A vibrant, hand-knitted chevron fabric featuring a repeating zigzag pattern. The chevrons move upward in sharply angled rows, with each stripe blending smoothly into the next through a radiant rainbow spectrum. Starting from deep purples and blues at the bottom, the colors transition through magenta, hot pink, red, orange, yellow, and into teal and green near the top. The texture of the stitches is clearly visible, adding dimension and a tactile quality to the fabric. The yarn appears to be hand-dyed, creating rich gradients and tonal depth throughout the piece.

Mini Muse & Me

From Plastic Straps to Plarn Tote: My Finished Japanese Knot Bag

I finished the Japanese Knot Plarn Tote!! 🎉

I’ll be honest — I wasn’t entirely sure how this project would turn out, but I have to say, I’m not unimpressed. The bold, sunshine yellow plastic transformed into something functional, cheerful, and surprisingly sturdy. I especially love the little frills created where the strips were knotted together — they add so much personality to a simple bag.

The same yellow crocheted plarn tote shown from the side, with its longer handle looped through the shorter one. This serves as a closure of sorts to the bag while still providing a sturdy single handle. The bag has a flexible, basket-like shape.
Perfect size for a speaker and backup battery — and a great test run before I make a bigger one.
A hand holds up a crocheted Japanese Knot Tote bag made from vibrant yellow plarn (plastic yarn). The bag is small and sturdy with textured details from knotting the short plastic strips together with a simple overhand knot.
Bold, bright, and made from plastic packing straps — my finished Japanese Knot Plarn Tote 💛

This tote is the perfect size for my speaker and backup battery during afternoon shifts. For the next one, I plan to increase the circumference of the base so it’s more of a practical carry-all than a small tote. I used a 9mm crochet hook and followed the pattern exactly, but I might try a 10mm hook next time. I also like the handle opening size for a larger bag, though it feels a bit oversized on this one. But that’s the joy of being a maker — I can adapt and revise the pattern to suit my needs.

My coworkers were suitably surprised when they realized what I was crocheting with: humble plastic packing straps. Diverting even a little bit of plastic waste from landfill feels like a small but meaningful contribution, and it makes me happy to think I’m making the future just a tiny bit greener for my Mini Muse. 🌱

I’m kicking myself for not having thought of this sooner, but better late than never. There will be more plarn bags in my future!

The best part of making? Adapting, reusing, and creating something new with every loop. 

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