Jane Goering creates sleeping mats for the homeless with ‘plarn’
Jane Goering of Mountain Lake has been busily crocheting – with a mission in mind.
Goering’s crochet work focuses on the use of plarn – plastic and yarn – plastic yarn – in order to create sleeping mats for the homeless. While there are a myriad of other things you can make with plarn (including lace, tote bags, handbags, rugs and plant hangers), these plastic crochet sleeping mats are of service to society, warming the hearts and bodies of those who call the street their home.
In addition to being a humanitarian project, it is also a very eco-friendly one, using plastic bags, combined with the yarn, to produce the sleeping mats.
Each mat keeps 500-700 plastic bags out of a landfill – and those bags taken out of that equation is an assist to the health of the planet. Following are a few statistics about plastic bags, as well as other plastic use and disposal:
- Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year (which requires 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture).
- Worldwide, three trillion plastic bags are used and discarded.
- The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year; breaking down to about 500 to 1,000 plastic bags per person per year.
- According to Waste Management, only 1% of plastic bags are returned for recycling. That means that the average family only recycles 15 bags a year; the rest ends up in landfills as litter.
- Up to 80% of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from land.
- At least 267 different species have been affected by plastic pollution in the ocean.
- 10,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually.
- One-in-three leatherback sea turtles have been found with plastic in their stomachs – and 85% will be injured or killed by plastic during their lifetimes.
+ And, the kicker:
- The average use of a plastic bag is 12 minutes – but it takes 500 up to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately the bags don’t break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
These crochet mats are remarkably comfortable and offer just enough support and thickness to create a barrier between the ground and the body and to help retain body heat while sleeping, all while also providing a softer sleep. It’s no problem if the mats get wet as they can easily be dried. The mats are also a cleaner way of sleeping. Bugs don’t like them. And when dirty, they just need to be hosed off, shaken out – and are good to go again.
If designs matter, the plastic bags can be sorted to be used by color or by their bag prints.
Working on these mats is the first time Goering has used plarn. It takes three full days for her to make one sleeping mat, with many steps involved in the creation of each. After gathering and coordinating the plastic bags, the procedure is to cut off the handles and the bottom, begin cutting the bags into one-inch strips and then looping and connecting the strips together into a long strand and eventually rolling it into a large ball. It takes just minutes for one ball of plastic strips to be used up during the crocheting process.
Goering uses a large crochet needle – size 10 hook or larger – when combining the plastic strips with the yarn. The larger the hook makes it easier to crochet looser, which makes the mats more cushiony – as well as making it more comfortable to crochet with the plastic.
To date, Goering’s work has produced two mats. She is looking to team up with anyone interested in joining in on the effort.
Here is a link to a YouTube video explaining the entire process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiUC0iDQtkA
When a number of mats are complete, Goering, along with husband, Vern, plan on searching for individuals to distribute the sleeping mats to themselves. They will add a wool blanket with each mat to provide additional warmth and protection for the receiver. The pair have played roles in the past in reaching out to the homeless, apportioning winter coats, hats, gloves, mittens and boots to those in need.
Goering shares that, “While the creative process may feel good and rewarding to us – the crafters – it can also be of so much use to others. Proverbs 3:24 reads, ‘When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.’ That is what we wish for those who receive these sleeping mats.”
Christmas is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give – it’s Christmas.
Christmas comes most every day at the Goerings’ home.
