I've been crocheting for 50 years and was so impressed with how you taught folks how to crochet! Very easy to follow, simple instructions which make it mutch less difficult for beginners to understand. Bravo!

Turning plastic bags into yarn and making things was popular in the 1970's. I know because I turned bread bags and other plastic bags into door mats. Glad to see it's come back. Having been homeless myself, I'd suggest a thicker mat for a bed roll. The plarn does mat down and get thinner. A thicker mat, perhaps two mats connected together at the side seams would work and last better.

I was very honored to participate in making the mats. It was a rich experience for me. I got involved with the Suwannee County Library’s Literacy Department under the guidance and assistance from my best friend (Literacy Department Director: Mrs. Debra Barney of whom is very creative. She told me about the program. At first, I thought I would not be able to maneuver the huge crochet needle, became better and better at it. My confidence grew stronger better We had a team effort. Some people were cutting the plastic bags up and making plarn, then delivering it to us. We were able to use the colors we liked. The Mats were measured to meet the specifications. When I went out I would bring my mat with me. I worked on it day and night. Thank you alll for allowing me to be a part of this special and well deserved program. It benefitted everyone.I would be so proud when I see people with their mats. They seemed so happy that people cared about them. I was homeless in the past and it was devastating. Ok pulled through with Grace of God. I was so ashamed, I did not reach out to my Family.I have always been a hard worker and was shocked when it happened.

Since this is the best video I have found so far, I am going to add this info for people that find this video later. Need approximately: 500 to 700 bags Crochet hook: Size Q 16 MM (Luxite Bulky Plastic Crochet Hook, 8", Size Q/16mm) Note: Size Q comes in 2 sizes, One is 15.75mm an one is 16mm)

Also, thank you so much for saying "experiencing homelessness" instead of just saying homeless. As a person who was homeless for a little over a year I hated when people called me homeless and hated they way most people said it.

I made a plarn shopping bag and a small purse over 10 years ago...my daughter still uses them on a daily basis...they’re barely showing wear...these items are tough and practical. So glad to see this and the other videos on how to use what so many feel is a terrible waste product...it’s really a terrific resource!

Our church in Irving, TX is having a series of workshops to teach people how to create these mats. We thank you so much for your excellent instructions. So many people (mostly women) have come and done part or all of the steps. In January we will distribute them during the annual census conducted by Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. This project is social (we gather to do it together), educational (raises awareness of the causes of homelessness), charitable (gives us an opportunity to respect & care for others) and environmental (an opportunity to re-purpose grocery bags that would otherwise go into the trash or recycle bin). Thank you so much for teaching us how to do this!

You are an amazing teacher! You speak very clearly and you do not assume anything. I can definitely do this! Yes, I will do this! Thank you so much!

Excellent instructions.. you can tell this lady is a qualified teacher! Thanks for useful way to deal w excess plastic bags.

This is a great and thorough tutorial. Our local high school kids have been collecting bags from the community. They have learned how to crochet the mats and then donate them to area shelters. It's a great project all around! 👍

Decades trying to learn crochet ... being the reason for my teachers' frustration ... two minutes of video and I learned it! I´ll be forever grateful! Thanks!

Not only has this video presented a great idea for helping others, but it has also finally helped me understand how to crochet. I’ve tried learning in the past and never got it. Thx

What an amazing idea to use up plastic bags. I told up my bags just like you showed, making sure first there are no holes to reuse for trash bags of that size. But from now on, I will keep my bags and would love to make a crochet blanket for someone. In my town we don't see hardly anyone that is homeless, but this would be perfect to for folks that camp or hike that needs something light and easy to carry and clean up. Thank you for the video

I'm going to show this to a few nursing home. So many older ladies love to crochet and could really help out the homeless/ pets/ environment. Great idea!!!

Bless your heart for actually telling us how many bags we will need. Someone just said a gazillion, and others don't bother to give even an estimate. A gal has got to have a beginning point! Also, the trick about being able to see gaps through a chain stitch, is vital. Good shot! So many will give up on the whole project because the very first row is "ImPOSSible".

