(Updated Jan 31, 2023)
Our mission partner the Lamb Center has identified a need that CPC can meet for their guests who have nowhere to sleep but outdoors.
To provide a waterproof cushion from the hard, often damp, ground, the Lamb Center would like to provide these guests with mats which can be made from plastic grocery (or Target, Walmart, CVS, etc) bags. The mats can be rolled up and are easily portable and reusable.
To make the mats, the plastic bags are cut into strips which are looped together to make long strips of plastic yarn (“plarn”); the plastic yarn is then crocheted into mats. Each mat is made up of approximately 750 plastic bags.
The process of producing the 3′ x 6′ mats can be broken into several very simple steps: collecting the bags, cutting the bags into strips, looping the strips together to make the plarn, and crocheting the mats. Anyone (including children) can participate in any of these steps without committing to make an entire mat from start to finish.
A video which explains the entire process of plastic bag to mat can be viewed here.
Click here for instructions to make plarn.
Click directions for crocheting plarn mats.
If you are interested in helping to cut the bags into strips, to loop the strips into plarn, or to crochet the plarn into mats, or you have questions about the process, please contact Carol Wallace at carol.k.wallace@gmail.com.
