Plastic Grocery Bags into Knit 1950’s Outift

Cathy Kasdan of Clevland, OH and I were emailing back and forth a bit yesterday afternoon regarding my post on the knitting machines. Then my jaw dropped when Cathy sent me this beautiful photo of her finished thesis project — a handknit 1950’s style ensemble made from plastic grocery bags. Cathy is currently finishing up a Master’s in textiles at Kent State University and her thesis is based on consumer culture.

Cathy writes:

The dress is all hand knit from grocery bags that were the result of actual trips to the grocery store. As soon as I told people I could use their old bags for a project they brought them in by the bag full, I received thousands! The plastic grocery bag came about in the 1950’s along with futuristic optimisim about America, so I made a “typical” 1950’s ensemble complete with pillbox hat and purse, not pictured. I am going to have my pieces in an art show on recycled art at the School of Art Gallery in downtown Kent along with a group of other people beginning April 19th.

Cathy recommends to check out more amazing trash turned into fashion at the website, Haute Trash. You can view more photos of her plastic bag dresses her flickr photo set here – Link.