I looked for a good video on making these bed rolls and this is the best that I found. This is so detailed and gives the best instructions I have found. I can't wait to get started on doing this for our clothes closet at the church. All I have to do is notify our church members to save bags for me. Thank you Tori for such detailed instructions.

Every Saturday for one hour (here in Tucson), a senior residence holds a workshop where the ladies (mainly) do the exact same thing demonstrated here. I don't crochet but am learning and am having a ball learning all the other steps to make the bag mats. We also use bags that newspapers come in when it looks like it might rain. It is a great way to socialize, pass the time in the quiet of your home or room and also know that you are keeping these bags from the oceans and landfills and re-purposing them into a helpful item! This demonstration and video was one of the best I have seen to show the audience how to do something! BRAVO!!

THANK YOU for such a WONDERFUL tutorial! So clear! Even my 75 yr old brain understands it! 👍🏼🌹

This is honestly just a great and thorough tutorial on how to crochet period

This is fantastic! The hostess explains so well, detailed, and correct speed that pretty much everyone can follow. Great job, excellent idea!

I’m so glad someone tagged me in this today. I’m going to make these and find out where to send these to for the people that need them. Brilliant idea this is❤

This is the best video I've seen on making plarn. I appreciate your attention to detail!

I am going to try this for our patients who are experiencing homelessness at our agency in Chicago. Thanks so much for the instructions!

My wife and I make these for the homless and we make them a little extra long when done and fold it over 3 or 4 time not roll but fold them over and wala you have an extra pillow.They are so greatful for them and when I go to feed them every 3 days of the week I take them these and if it's raining expleshy .Tks for enlightening folks my only beef with this I don't have alot of them because there are ago many Homless people here in Maryland in A.A county God bless 🙏

Such a creative way for two beneficial acts of kindness…one for the homeless and two, getting rid of plastic bags ending up inside gorgeous whales, dolphin, turtles & other sea-life critters. Great Work!

What a fantastic X-mas idea for helping those experiencing homelessness. I love how this recycles plastic bags while providing such a loving gift. You did an amazing job presenting this tutorial. It's not only clearly and carefully demonstrated, but you even addressed potential problems that will likely come up. Wonderful project and incredible tutorial. Thank you!

Thank you for posting this. What a genius way to keep those pesky bags outta the landfill & streets as well as giving back to the community.. Please post more.. 👍👍

I am especially impressed by your saying "people experiencing homelessness" instead of the dehumanizing "the homeless". Thank goodness, in Sweden we recycle our plastic bags (and stores charge for them, and encourage you NOT to buy them). But I want to keep looking for similar videos for things we cannot easily recycle!

When using the rotary cutter and mat, add in a ruler designed to be used with these. It will hold the bags down so you can cut them, make your cut straight, and keep your fingers out of the way. BTW, I love your description of "the hooky part and the pointy part"! Good video

There is no downside to this! This is pure positivity. This warms my heart! I will absolutely be doing this Thank you so much. Clean up the earth and recycle and help those in need. People and animals alike. So many homeless people care for pets and choose to be outside in order to keep their pet rather than be inside in a shelter. Ah I’m crying! Thank you so much for posting

To the lovely young lady that taught us to make PLARN and a mat. Great job. It’s been a couple of years since you made this video. If You are keeping up with the comments, know this- there are many angry and bitter people that are not content with their lives. Sorry to say, that will never change. Please don’t let negative words like these bring You down. Keep a positive outlook. Stay focused on what is true, honest, and dependable. It appears that You were raised with solid ethics. I wish You the best. If You have more videos, I’d like to know where to find them. You are a great teacher!

I don't know if you are a teacher but this is the most concise demo I've seen...and I'm a retired teacher! Thanks!!!

The trick for joining the two bags of plarn was genius.

I love this because it's something anyone can have access to. I have been about a breath away from being homeless for years but I have found kindness and support many times from unexpected places and people. It's important to my self worth to be able to give back, not just take, take, take.

