What’s all the Fuse?

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oon, single-use plastic bags will (I hope) be a thing of the past. But in the mean time, these bags don’t have to be used only once. I got inspired by artist, Leonie Holzman, when she taught a workshop on fusing soft plastic. Since then, I use all my ugly sandwich and produce bags for the kitty litter, and use my cute bags for fusing projects.

Fused within these featured projects you might recognize party favor bags, an orthodontist bag, Trader Joe’s bag for oranges, take-out bags, and several more. As pieces of bags and other miscellaneous pieces of soft plastic get fused together, they create a nice, thick, durable material. I cut my fused material into rectangular shapes, and used a zig-zag stitch to create a gift bag, a toiletry bag, and an envelope for a “thank you” gift. Small pieces of self-adhesive velcro work well to create closures.

Here’s how to do it: Choose a well ventilated area. Layer pieces of plastic between two pieces of parchment paper. (Start with 2-3 layers, then add on.) Iron with low to medium-low heat. (Thicker plastic bags fuse at lower temperature.) Once you’ve created a large enough piece of fused plastic, you can cut it into any pattern, and sew it like regular fabric. The possibilities are endless. (Prom dress, Quincy?)

Play around with it; you’ll get the hang of it in no time.