With reduce/reuse/recycle in mind as I make plans to decorate my sukkah at the end of the month, I’ve started to sift through my stash for the making of a knitted harvest. With the help of a simple pattern (here) as a general guide and a ball of bright yellow acrylic leftover from a community afghan project (reduce) was converted into a nifty lemon (below, far left) in
less than an hour. I quickly “greened” the process further, digging into my stash of colored plastic bags (saved for a variety knitting and crocheting) for the yellows. Ten minutes later I had yards of yellow plastic yarn from 2 bags (far right), and the second fruit (2nd from left) was completed in short order. An ancient bag of polyfil provided the stuffing for the acrylic lemon; a third plastic bag filled the plastic lemon. As far as I can tell, they are washable and durable – we’ll see after they spend a week in the sukkah. The internet provides plenty of models for the rest of the harvest I’m planning: apples and pears, oranges, eggplants, carrots, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, celery, even broccoli! Squash, asparagus, grapes and others will easily be based on pattern modifications.
Information about making and working with plastic bag yarn can be found all over the internet – try here, here and here for a some of the clearest and best illustrated discussions of looped yarn, and “How to Knit a Plastic Bag” for making a continuous strand yarn.