Awesome detailed tutorial!!! All the tips & tricks are here! I think these would be also great for pets.

When I was little I used to help my mum cut plastic bags into strips throughout the winter; then my mum hired the community loom or finger crochet the plastic into mats that were used at the front porch and on the bathroom floor - any place that would get wet and/or dirty. Plastic mats like that are also good at trapping sand: I had a plastic mat in the hallway where we would take our shoes off. In fact, homemade plastic rugs were so common that craft and yarn places would sell ready-cut plastic yarn in different colours, so you could create "designer" rugs. But my favourite rugs were made of milk bags: black inside, white with red or blue outside depending on fat content. Mum could finger crochet rugs into circular shapes, too... I wish I had thought of using plastic mats when camping: even in summer (well, it often snowed) the ground radiates cold and can give you a restless night. Tents do commonly have a base sewn to the walls, but its purpose is only to stop the water and creepy-crawlies getting in. It was only years later when foam camping mats appeared into the scene and at first, they were expensive!

Congratulations! You are a great tutor. I'm off to gather some plastic bags. Excellent project for the homeless.

Oh my GOSH what a great tip at 4:22 for joining two separate bags of plarn! Thanks! I'll pass that along to some friends who make the mats in my area. I'm going to share this video on my FB page too.

Hello, I stumbled across this video while searching for a tutorial for crocheting a plastic bag dispenser and I'm so thankful I did! Now I won't need the dispenser after all bc I can use all the bags to help other's and help sea creatures by keeping these plastic bags in use. I think you explained everything so well and offered so many helpful tips, I especially liked the tip about how to join your bags of plarn! Just amazing! Thank you so much for this extremely useful tutorial! There are so many people experiencing homelessness these days and a lot of these individuals are just kids who have lost their way. So many I know personally and was bringing them into my home but sadly that didn't work our very well for me. So I love that I can still help them by giving them a warmer, drier place to lay their heads. And right now its getting very cold outside and wet so I'm going to get right on this and I'm recruiting my many grandchildren to help! And it will teach them to be kind and giving as well! I'm going to watch the video again bc I'm not sure if you mentioned where I could get more bags? If you didn't then do you any idea's where I can get more? I would love to make many many sleep rolls to give this season. I'm not sure where to take them to donate bc we do not actually have a homeless shelter that I know of. And I would like to get some to the kids I know who are homeless right now. How can I best get them into the hands that truly need them? Again I thank you for taking your time to teach us how to make these bed rolls and upcycle plastic bags too! This is awesome!

You are an excellent teacher! Most people are not as thorough and understandable. Great job! These would be great to make for the homeless to sleep on, & it would be recycling at the same time

Your explanation is so detailed, easy to follow and full of tips. Great project for anyone wanting to do a community service project and your video makes it understandable for everyone. Excellent job!

This is absolutely brilliant! Great demonstration, everything was so well thought out and explained. The design of the mat is perfect.

Excellent! Thank you, young Lady, for showing other young people how to live on this earth and help the needy and inpoverished in their affliction! You presented this with such grace, also. Thank you.

Thank you so much ! This you g lady is an excellent teacher !!!!!! God Bless You … I’m sending this video to a missionary group in Brazil .

You explained this process so clearly and offered helpful time-saving tips. Thank you!

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this tutorial! 😊 God bless you!! ♥️

My Grandma who passed suddenly in 2020, loved to crochet. I tried a "beginner" kit once myself but it was so confusing I couldn't even get started and was super intimidated. You've done an absolutely amazing job explaining crochet so thoroughly but in a way that's easy to understand, you've inspired me to try it out again! Thank you!!❤

I'm posting on my Facebook for all my friends to gather the hundreds of bags they have stuffed in cupboards. I love to crochet but can't afford all the wool I go through. Can't wait to give my first sleeping mat to a person living rough. God bless and Happy Christmas.

