alt craft month: plastic patchwork
Posted February 4th, 2008 by
kath_red
As part of our alt craft month, we will be posting links to cool ideas and inspiration as well as tutorials and articles. We are still taking tutorial and article ideas for the month so please email your ideas and stories to me at whipup[at]gmail.com.
Kristy of craftastica sent in this link to how she made this patchwork bag from fused / recycled plastic shopping bags.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Wow! Really cool. Just today I was looking at a plastic grocery bag and wondering what I could make out of it! Cheep, plentiful…Heaven sent the answer!
February 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
This is fantastic! Something so beautiful made out of trash! Living in Germany, I always was glad that you have to pay for plastic bags here, so I rarely got one. But maybe I will do some shopping in shops with colorful plastic bags now …
February 4th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
A mí me resulta muy complicado el encontrar el punto exacto de calor, pues o no se pega o se me arruga mucho. Estos enlaces son muy curiosos y con resultados muy bonitos, como el de este bolso.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Love the look and re-use, but a question: Is it environmentally safe and responsible to be heating these plastics to the melting/fusible stage? What is being into the air, and what is the crafter breathing in? I’ve avoided these kinds of projects until I can find some idea of the consequences. Thanks.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Debbie — that is a concern I’ve heard before, and I don’t know a definitive answer. I can only speak for myself: I heated the plastic on a very low heat for a longer time rather than using a higher heat and fusing more quickly — under the theory that keeping it below a certain temperature minimizes the release of fumes. I did the fusing outside and wore a respirator mask just in case (given that I’m currently pregnant), but did a sniff test and couldn’t even detect an odor. That’s not to say there were no fumes, nor does it really answer your question, but that’s my take on it. Hopefully someone has a better answer for you.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Thanks, Kristy, for that extra information.