WEAVE the pages of the classified ads into this novelty bag. It is just the right size for you to put in – what else? – the newspaper!

Amazing: Would you believe that these bags are made from newspaper strips?

Newspapers – double spread – 31 pieces

Cord –100cm x 4pcs

Scissors

Stapler

PVA Glue

Pencil & ruler

2. Fold up each sheet into half, lengthwise. Keep folding three more times till the strip is about 2.5cm in width. Fold all the newspaper pages up in this way. You will have 13 long strips and 18 short strips.

3. Lay four long strips on the table and weave four short strips across them in the up-and-down basket-weaving method, working from the centre.

4. Weave all the 13 long strips over the four horizontal short strips.

5. Weave the short strips through the lower part of the long strips until you reach the edge. Adjust the strips so that the left and bottom edges of the woven piece are neat.

6. Staple the strips together at the bottom edge. Weave the rest of the short strips to complete the piece. Adjust the strips and staple the strips of all the other three sides. Cut and trim where necessary.

7. Fold the left and right sides (one woven square width) towards the inside to form “seams”. Tie a knot to a piece of cord. Carefully push the cord through the hole inside the seam of the left at the ninth horizontal row. Pull out. Do the same for the right side. Now fold up the piece.

8. Start to bind the sides together by threading the cord into the holes of the seams. Take the cord from hole A back into the inside of the seam on the top. Push it out from hole B into hole C, on the side of the bottom seam. Pull the cord from inside and poke it inside the top seam again, to come out from hole D. Continue binding until you reach the edge. Tie a knot at the end and cut off excess cord. Bind the right seams together. You have your bag.

9. Measure one top edge of the bag and cut two strips of that length from the newspaper, with 6cm width. Fold them into half and glue them to the edges of the bag, as borders.

10. Finally, tie a knot on a cord and push the cord from inside the bag, through the hole at the third square on the left of the bag. Thread the cord through the holes as shown in the diagram, to make the handle. Tie a knot inside the bag. Repeat the steps to make the handle on the other side of the bag.

(Depending on how tight you weave the strips, the bag should be about 34cm x 25m, or slightly bigger.)

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