My Newfound Passion for Recycling

I live in Germany and recycling is big here, really big. I do the basics, like recycle my trash in the prescribed categories. But other than that I'm just really lazy and others seem to have a much bigger heart for our planet than me...

But now I have found that I can recycle old things by turning them into some kind of yarn and crochet with them! Awesome! And here is a tour of my experiments:

1. T-Shirt yarn

I learned how to make it from a video like this one. There are too many out there, I couldn't even find the one... Unfortunately most of my old t-shirts have seams at the sides, which makes the yarn less even. And no, I haven't made anything from T-Shirt yarn yet, I'm still gathering my old stuff and making the yarn. But I'm thinking boxes, organizers... I just don't want to use it for anything decorative, I think. This is some of my T-shirt yarn:

Hm, actually only the pink is T-Shirt yarn, the other two are...

2. Fabric yarn

And I don't stop at t-shirts. I rip the seams of pretty much any garment I want to make into yarn and cut it into one long stripe like this:

Then I roll it into a ball and move on to the next scrap of fabric. 

I'm kinda lazy, so I just use this simple method. But I also came Eva Eichhorn's blog and she has a great tutorial on how you can actually spin yarn out of fabric scraps!

3. Sweater yarn

The last time I visited my parents my Mom gave my an old sweater my grandmother had knit for me at least 15 years ago. Needless to say it was huge and just plain gross! But it might make some cute Christmas-y things... 

So I found myself a nice little tutorial and unraveled the whole thing. Ashley created this one and taught me to make sweater yarn!

4. Tape yarn

Finally! A use for my old cassette tapes! (I had my parents ditch the video tapes recently...) My current stash in tapes is somewhat limited...

... so I'll have to keep bugging my sweet husband for some of his... I know, he'll never... But Michelle has a nifty little tutorial on crocheting with tape. Apparently, you don't even need to roll it into a ball!

5. Plarn

This is the one things I won't ever make! Because, on principle, I always bring my own grocery bags. Always. I only use store bags if really don't have any other means of carrying my purchases. Start doing this NOW! Seriously, it's such a big deal! But now you have to get rid of the bags you already have, right? Okay, so here's one of better tutorials on plarn by Jennifer. Have fun. And then crochet some nice grocery totes so you won't ever have to get plastic bags!

6. Use snippets of yarn

And lastly, what to do with all the tiny little snippets of yarn. Like that very last bit of the skein or what you cut off after weaving in the ends. I just sort them into light and dark...

and use them to stuff amigurumi. So I get safe a little on the polyfill, cool.
But Susan has a way cooler idea: She puts it all into a bird feeder and has them use it for their nests!

And yes, she checked with the experts, it won't harm the birds.

7. Newspaper Yarn

And just when I thought I had exhausted the possibilities... I find this one! I don't read any physical newspapers, but what a cool idea! This is Doug's tutorial on how to make newspaper yarn.

A very unique look! But am the only one with slight doubts about the durability about items crocheted with newspaper...?


Okay, now I think I have covered all fronts, have I!? Next question: What to make with these yarns?