To celebrate earth week, we thought we would join in on some green crafting! Now for crocheters and knitters, this may seem a little difficult, but there are plenty of ways we can hop on the green crafting challenge. Just by using up your extra yarn scraps, you are recycling yarn that others normally throw away. Another way you can reuse and recycle yarn to to head to your local thrift store and pick up some sweaters, and re-purpose the yarn to crochet or knit something new. To honor the Earth and all that it encompasses, we are challenging you to craft green. This small challenge comes with big reward. Return daily to enter to win one of two exciting Earth Week prizes. Find the contest rules and enter below.
Today is the second to last day of Earth Week, and we’re pushing through the end of the week with this Earth Day Afghan from Caron. With this free crochet afghan pattern, you’ll learn how to make an afghan using Caron’s own Simply Soft Eco yarn which is made from recycled plastic bottles. According to Caron,”Every 10 skeins of Simply Soft Eco saves 6 plastic bottles from America’s landfills.” How cool is that?
Earth Day Afghan
Enjoy crocheting this pattern while knowing that you are helping the environment! It’s always great when you can do something you already love to do and make it “greener” just by changing a few things. You won’t be able to resist this free crochet afghan pattern – so grab the tutorial here!
Earth Week Giveaway
Return daily to comment on the blog for your chance to win one of the two Earth Week prizes. One lucky winner will win a Wool Felt Bug Kit and an Art Journal Kit from Arterro, and another lucky winner will win two hanks of At the Bahamas: Multi Colored Recycled Sari Silk Ribbon Yarn from Darn Good Yarn.
Bonus! As a gift to all Earth Week participants, when shopping with Arterro enter the coupon code FAVE20 for 20% off any order through May 1st.
OFFICIAL RULES
- There is a maximum of one entry per person per day. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied. You can comment once a day on each blog post.
- Winners will be selected at random from the comments on the Earth Week blog posts.
- Winners will be announced here on the blog on April 29th as well as contacted by the email address provided.
- You have until April 28th, 2013 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on any of the Earth Week posts. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
- Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.
What kinds of green crafting projects have you tried lately?
- Earth Day Afghan Tutorial - April 27, 2013
- There’s Still Time! Charity Blanket Drive + Giveaway Prize Package - June 26, 2012
- How Do I Crochet? Your Ultimate How-To Guide from AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatterns - June 21, 2012
I haven’t had a chance to do any green crafting projects yet. I’ve been cleaning my yard to get ready for planting season. As soon as the planting is done, I will be looking on different websites for some summer green crafting projects.
I’m working 12-hour shifts right now so there isn’t time to do any crafting , between working, sleeping and travel time. Sure would love to win that Multi Colored Recycled Sari Silk Ribbon Yarn!!
What great prizes to give-away in honor of Earth Day!
I use recycled materials in my card making.
I Green Craft with my four year old son. Whenever we get flyers in the mail we repurpose them into paper airplanes, pirate hats or papier mâché. I up cycle coffee cans into beautiful storage containers for the many craft supplies I have in my home. I love Green Crafting with my son – we have fun being creative together and it teaches him the value of repurposing items that may have otherwise ended up in the trash.
I would love to crochet a scarf with the recycled silk sari ribbon. It looks so beautiful and soft! And I would love telling people the story behind the material used.
I’m always looking for ways to recycle and reuse the left over stuff. It drives my family crazy. Lately I’ve been making yarn from old T-shirts and will do the same with old shopping bags. I’m not sure what I’ll make yet but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
Thanks for all the beauties.
Earth Day! Whoo Hoo! Great prizes!
Great prizes!!
I love using items that would otherwise be thrown away/recycled for crafting. It is not only eco-friendly, but budget-friendly as well.
Have tried crocheting with pop tabs, it is fun! Love to watch the you tube vids.
I use tubes from toilet paper a LOT with my grandson! We love to make them into little toys! Soda can tabs make great bracelets and pendants and leftover washers and other hardware bits can be made into some really cool jewelry pieces!
I make bracelets out of soda taps and recycled yarn from sweaters that are found from yard sales, garage sale, etc. I also crochet, recycle plastic bags into Totes, purses and jewelry. My kids and I use cans for candles making. Aluminum cans are used for our crafting as well. There are so many things that are reusable, you just need to have imagination. Thank You…
I would love to win
good idea to think of earth day by making projects with it
What a great way to bring attention to being green. The earth is our home and we need to give it the care and attention we give our physical homes.