This is the video I used to learn how to make bedrolls. It takes you from step 1 all the way through to tying straps and carrying strap. I have not found a better one. For anyone that can't come to our group to make these bedrolls, I highly recommend this.

Devojko, svaka ti čast. Pažljivo objašnjeno, uredno izrađeno i za više namena. Bravo.

Great video! Very easy to follow! Thank you for showing us.

This is the easiest way of making plarn I have heard of. Ty.

When I was about nine or ten, my mom taught me how to tear up an old bedcover into strips and crochet a throw rug for a learning project. She made several afghans, one for each of us. You have reminded me of how I enjoyed crocheting. One of my four daughters loves to crochet. The other three love cooking and gardening. I like watching youtube videos until dinnertime and then I enjoy cooking.lol

Thank you for the EXCELLENT instructions! I work at a Catholic high school run by the Felician Sisters. Beginning this summer, students from Felician-run schools all over North America are going to begin making these bedrolls as service project. (The sisters have at least four ministries to the homeless.) I think we will be using your video to teach them! God bless you!

I love it! I am sharing your site with my Church, my neighbors and friends in another state to share with their Church. I live in a Senior complex and trying to get the seniors busy. I am passionate about during projects to help others. Thank you!

What an excellent tutorial! Thank you so much.

I have seen this project on KZfaq before. I think this is ingenious and such a great help for those who do not want to come into shelters. You are a great instructor. Thank you for teaching us to use these bags that otherwise just go into the garbage.❤.

I love this idea! i always collect plastic bags because I have two cats, and I use the bags for disposing of used litter. But I always end up with a huge surplus of bags, and I am always recycling them, until now! I wouldn’t have the patience to make something that big, but I could make totes and gift them to people.

A cousin was given a plarn rug/mat which I fell in love with and knew it would fit my small kitchen floor perfectly! And it has! It is also very soft on bare feet,easily washes clean in a filled bathtub of soapy water and dries like a dream! I have my wife working on a round one now ,large enough for the living area! I can't praise the technique enough! Plus it is eco beneficial!

This is an excellent video! The woman is so patient and explains everything very well. And of course this is a great idea. Kudos to all!

You did a fabulous job of explaining and illustrating the techniques. Thx!!!!!

Super video. You are a wonderful teacher. Easy to follow. Very specific and a good pace. What a great project! Thank you for adding this to KZfaq.

Great and easy instructions make it easy to follow. Thanks for keeping plastic out of the landfill while helping others. Bless you!

I can't believe there are so many dislikes. What is wrong with people? This is an awesome idea from this young lady AND awesome instruction. She could be out raising hell and partying but she put herself out there to try to help people. Right on young lady.

Your instructions are incredibly clear and easy to understand. Thank you for that! Awesome project idea.

This is so creative!!! Apart from using plastic bags, you can use old t shirts cut them into strips and crochet them into a mat.

Just now seeing your video. You did a super job in explaining the entire process. Thank you!

I have a plarn mat in my kitchen and the "pluses" are incredible! The best idea ever! Not only is it soft on the bare feet,but it catches my cooking drips etc.One more phenomenal thing is that it can be wash in warm soapy water in my bathtub and hung to dry in a few hours! I cannot say enough good things about using this yarn for mats,rugs etc.!!!I use a corresponding size hook according to the width I cut my bag strips.I love the 3/4 inch width cut and a "k " hook..constructing theat with only DC's on top of each other in the rows.

this is 2018 and I just want to say that you are an excellent teacher. I think anyone could do this project based on your explanations. I am not going to do this project, but I will show it to my 12 year old granddaughter, as she and her dad and siblings go camping, (primitive) and I think she would love to do this.

You did a fantastic job of explaining how to do this from start to finish! These would also make great nap pads for a daycare center.

This makes my heart sing ! Bless you! Crystal Green Scotland

That "around the bag" trick is soooo Cool,Wish I would have thought of that years ago!!!🤯😳😉👍

Oh Thank you! I know this nice homeless person that I can make this for him for the winter. I bring him water and sometimes I bring him food and this will keep him warm in the winter. Thank you very much.

