows we used to call booties, and had a few that the heals worn down so I cut them into little loops and used them on the loom, and yes I washed them first! I cut the loops so they were one inch wide and this made a wonderful potholder, which I still use, coffee and spaghetti stained and all.
The white, blue and purple potholder is my old socks. I really like this one.

You can make your own loom with some headless nails and a square piece of plywood if your socks are too big for the plastic looms.

Now if you want to get really loopy for recycling, you can make a large loom for loops made out of old T-shirts or sweat shirts. sewing several of those squares together will give you a thick bath mat or rug for the kitchen sink.
Or connecting the loops together and using a large crochet hook you can crochet a larger rug.

You can even use the plastic grocery bags to make loops for crocheting. Many people have been making sleeping mats out of them for people in disaster areas. I think they would also be a great beach mat and you could make a matching beach bag.
There are all kinds of patterns on the internet that I have found.

I do have to say that I have found working with the larger loops difficult to begin with, but it does get easier after the first few rows. I will post more pictures and some basic instructions using the plastic bag loops or the T-shirt loops. Check back soon!

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