Recycling
Plastic: TUBE KNITTING
Making Time: 1.5 hours
Age Group: 12-100
Project Designer: Lizzie Hurst
Did you know that plastic bags were banned in NYC on March 1st? They pollute the environment and are bad for the health of the fish in our waterways!
But with a few simple techniques, you can use plastic bags to make lots of interesting projects.
Follow these steps to make PLARN out of plastic using only tools and materials that you already have at home! THEN, learn how to make tools from scratch to knit your plarn into something unique...
Project
Overview:
Before you begin, take a couple minutes to think about what you want to knit. I made a hat, but you could make a different accessory, a basketball hoop… or something else completely of your own invention?
Prepare
Your Workspace:
Set up your work space. Clear a surface on a table top where you can work.
Make sure to ask other people who are using the space if it’s OK for you to set up there!
Make sure there’s a broom and dustpan nearby in case you make a mess.
Gather Supplies:
Gather MORE Supplies:
Gather MORE Supplies:
PART 1:
MAKING YOUR PLARN*!
*Plarn: yarn made out of plastic
PART 1 Step 1:
Lay a plastic bag on the table and flatten it with your hands.
Grab your scissors and cut off the bottom and top of the bag so you only have a big plastic loop left (the middle).
PART 1 Step 2:
Next, lay your two stacks of books (or other large flat objects) next to each other...
...and create a “bridge” between them using the broomstick.
PART 1 Step 3:
Put the broomstick through the loop in the plastic bag you just cut so it looks like this!
PART 1 Step 4:
Make a short diagonal cut into your bag, as shown. Stop cutting when you are about 1.5” in from the edge.
1.5” is about the width of the top of your thumb!
1.5”
PART 1 Step 5:
Your goal is to turn the bag into one long strip.
Cut in a straight line 1.5” along the edge - while pulling the plastic bag towards you.
You will see that you are cutting in a spiral.
Try to keep an even 1.5” strip as you cut around and around.
PART 1 Step 6:
To the end, cut diagonally to the edge, just like you did at the beginning.
You should now have one very long piece of plarn!
Repeat this same process with EACH of your plastic bags until you have the amount of plarn that you want!
PART 1 Step 7:
Tie the ends of your strips together so that you have one long piece.
Find a way to store the plarn neatly. You could wrap it around something (like an empty egg carton!) or roll it into a ball.
PART 2:
HOW TO BUILD
A TUBE KNITTING
MACHINE
The next step is to build the tube knitting machine, so you can put your plarn to use!
Important: The circumference of your tube knitting machine will determine the circumference of the tube you knit. Take a moment to think about what you want to make... Does it need to fit your head? A basketball? Your wrist? Your pinky finger?!
If you don’t have any strong cardboard around that’s the right size, you could try and invent another way of making a knitting machine with whatever you have available. I used popsicle sticks and a cereal box to make this one.
PART 2 Step 1:
Find the right piece of cardboard and prepare to cut it out. You’ll want a long strip of cardboard about 4” wide - make sure that it is long enough for whatever it is you want to make!
I decided to make a hat, so I got an extra long piece of cardboard that was about 18”.
Make sure to pay attention to corrugation...
(For a hat, make this length a little less than the circumference of your head!)
If possible, you’ll want to cut the strip of cardboard with the corrugation going in this direction because it will bend much easier.
corrugation...
TIPS ABOUT MEASUREMENT
If you don’t have a measuring tape at home, you can use string or yarn to find the circumference of curved objects before cutting your cardboard... Then you can use the string as a measurement tool.
Always make sure to add about 1”! It’s better to cut too long than too short!
PART 2 Step 2:
Then, use your straightedge and marker to draw out the shape of the knitting machine “teeth.” If you don’t have a ruler, don’t worry about it! The measurements do not need to be exact. All that matters as that you get the general shape and the teeth are straight. It should look like this…
I’ll show you how I measured mine on the next slide.
The width of the teeth will determine how spaced out the stitches are (that’s 1” on my knitting machine). Feel free to try different things to get different results!
Here are the measurements that I used for my knitting machine...
Your knitting will stretch, so I made the length of the cardboard strip a little bit smaller than the circumference of my head.
½”
1”
4”
1”
1”
1”
1”
1”
½”
½”
½”
½”
(Repeat all the way around!)
PART 2 Step 3:
Cut out the teeth! I made cuts down the side of each tooth…..
…. then I folded over the tooth flap and stapled it (you could also tape it!) into place! I found this to be easiest.
PART 2 Step 4:
Curve the cardboard strip into a ring. Overlap the two ends by just a little bit…
...and staple, glue, and/or tape it into place! I stapled and taped it to make it stronger.
NOW YOU ARE READY TO KNIT
PART 3:
HOW TO KNIT WITH
A TUBE KNITTING
MACHINE
Now it’s time to start knitting!
Lots of people out there on the internet have made DIY tube knitters and knit some pretty cool stuff. If you’re confused at all or curious about what other people have done, try googling it! You’ll find plenty of resources.
PART 3 Step 1:
Start by “casting on” your tube knitter. First, tie a little loop around one of the teeth.
Wrap the plarn around each tooth, going all the way around the tube knitter in one direction.
Push your first row down…
After you have wrapped all the way around your tube knitter . . .
PART 3 Step 2:
Wrap a second time around the entire tube knitter, exactly as you did the first time.
This is what it should look like when you’re done! There should be two loops around each tooth.
I used a little clip to help hold the plarn “tail” (the loose end) in place for the next step, but you don’t need to do that if you don’t have one.
PART 3 Step 3:
KNITTING
To knit, pull the bottom loop up over the top loop, and off the top of each tooth. Repeat all the way around once!
You’ll know when you’ve gone all the way around because there will only be one loop on the tooth.
PART 3 Step 4:
Cast-on again by wrapping one more loop around the top of each tooth, all the way around the tube knitter.
Then, repeat from Part 3 Step 2…. !
Continue in this manner until your tube is as long as you want it to be! The only limit to how long you make it is available plarn!
As you go, your knitting will start to build up in the center of the ring.
PART 3 Step 5:
To finish your knit, you will cast-off by threading some spare plarn, string, or cardboard (or whatever else you have handy) through each individual stitch, and pulling the stitch off the cardboard tooth.
PART 3 Step 6:
Pull your knitting away from the cardboard ring and tie the two ends of the string together.
If you want to make a hat shape, you should pull the string tight to close the top of your tube - before tying a knot.
What did you knit?
Turn it into a game! Use it to connect your siblings limbs together! Make some weird clothing! Put plom ploms on it! Take a photo to share with us!
PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOU MADE:
#beamanywhere