50s Plus club crochets bags into blankets
While most plastic bags end up in a landfill, the 50s Plus club of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School in Palatine has diverted hundreds of bags and repurposed them into mats for the homeless.
“It’s something you have to see to understand all the steps involved,” 50s Plus member Leona Krause said as she crocheted a mat sitting on her lap.
The group solicited plastic bags from members of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School, 200 N. Plum Grove Rd. and gathered the donations in Fellowship Hall. They then sliced, threaded and crocheted into the unlikely material to create sturdy protection against the outdoor elements.
“It provides insulation for whatever they [the homeless] have to deal with,” priest Tom Acton said.
Fellow 50s Plus member Ruth Schmalz introduced the ladies to the sleeping mats by showing them a video Lutheran Church Charities, Addison, Ill., posted online detailing the steps.
To make the bags, the group of approximately two dozen women first flatten a bag, then fold it in half twice. After cutting off both ends, which they recycle, they use a pre-cut piece of paper to evenly cut the bag into sections. When pulled out, these sections create the strips, which are then crocheted into the mat.
Krause averaged that each mat takes 500 to 700 bags and 30 hours of work. Learning the process has been interesting for the members, who say they have learned more than they ever needed to know about plastic bag construction.
“I’m making mine out of all Target bags,” Bonny Koehler said.
She chose them to create a unified pattern, but their stiffness and slipperiness makes them harder to work with, she said.
“Some are easier to work with than others,” Krause said. “But when you’re done it doesn’t feel like a bag.”
The bags are six feet long and between 28 and 36 inches wide. The women also crochet an 80-inch strap to tie around the mats once they have been rolled up, for easier transportation.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” Irene Vogeler said. “It’s harder than I thought.”
Vogeler balls up her strips, and takes the ball home with her to crochet. Many of the women cut strips during their Friday afternoon meeting, and crochet them throughout the week. Some have finished mats and are moving on to making more.
“It’s a satisfying experience,” Krause said, “because you know you’re helping out.”
The mats go to Lutheran Church Charities, which distribute them to those in need locally and in New Orleans.
The 50s Plus club meets Fridays from around 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church and School’s Fellowship Hall in Palatine, from September to mid-May. This summer, the ladies of the group chose to meet at their usual time and place, only instead they’re cutting and crocheting instead of snacking.
“It gave us something to do during the summer,” Krause said. “It’s nice fellowship.”
—By Michelle Stoffel, Triblocal.com reporter
