Punching Plastic

Miss Sophia, my gray tabby, is an indoor cat which means we buy a lot of cat litter. The litter comes in large plastic containers.  Instead of recycling, I re-purposed a few by turning them into yarn totes with a few crafting tools - a Crop A Dile and a crochet hook. 

A Crop A Dile and a crocheted mesh combine to make a yarn tote.

After cutting off the handle and spout, I punched holes evenly along the rim of the plastic container.  I used a small crochet hook and nylon yarn by Omega to create a crochet mesh around the opening.  The mesh keeps the yarn inside the container. I made a long cord using acrylic yarn to use as a closure.  It is woven through the edge of the mesh. 

Even tipped over, the yarn stays inside.

The yarn tote addresses my primary concerns  - keeping the yarn clean and untangled while still being able to pull it smoothly from a ball, cake or skein.



Here's a video in which the two different types of Crop A Diles are demonstrated and compared.

Toe Up

Finished my first pair of socks - an early birthday present for Steve who's showing that they fit. I've always wanted to make a pair of socks yet feared I wouldn't make it past the heel.  I couldn't imagine how to switch direction smoothly to transition from the straight leg to the horizontal foot of the sock. Thankfully, there are numerous books, patterns, and youtube which explain everything you need to know to make it through the transition and complete a pair. 

Making socks doesn't directly relate to recycling except if you have some excess light weight yarn from another project, you too can whip up a pair of socks.  These began from the toe then expanded for the arch onward to the heel turn which is created by using a wrap and turn technique (Cat Bordhi's wrap and turn) and ending with the cuff  - repeated rows of knit two and purl two.