I like to use fused plastic, because the material is easily available and versatile. I use it in quite a few of my projects.
I made a cardboard tray and lined it by fusing a plastic bag directly on the cardboard. I also made the handles for the tray by fusing plastic around a nylon cord. My junk mail and magazine vases have removable fused plastic linings. This lets me fill them with water for fresh flowers. I created plastic versions of my origami accessories with squares of fused plastic. These are great, because they’re more durable than the paper versions. I even use this technique to wrap gifts.
Fused plastic is waterproof, flexible, easy to work with, and a cinch to make. Let’s get started.
Supplies
- 1 plastic bag
- 1 pair scissors
- wax paper, parchment paper, or copy paper (Forego used copy paper. Ink from the paper may transfer onto your iron or the plastic. Use new copy paper. You can always print on the paper after your done using it to your fuse plastic. I’m going to use wax paper because it’s what I have in my kitchen at the moment.)
- 1 clothes iron
- 1 towel, ironing board
How-To
- First, cut off the bottom seam of the bag.
- Now cut off the handles.
- Flatten out the bag.
- If you’re using a towel, layout it out on your work surface. I prefer using towels, because I find it easier to fuse sheets of plastic on a larger surface.
- If the plastic bag has printed graphics, turn the bag inside out. This prevents the bag’s ink from transferring onto your waxed paper or iron and smudging everywhere.
- Lay a protective sheet of wax, parchment, or copy paper underneath the bag.
- Place second a sheet on top.
- Set the iron on polyester or rayon and turn of the steam.
- Iron the plastic bag, running the hot iron from the center outwards. This prevents air from getting trapped in the bag and forming bubbles. If you do find bubbles you can pop them with a pin and iron over them. Keep the iron moving at all times running over the entire surface two to three times. The plastic bag will smoothen and the protective sheet will adhere to the plastic bag. Be careful to run the iron over the protective sheet only and not directly on the plastic bag, otherwise you may melt the bag onto your work surface and your iron.
- Turn the plastic bag over while keeping it sandwiched between the protective sheets.
- Iron this side of the plastic bag.
- Allow the fused plastic to cool.
- Once it’s cool to the touch carefully peel off the protective sheets. If the plastic isn’t fused completely sandwich it between protective sheets and iron again.
- Now you have a two-ply sheet of fused plastic. You can make it thicker by ironing another plastic bag onto it. Remember to sandwich the plastic between protective paper before ironing!
Useful tips
- Keep the scraps from the bottom and handles. You can place them on top and fuse them with the main part of the plastic bag too, so there’s no need to throw anything in the trash.
- Ironing your plastic a little longer will cause it to melt and form holes. This can make for an interesting texture, but be careful not to burn it!
- You can fuse multiple bags together to make an even thicker and durable plastic sheet. Fuse additional plastic bags by stacking one on top and fusing it completely before stacking on another. If you try ironing together a stack that’s too thick, the iron may not be able to fuse the bags in the center of the stack
- Cut out shapes from different colored bags and fuse it on fused plastic sheet for like an appliqué effect.
- I made my plastic origami accessories using four-ply fused plastic. You can even go up to six or eight-ply.
- There will be minimal fumes, so keep the door to your work room open or crack open a window.
- Here’s a tip from talented crafter, Arely. You can use clear plastic bags to laminate paper. If you use a clear plastic bag, be careful because it tends to melt faster. After fusing, the plastic will still be clear, but it will have a matte finish.
- Becky, the plastic crafting maven of Crop Rotation, says sewing plastic is like sewing regular fabric, but can be a little more slippery. Use denim sewing machine needles and general purpose yarn or denim yarn.
in My Art
My art piece, “Gaylien 00“, draws on superhero comic books and my love of reclaimed materials to humorously reframe my experience growing up in the closet.
The iridescent aura that surrounds the central figure is primarily crafted using the fused plastic and iridescent paint. By manipulating the wrinkles and varying the amount of fusion I created textures to capture the light and create the suggestion of light rays.
Creator Spotlight
Becky, a college math professor with a crafty side, sent me a collection of projects. In her fused plastic projects, she uses rare bags, especially ones that friends or family bring back from other countries. She’s made a brilliantly graphic messenger bag and iPad sleeve by carefully composing a collage of prints. Check out more of her math influenced creations at Crop Rotation, and see what inspires her on her Pinterest.
Special thanks to:
Arely, Becky
Why is my paper not coming off clean from the plastic? 🙁 help!!
I know what you mean! Some waxed papers don’t come off cleanly, which will make it difficult to iron on the next layer of plastic.
