Mats for the Homeless

Helping Hands Transform Trash Bags

By Jan Morgan-Swegle

It’s been a cold and wet winter so far and it’s good to be able to get out of the weather and relax with our families at home. But many homeless people have nowhere to go to escape the elements. That’s why the work of the Crochet Ladies at the Brunswick Senior Center in Leland is so important.

Every Tuesday, from 1 to 3 p.m., the team gets together to make mats for homeless people out of plastic bags. They crochet the bags into decorative sleeping mats to put on the ground to protect people in need from the cold, wet environment.

“It’s hard work, but important,” says Linda Wadhams, who leads the group. “We get to have social time, learn a new skill, and help people.”

Wadhams demonstrated the process of starting with three bags stacked on top of each other and flattened down. Next, they are folded and cut in four places to make loops. Once you get enough of the loops you start to knot them together and make what the ladies call “plarn,” or plastic yarn.

Using an “N” crochet hook, the team makes a chain to form the bottom and sides of the mat. Each mat is 3 feet wide and 6 feet long and is reinforced on each edge. Depending on the complexity of the pattern, one mat can take 1,000 bags and 100 hours to complete. These mat magicians are making The Crochet Ladies at the Brunswick Center at Leland are busy crea ng sleeping mats functional art for local homeless people. Above and below show the crea on of “plarn” from plas c that meets the grocery bags; at bo"om is a finished product. needs of young and old. The durable mats are easily transported from place to place. If you would like to learn how to make mats, join the group on Tuesdays at the Brunswick Center in Leland at 121 Town Hall Drive, NE (next to the library.) If you would like to donate plastic bags, just drop them off at the center and specify that they are for the mat program. Plastic bags should be grocery-store size, not ripped, clean, and dry.