We are currently helping our local animal shelter by making some bed blankets for the dogs. It was hard to figure out what I could crochet that would help the poor sweet animals waiting to find a new home. While I'd love to adopt them all I felt providing sleeping mats might be a better option.
I wanted something strong and sturdy, easy to wash, but still pleasing to look at. I went through a plarn kick for awhile (plastic yarn made from grocery store bags) and had some white bags that were cut earlier but not used yet. I also got some pretty looking, but not great feeling, yarn from a good friend whose mother had passed and left behind some unused rug yarn.
I decided to combine them together to give the white bags a splash of color while still being sturdy and easy to wash. The two together worked out amazingly well. Not only did it give the bags a splash of color but together they were softer than they were separately. I don't know how that worked but the yarn and plarn are soft, supple, and not rough on the skin. These little mats will take quite a bit of abuse at the shelter but this combo of rug yarn and plarn should stand the abuse.
To make your own plarn/yarn combo just take one ball of plarn and one ball of your choice of yarn (rug yarn, or cotton yarn for sturdy easy to cleanness) and hold them both together as you DC away the day. I just started with a chain as wide as I wanted the blanket and kept going until a) I ran out of yarn, or b) it was as big as I wanted it.
Good luck and have fun! Remember to be safe while you celebrate Crochet Month!
Good luck and have fun! Remember to be safe while you celebrate Crochet Month!
