You know the kind that contain onions, potatoes, or California Cutie tangerines. I found that some are just the right size and elasticity to hold a yarn cake, but most couldn’t fill that job.

Probably because of my recent fascination with tawashi (crochet and knit dish scrubbers) I thought of how much the mesh reminded me of nylon mesh pot scrubbers. So I decided to incorporate the plastic into knit and crochet scrubbers to increase their scrubbiness!

In order to knit or crochet with the mesh, I first cut it into a long, continuous, 1 inch wide strip by spiraling down the bags.

Since the mesh strips were pretty snaggy, I loosely wound them into balls.

I decided to adapt two free patterns for my use, but you could use this technique with any washcloth pattern. The patterns I chose are a knit (pdf download) and crochet version of a spiral scrubbie. The general idea is that you make a rhombohedron by increasing at one side and decreasing at the other side of your work (both increases and decreases are done on every row).

Then you sew together the cast on and bind off edges to make a short tube. Then you cinch the openings closed and it buckles down into a circular spiral.

Doesn’t it look like a little urchin?!

Details for my Sea Urchin scrubbie
Yarn: Peaches and Cream solid or other worsted weight 100% cotton yarn; Mesh strips.
Needles: US#11 or US#12 or even larger if you knit tightly.

I held the yarn doubled along with the mesh strip.

Using yarn only cast on 10 sts.
Row 1: Sl 1, knit front and back, knit 5, k2tog, k1
Row 2: Sl 1, k2tog, knit 5, knit front and back, k1

Repeat rows 1-2 16 times (8 garter ridges). Cast off using yarn only. Using yarn only sew together cast on and bind off edges to make a tube with diagonal garter ribs. Cinch the top and bottom of the tube closed, and hide yarn and mesh ends inside the scrubbie.

Crochet scrubbie

For this one, I pretty much stuck to the pattern, using only a single strand of yarn held with the mesh. I used only the yarn to cast on 10 stitches and used a size J crochet hook.

Tips for working with plastic mesh

• The smaller the mesh size (smaller spaces in the mesh) the easier it is to work with
• Cast on and bind off with yarn only – leave the mesh out of that messy business
• Stretch the mesh a bit as you work, but try to leave some flexibility in it to make working the next row easy
• Keep your work loose!
• Mesh strips can be joined with a knot as you work. Don’t worry if the knot sticks out – it is just extra scrubbiness.

If you end up adding plastic mesh to your knit or crocheted cloths I would love to see how they turn out!

You know all those envelopes that come with your credit card bill? i never use mine since I make my payments online. I always feel a little bad about throwing away a perfectly good envelope, so I decided to reuse them. Basically, I turned them inside out and added a little color. Now they are good to go. Want to know how? An abridged tutorial follows, and excruciating detail is available in my Flickr Set. click any of the photos for a larger version….

here’s what you need:

– Envelopes
– Glue Stick
– scissors
– Decorative paper
– Avery-type blank address labels or something similar.
– Freebie mailing labels (optional)
– Double-sided tape and regular transparent tape (optional – you need both or neither of these).

Before you start, cut the decorative papers to a size that is about 1/4 inch larger than the window in the envelope.

Gently peel open the envelope at the seams, and coax it with scissors if necessary. I have been really lucky and had no problem with this part.

Flip the envelope over so you are looking at the white side. Next, you need to block the little cello window. Place glue around the window being careful not to get anything on the window.

Place the decorative paper fancy side down on the glue.

Fold up the bottom of the envelope, and add glue to the side edge. now you can reconstruct the seam that you ripped open earlier. repeat on the other edge of the envelope.

Now you might start fretting about the fact that the glue is on the outside of your envelope.

I would recommend not worrying about it and just tucking the flap in after you moisten the glue. If you don’t like this idea, here is where you need 2 kinds of tape. Cover the original envelope glue on the outside with a piece of transparent tape (you don’t want it to get damp and stick to everything in the mailbox!). Then on the inside of the flap where you would expect the glue to be, place a strip of double sided tape. Don’t peel off the protective paper until you are ready to seal the envelope.

As an alternative to decorative paper, you can also use out-of-season freebie address labels to cover up the window.

This will be white when you flip the envelope over. As far as I can tell*, you could probably just use a sharpie and write on the cello window to address the envelope, and you’re done.

If you used decorative paper, you will need to add a white address label to make a position to write the destination address. Can you imagine how the USPS machines would freak out if you wrote the address on the security pattern?

That’s it! If you try it, i would love to see how your envelopes turn out!

* As far as I can tell, the only USPS requirement for the placement of the destination address is that it should be parallel to the long edge of the envelope.

It’s kinda fun for me to look at because I can recognize all of the yarns and I remember which projects they are leftover from.

I really wanted to add a zipper, but I wanted to try and use only recycled items and I didn’t have any zippers destined for the trash and I was really trying to stick to the rules. So I used a craft punch and a hole punch to fashion buttons out of a plastic lid.

This is my second entry in the Upcycle contest over at etsy. Unfortunately my first entry suddenly looks a little less original…. I’m supposed to be flattered though, right?