Fantastic tutorial! I learned lots with your crochet tips, and I’ve been crocheting for years. I have been collecting plastic bags for quite a while now, just for doing this type of project. Thank you!!

Wow, great teacher. Few people have that talent.

FANTASTIC idea and way to help the homeless! Making bedrolls for the homeless out of plastic, non-absorbent material is shear genius! Unfortunately, California is slowly banning the use of single-use plastic bags, the type you are using for the Plarn. The newer plastic bags most stores make available for customers are 10 cents each and are made of thicker plastic - intended as multi-use shopping bags - also intended to get customers to recycle more. Otherwise, you have to bring your own bags. If our state hadn't started banning the single-use plastic bags, I'd be all over this project. I hope someone comes up with a similar project for making weather-resistant bedrolls.

You are an inspiration! You are so kind-hearted and such a good tutor! Thank you!!

Phenomenal! I could see these being great for camping, kids use and more plus for the homeless. Towel bags could be made from these with a quick, easy change. This is a genius concept! THANKS!!!

Awesome job teaching how to do this! Thank you! I hope to start making these for those who are unfortunate to not have a bed at the moment. This is something that would be great to include children in. Only good can come from this! Thank you for sharing this!

This is a very good instructional video. Not only good for homeless people, but for tent camping for under your sleeping bag, a thing to teach in like scouts or 4 H, and also to make for laying on the floor for someone with back problems or at slumber parties for teens. So many things this could be adjusted for size from small animal mat to porch summer shade.

Awesome tutorial! This is a great project that helps people be more comfortable when using these mats!

She did a very good job of explaining how to make this. Its awesome people are making these to help out those less fortunate.

Brilliant idea. If all households consciously do this project it not only provides bed to the homeless but most importantly keeps our coastal areas and rivers free of plastic pollution which is actually killing millions of sea life and birds who ingest the plastic and die. God bless you for teaching this.

The pointy part and the hooky part -- Love this video and what a wonderful way to recycle a material that can't be recycled!

What a great tutorial! I have been saving my bags so I can make a few to go along with some warm double strand weight 4 yarn blankets I have made. What a wonderful project you have taken on. I hope you have much success! I live on the southern coast of NC.

We are looking at making these for the street dogs in our area of Turkey.

That looks actually Cozy, the idea of diy stuff gives me happines,

I've watched a lot of KZfaq tutorials, and your's is probably the best! You speak clearly, you explain everything really well, and this project is awesome! I love how you showed to put the whole bag through the joining loop, and not drag all the plarn out to pull it through. I really want to try this.

Thank you for sharing this great idea! I finally have a positive way to recycle and protect the environment!!! Love this! ❤

Great tutorial. I was an Environmental Scientist for my first career, starting as a teenager. I was inspired by the first USA Earth Day in April 1970. I am still an environmentalist, but another advocacy I love is human rights. Thank you.

❤very cool. I wondered how to crochet projects with bags. The world is overflowing with bags. What a great way to utilize them and help people out at the same time.

you taught me how to crochet! i am very grateful. easiest and worthy project. bless you.

thank you. those are the best instructions i have seen. you are an amazing teacher. i can do this confidently. ive already made a shopping bag and have several balls of plarn ready for my next projects ☺

What a cool and helpful project! Thank you for sharing this with us and I hope people will pick up the baton and run with it. Good bless you girl! 👍😇🙏😘❤️

You are a great teacher! Thank you!

You are a great teacher. Explained so well.

Thank you for sharing this video. I have found something that my daughter and I can do together to help others. And, it is a great homeschool art project. Brilliant!

Excellent , easy to follow directions. I watched a few others, but your video is the best. Thank you !

What an awesome project !!! I sent it to my daughters and my sister and Mom! I cant wait to try this ! Thank you sooooooo much !!!

FREAKING TIME MANAGEMENT GENIUS!!! lOVE THIS!