Mesh Bag Place Mats and Other Home Accents

I cant even begin to imagine how many of those mesh bags - the ones that hold orange or onions - that Ive thrown away over the years. That was long before I began to realize that those bags actually have many uses. Start saving them now and, pretty soon, you can make all sorts of home accents out of them. You can easily create place mats, wall hangings, coasters, and much more, just by cutting up orange or onion bags.

After cutting the closure off of the bag, lay the bag flat, and neaten up the cut edge. Then, cut the bag into strips that can vary in size. To make something like a coaster, cut narrow strips, about an inch wide. For something larger, like a place mat, cut the strips to be a couple of inches wide, or more. As you cut the strips youll see that theyre actually bands. Cut each band across the width - in one place - so that it becomes a long strip.

Braid three strips together to begin making whatever you want. It can be helpful to hold the strips with a clothespin at their ends. As you get to the end of the braid, sew another strip onto each piece, and continue braiding. Keep adding on strips to make the length you want for the rope. When you have a really long braid you can begin making what you want. Twist the braid around and around itself to make a circle for a coaster. As you do, take stitches here and there, to hold the rope in place. Or, use waterproof adhesive. When the circle is as large as you want for the coaster, cut the braid, and glue or sew down the ends. A place mat is made in the same manner but, if you want, hot glue can be used to secure the braids. To make a square, oval, or rectangle - rather than a circle - go a few inches from the end of the braid, fold it over, then start wrapping the braid around it. After youve created the shape that you want you can then turn the circles, squares, or other shapes, into additional home accents. Glue or sew silk flowers and leaves, beads, bows and ribbon, or other embellishments, on the finished mesh bag piece, to make all sorts of wall hangings or other home accents. Or, color areas of the coaster, place mat, or other object, with a paint marker, to create an array of interesting designs. Youll have fun turning orange and onion bags into mesh coasters, place mats, runners, door mats, and other home decorations. Dont like the color of the mesh? Spray paint the finished braid with paint made especially for plastic.