Skill Skool to hold plastic-yarn tote bag making workshop

KUCHING: If you are being overwhelmed by plastic bags and concerned about adding to the landfill, there is now a creative way of putting them to good use.

Skill Skool, a communitybased skill share platform, is holding a beginner workshop on making ‘plarn’ ( plastic yarn) and crocheting it into a mini tote bag.

It will be held on Jan 7, 9am to 11.30pm, at The Pan Tree, Green Heights Mall, and conducted by one of their volunteers, Helena Goh.

Goh told The Borneo Post that she had been crocheting with yarn for a number of years and was inspired to look into plarn when she heard of a group of ladies making sleeping bags for the homeless out of the material.

“I started researching plarn and taught myself how to make it and crochet items from it,” she said, adding that it was a nice way of giving used plastic bags a new lease on life.

“Plarn makes very durable and washable projects. You can save money and it’s easy to learn.”

Crocheting with plarn can be as easy as working with yarn, if the plastic bags it came from is soft enough. Goh said that with tougher plastic bags, you can end up fighting with both the needle and the plarn.

In Goh’s workshop this weekend, beginners will learn how to make plarn and crochet a mini tote bag. Participants will be provided with a crochet hook needle, a tote bag pattern and refreshments.

They are also requested to bring between 30 to 40 clean, medium or large used plastic bags. Any colour is fine, but bags with the same thickness are preferred. You can bring up to three colours.

Participants also need to bring a pair of big scissors, a ruler and a permanent marker (any colour).

Registration fee is RM80 per person.

For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/ ssplarn or http://ww. fb.com/ SkillSkoolKch.