Emily Blades - 20 to Make: Eco Friendly Knits

Emily Blades parents main interests were arts, crafts and literature, and like many creative people, they educated their daughter at home. Art galleries, Craft Council exhibitions and the freedom to pursue whatever interested her at the time allowed Emily to develop her own creative side. She has taught gymnastics to the under-5s, worked as a nanny, enjoys drawing, reading, walking, visiting galleries and museums and, of course, knitting! First published in Great Britain 2010 Search Press Limited
Wellwood, North Farm Road,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR Text copyright Emily Blades 2010 Photographs by Debbie Patterson at Search Press studios Photographs and design copyright Search Press Ltd 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book, text, photographs or illustrations may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, photocopier, internet or in any way known or as yet unknown, or stored in a retrieval system, without written permission obtained beforehand from Search Press. Print ISBN: 978-1-84448-486-7 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78126-019-7 Kindle ISBN: 978-1-78126-074-6 PDF ISBN: 978-1-78126-128-6 The Publishers and author can accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from the information, advice or instructions given in this publication. Readers are permitted to reproduce any of the items in this book for their personal use, or for the purposes of selling for charity, free of charge and without the prior permission of the Publishers.

Any use of the items for commercial purposes is not permitted without the prior permission of the Publishers. Suppliers If you have difficulty in obtaining any of the materials and equipment mentioned in this book, then please visit the Search Press website for details of suppliers:
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Contents

Introduction I am very excited to bring you the first ever book on knitting and recycling, a craft that came about quite by chance for me. After reading about knitting with strips of plastic cut from shopping bags, I was inspired to create unique and desirable objects that are pleasing to look at, useful and also help the environment by cutting down on waste plastic. Throughout this book I refer to the plastic as plarn a combination of the words plastic and yarn.

It is very satisfying to end up with balls of colourful plarn instead of a dustbin full of disused bags! The projects in this book range from beginner to advanced, so whatever your knitting ability you will be sure to find something to make. All the items would make excellent gifts with the smaller ones easily done for those last-minute occasions. I hope you have as much fun knitting them as I have had designing them all!

Mobile Phone Sock Materials: Plarn in variegated blue and white five very thin carrier bags Large darning needle Needles: 1 pair 4mm (UK 8; US 6) knitting needles Instructions: Knitting Cast on 40st and knit in k1, p1 rib for 8 rows. Cast off. Cast off.

Making up Sew in any unwanted ends then fold the work in half, with the wrong side on the outside. Thread some spare plarn on to your darning needle and stitch together the sides and bottom of the sock (see detail above). Turn the piece the right way out and your mobile sock is ready to use. Tweed Look Those flimsy, striped bags from the corner shop are ideal for this project.

Purse Materials: Plarn in purple, pink and black approximately one carrier bag of each colour Large darning needle Sewing needle and thread A 10cm (4in) zip Needles: 1 pair 3.75mm (UK 9; US 5) knitting needles Instructions: Work in stocking stitch throughout. Knitting Cast on 25st.