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Fusing Plastic Bags On To Fabric Or Knitwear

Trashion - plastic bags trashion jersey applique knitwear embellishments

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OutsaPop Trashion


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Time:0h20
Pretty Easy
Description 

Fusing plastic bags to make "plastic fabric" is not the only way to use this material. Ironing ready-cut forms straight to the fabric (or knitwear in this case) proved to be a very fast and cool looking effect! This technique can be applied if you want to make your own House Of Holland-styled tees!


Instructions 
  1. 1
    Step 1

    You need plastic bags, scissors, one sheet of non-sticky oven-paper and smooth surfaced knit. Test if the plastic is suitable for this kind of work before starting. I tested 8 different bags before finding the best one.

    Step 1.:Cut the form from the plastic bag. Here I used two layers of plastic.


  2. 2
    Step 2

    Step 2.: place the plastic form on the right size of the knit. Do not put any needles!


  3. 3
    Step 3

    Step 3.: Place oven paper on top (non-sticky baking paper).


  4. 4
    Step 4

    Step 4.: Hold iron on top for about 20 seconds (NO steam!). No need to press the iron. Check the paper once a while to make sure it does not burn.


  5. 5
    Step 5

    Finished plastic-bag-applique :)
    I recommend only gentle hand wash and round shapes seem to work better than square.. The corners start coming off in a while.


  6. 6
    Step 6

    Looks great with some VHS-tape added in the mix (has to have plastic underneath to attach propely). Wear with caution... The plastic starts coming off if the shirt is moved too much.. See the shirt stretches and the plastic does not. But if a loose tee like this it works, at least for one evening... This cannot be washed in water.

    Maybe the best solution is to first melt one layer, let it cool down, then SEW a zic-zac along the edges of the plastic pieces. It might help the pieces to stay on better. Finally melt an identical second layer on to the first one with stitching so the two layers will be bound together and the stitching is covered. I have not yet tested this but to me it sounds like it could work!!


  7. 7
    Step 7

    This technique can be applied if you want to make your own House Of Holland-styled tees!

    Many have asked me can the plastic be washed in water and will it crack. I washed this tee very carefully by hand in water and the print stayed on surprisingly well. Plastic can handle water, but not the mechanical stress of thumbling around in a washing machine. Knits I do not water wash.

    The plastic hardens when it cools down. It will crack eventually! The more layers you apply, the harder the plastic gets and the easier it cracks... The good thing is that it can be re-melted at any time. Thistechnique is more of an temporary effect that can be ripped off after one evening. The plastic comes off really nicely with out harming the garment. I recommend using this only on loose fitted clothing, because I noticed that the plastic comes off if the fabric/knit is stretched.


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OutsaPop Trashion

OutsaPop Trashion Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:16:28 +0000

Plastic bags are made from very different types of plastic. I had to try/test several (4-6) different ones to find the plastic that stuck the best! I hope this helps!!

 
Jaime R.

Jaime R. Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:27:30 +0000

this didn't work for me either:/

 
Shirls

Shirls Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:32:01 +0000

I actually tried this and it doesn't really seem to work for me. =/ Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? :(

 
Shirls

Shirls Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:31:56 +0000

I actually tried this and it doesn't really seem to work for me. =/ Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? :(

 
Shirls

Shirls Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:31:52 +0000

I actually tried this and it doesn't really seem to work for me. =/ Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? :(

 
Siksakki

Siksakki Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:40:36 +0000

Hi, this was very nice, we actually tried this one and succeeded very well :D We made a "Peace" T-shirt.

 
joanne k.

joanne k. Sat, 23 Oct 2010 21:26:32 +0000

How to you determine whether or not the plastic is the right kind? What type of test do you do?

 
Jasmine S.

Jasmine S. Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:50:14 +0000

Cool idea! I'd heard about fusing plastic bags together but I wondered about actually fusing them to fabric...

My question is, as far as better determining what kind of bag to use with what kind of fabric, do you know the recycling code of the bag? Most bags now have that triangular, arrow symbol with the number inside to let you know if it's even recyclable. And do you know the fabric content of the shirt? I know you said it was a knit but was it a poly-cotton blend, all cotton, etc? Sorry for all the questions - I'm just so eager to try this out! :)

 

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