I have just begun my project. I’m collecting old t-shirts. I’m going to cut them into strips and roll them so I can use them like yarn, to crochet rugs.
Knitting and altered books/boxes
I absolutely love working with recycled sari silk yarn! Thanks so much for this opportunity!
I crochet baskets out of plastic bags to hold my yarn in and other items!!
Using old shirts, dresses what ever items that can be torn into strips to join making yarn. Then either crochet, knit or even braid into rugs and tote bags. Great for odd materials you find at garage sales. This all can be done without sewing machines. This has been a longtime ago way that rugs were made. Now is more of a craft as don’t think many people take the time to do this. I once used this to make round seats for old chairs.
I am making plarn out plastic bags to crochet into reusable shopping bags.
I Love the colors. Especially green1
I love to buy recycled yarn, but my favorite since learning to knit are Garage sales. Nothing better then getting a knit blanket with a running seem for a Quarter and then fixing it or unraveling it for the yarn. Love it.
I use plastic bags that newspapers come in to make mats for the floors. I have some pretty blue ones now and then I have some orange ones I will use for outdoors. They work good to put kids shoes on.
what great prizes!
I am currently working with ladies from my church to create caddies and gift baskets out of plastic bottles and containers for the nursing home. We’re using left over yarn to crochet rims and handles on the tops of the containers. You just punch holes around the rim of the containers with a hole punch or small drill! The plastic can be left as is or painted using a spray paint designed for use on plastic and then decorated how ever you wish.
tin cans and nails to make knitting looms, tissue paper and glass jars for candlers, bottle caps and reclcyed beads for magnets. Always looking at something before I recyclke to see what I can make from it.
I love crocheting old fabric into rag rugs!
I haven’t done any recycle projects, but this would be a good start. I have torn out many crochet projects and reused the yarn for other projects… does that count? I have read previous comments, and would love to use the recycle plastic bags to crochet with. Will look this up, and see how it is done. Who knows? Maybe by the end of the day, I will have a plastic bag basket or tote!
using rag strips for crocheting baskets
Every 10 skeins saves 6 plastic bottles from America’s landfills
It is hard to believe that 6 bottles make 10 skeins of Simply Soft Eco yarn. With all of the bottles used in one day … that is a lot of yarn.
I love that many are recycling as I have told my students, my grandfather always told me “You are either part of the solution or part of the problem”. I choose to be part of the soultion in every way I can.
What wonderful give-aways! I recycle every day anything that I can. I repurpose just about everything that we have. Either of these would be used and appreciated much.
I have been saving my husbands old t-shirts for awhile, I am going to cut the pictures/sayings off the front (or back) to make a quilt for him, and the rest is going to be cut in strips for a bathroom rug for my sister.
I made a christmas tree out of toilet paper rolls, spray painted the rolls, added lights and decorations.
I make bags and bracelets out of soda taps and recycled yarn from sweaters that i and others dont use anymore. I also crochet rugs, totes aso. out of old fabric. From yarn scraps i crochet different toys to my granddaughters.
I recently made a beach tote from plastic grocery bags! It works really well.
I am fairly new to knitting and crocheting and would love to try the eco friendly products, am always up for trying new things
I have been a knitter for 65 years. I’ve also made jewelry, crocheted, and done all sorts of handcrafts. My favorite thing is to recycle items into useful household treats. Long live crafting!!
I have turned old T-shirts into shopping bags!
I have been using my leftover small balls of yarn to knit afghan squares for charities.
I buy yarn and supplies from thrift stores and garage sales I adopt homeless ufo’s (unfinished objects) from them too.
I haven’t tried any “earth friendly” crochet yet, but I plan to make a PLARN bag soon. I would LOVE to win this yarn!
I try to recycle my paper,clothes and any craft project I do. I’m always trying to make this earth greener
I love to crochet. I have used sisal for baskets and tried scraps for a rug. I want to use recycled fabric and recycled plastic bags.
Right now I’m repurposing clothes trying to get ready for summer. Sundresses for me and my granddaughter. Also turning some of my old magazines into paper beads to match our dresses
I have been saving a few cans to make the votive candle holders with designs poked thru them. Thanks for the giveaway.
smjohns63 at yahoo dot com
I make purses & bags from shopping bags, I use bed sheets from cast-off and yard sales to crochet rugs, and hats out of pop cans. I enjoy making something out of nothing. I sure enjoy all the patterns and crafts. Thanks.
That yarn is fun!