Zero Waste Crochet: 10 Ideas How to Crochet Environmentally Friendly

I am very excited to finally share this post with you! The idea to write about Zero Waste Crochet came to me about 3 years ago after I have watched a documentary movie about huge damage we make to our planet by producing tonnes of waste. Then I thought that the post was not good enough and I kept postponing finishing it. But I can’t hold it anymore so here it is 🙂

So here are my tips and ideas how to be an environmentally friendly crocheter!

• 1. Recycling & crochet: use trash as a noise makers

Some of the things which we usually throw to the trash bin might be very useful for our crochet projects! For example, candy packaging or a chocolate surprise egg (well, its plactis part) can be used as noise makers for rattle toys or crochet baby books. Here is a post about unusual amigurumi stuffings!

• 2. Recycling & crochet: stuffing for bigger projects

For bigger crochet projects which have to be heavy and full of stuffing you can use old (and clean 🙂 ) clothing, for example socks, leggings, t-shirts.

I have stuffed my window draught stopper with old clothes!

And I don’t even remember what I have put in the monster door stopper, but it is very heavy!

• 3. Recycling & crochet: T-Shirt Yarn

Speaking of the t-shirts! The best way to recycle old t-shirts is to make stylish modern yarn out of it! Here you can find a good tutorial how to do that.

• 4. Recycling & crochet: don’t throw away old crochetness!

Sometimes old funny things I have crocheted lay around in my closet for years and when I finally what to get rid of it, my first thought is to throw it away. Instead, you can use the yarn for another project!

Or the same idea but hte other way around: if you need yarn of certain colour for your next project: don’t run to buy it right away but have a look if you have an old scarf or a hat of this colour. Maybe it is time to give the yarn a second life 🙂 Using the yarn of my old hat and scarf, I have crocheted a baby yoda hat for my son:

• 5. Recycling & crochet: combine old clothes with crochet

There are so many great ideas how to refresh your old clothes by adding crochet elements to it! I am sure if you have a look at couple of ideas, you will be very inspired!

This post has inspired me to keep my old jeans jacket and turn it into something cool:

• 6. No plastic & crochet: wooden crochet hooks

There are so many amazing handmade wooden crochet hooks out there! We use crochet hooks every day and for a long time so it is nice to use natural materials instead of supporting cheap plastic hooks production.

• 7. No plastic & crochet: amigurumi eyes

Instead of going to a store and buying plastic safety eyes for amigurumi, consider crocheting them! You will be surprised how nice they can turn out! And you are much more flexible with the style and shape, even better! Here is a tutorial how to crochet amigurumi eyes.

• 8. No plastic & crochet: left over yarn as a stitch marker

Stitch marker is also one of the typical plastic crochet supplies. If you want to use zero plastic and if you don’t want to support plastic manufacture, consider using just a left over yarn end. It is much easier to use than the plastic one which you have to unlock/lock every round.

• 9. Smart Crochet: do not throw away yarn left overs!

If the left over yarn balls are so small that it is not enough for anything useful, do not think of throwing it away (even if you need space in the yarn shelf)! You can use the yarn for small things like amigurumi accessories or Barbie clothing. Or think of combining all the left overs in a colourful project. You can get some inspiration here:

Also very short yarn ends you should not throw away. Instead, you can stuff with it small details of your amigurumi: arms, legs, ears. Or use it as a stitch marker (I mentioned it above). If you do not know where to store it, you can crochet a stylish storage box, there it will look like decoration for your room!

• 10. Smart Crochet: Change colours smartly

If you go for colourful prjects, research how to change the colours smartly. It is crazy how much yarn you can save by taking care of it! Here is a very good post whith some changing colours techniques.

So these are my ideas how to respect our planet while crocheting 🙂 Maybe you have some more tips? I am looking forward to hearing them! Contact me here or on Instargam @nicecrocheting or just mark your post with the hashtag #crochetforfuture.

Crochet for Future