1. Let the plastic cool first, and then take extra care and patience when separating the waxed paper.
2. If you have some stubborn pieces of paper stuck on your plastic. Put a bit of water on it and rub it off with your finger. You can also lightly scrub it with a scour pad. If you don’t want to use water, lightly sand it with a fine sandpaper.
3. Finally, I highly suggest switching to another type of protective paper to iron with. Copy paper for laser printers are made to withstand of the copying process and can work well. Parchment paper is also a great material to iron with. Parchment paper is actually now my go to paper for fusing plastic.
Thanks, again for the great questions!
I’m kinda late chiming in with this but I had the same problem with my bag not coming off cleanly but then I realized it was too hot. I basically melted it all together when I did it. Move your iron around more quickly or turn down the heat a bit.
Wonderful tip, Dannee! (???)
Like you said, it’s important to move the iron around to fuse the plastic evenly. Afterwards, it’s crucial to let the fused plastic cool a bit first! If it’s too hot to touch it’s not ready. Sometimes I’m impatient, and I rip off the protective paper before the plastic has cooled down. OOPS!
Great video! Thanks for showing us. I’d heard about this, but was a bit leery since I use my iron for sewing and wasn’t sure how the plastic would affect it.
A few questions: If the plastic is turned inside out, how did the lady make the cool messenger bags (the print is obviously readable)? How did you fuse the bags ON TO the surface of the tray or cord for handles? (It doesn’t seem very workable with an iron.) And, finally, how many bags have you fused without trouble? I’m wondering how thick you can make the plastic.
Cynthia, to answer about the graphics, I actually do not turn the bag inside out. I have read about doing that, but I found that with proper coverage of parchment paper, a low iron and constant movement of the iron, graphics can be on the outside.
As for the thickness, this has taken some practice, too. Thin grocery bags need to be folded 8 layers thick, then the amount of folds reduces as the bags’ thickness. For example, Target shopping bags need to be only 4 layers thick for fusing.
Thanks for letting me chime in, Bao. I hope this answered some of your questions, Cynthia! :~)
Becky
Hey Becky, thanks for chiming in! Cynthia, Becky makes some really great points. Bags do come in different thicknesses, so you may have to experiment a bit if you intend to fused multiple layers all at once. To stay on the safe side, until you get a hang of it, fuse one or two at a time. You can fuse as many bag together as you want without trouble for a thicker ply. You can make even make a thicker plastic block if you want to. Just be PATIENT and add SINGLE layers on top of the fused plastic as it gets thicker.
To fuse onto the tray just place the bag directly on the cardboard and iron as usual. I fuse the plastic on the tray BEFORE putting the pieces together. As for the cord, wrap a piece of plastic around the cord. Place the cord between two pieces of parchment and iron the seam. You just need to close the seam. I’ll have all the details for you, when I can get the totorial up.
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to ask the great questions, Cynthia!
Like the idea, but it is something I don’t think I can do yet. New to crafting. Will probably try in the future.
Hi, JoAnn. It’s so great that you’re crafting! This a really easy technique that’s great to have in your repertoire and will open up so many possibilities. Did you have an questions? Perhaps we can help you get started! Thanks for visiting and writing!
I sew with fused plastic to make wallets, zippered pouches and aprons. I have not tried using the waxed paper idea. I have used a pressing cloth–cotton or drawing paper. Thicker plastic used in some food items is easier for me to work with. Thanks for the tut!
My new go to cover sheet for fusing plastic is parchment paper. I’ve used it more lately and it works really well. After I’m done with it I roll it back up so I can use it again. Thanks for visting and for writing, Janelle!
If I can chime in again, I hope everyone considers fusing with natural (unbleached) parchment! I buy it in bulk via Amazon.com about once per year. Great for cooking AND projects.
http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Care-Unbleached-Parchment/dp/B001IZIC8I
Becky
Awesome idea! Have you ever tried sewing with the fused plastic?
I haven’t done any sewing projects with fused plastic, but it’s definitely doable. Of course, there are tote bags made of fused plastic, and I’ve also seen some eccentric fashions out there too. Have you or are you planning on a doing a fused plastic sew project? 😀 Thanks for writing, Miranda!
I hope Miranda checks back into this tutorial now that you’ve included some of my plastic fusion sewing projects! Miranda, please check out my blog often… I am working on sewing lessons learned along the way. For starters, you will need some denim sewing machine needles. You can use general purpose yarn and/or denim yarn. Sewing plastic is like sewing regular fabric, but can be a little more slippery. Thanks again, Bao, for including my projects! 🙂
Becky
Those are really great tips, Becky! I’ll include them in the tips section, so they’re more prominent.