This “craze” is the art of weaving plastic shopping bags into sleeping mats for the homeless and others in need.

The supply list is short: hundreds of plastic bags, a few pairs of scissors, one loom and lots of willing hands.

To make each mat, the bags are folded, the ends cut off and the remaining plastic looped together into “plarn” — or plastic yarn — and rolled into balls. The “plarn” is then woven strand by strand onto a special loom to create a water-tight sleeping mat to be distributed wherever there is a need.

This “craze” has caught on at Our Savior United Methodist Church in Manson, Manson Northwest Webster Elementary in Barnum, Trinity United Methodist and St. Paul Lutheran churches in Fort Dodge, and even with the K-Kids, a Kiwanis service club for elementary students through the Dodger Academy after-school program.

-Submitted photo
Rita Cue crochets the end of a finished sleeping mat at Our Savior United Methodist Church in Manson.

Humble beginnings

Mike Biedenfeld, a member of Our Savior’s United Methodist Church in Manson, first learned of the mat weaving project while filling in as a lay preacher at Goldfield United Methodist Church one Sunday.

He and his wife, Beth, were key to getting a loom for the Manson church in 2023. After doing some research, they went to Jefferson to buy a loom and receive training on mat making from Midwest Mission, a nonprofit headquartered in Pawnee, Illinois, which has a satellite center in the Iowa town.

Since then, the church has woven seven mats and members are currently working on their eighth, with about 10 youth and adults taking part.

“As people in the church saw it being used, they identified ways they could help,” he said.

Residents at Golden Meadows, a senior living apartment complex in Manson, have helped by cutting plastic bags to the proper dimensions. Another church member, Rita Cue, crotchets the ends of the mats.

“As we’re working on it, we’re praying for whoever’s going to get the mat,” Biedenfeld said.

Experience has taught Biedenfeld it is best to get the balls of plarn ready first. It takes about three balls of 50 bags each to make the warp, which is plarn stretched lengthwise across the loom. Then another 750 bags of plarn are woven through the warp to complete the mat — for a total of about 900 bags.

“Once you start weaving, it takes about 20 hours to complete a mat,” he said.

-Submitted photo
Georgia Brandow, a ninth-grader, works on the first sleeping mat at Our Savior United Methodist Church in Manson.

The finished mats, which are 6 feet long by 34 inches wide, serve a dual purpose. “It provides a cushion to sleep on. It keeps them off the cold ground,” Biedenfeld said. “It also provides a layer of insulation.”

The Manson church’s mats have been distributed to the SALT Center, a warming and cooling site at First Baptist Church in Fort Dodge, and to the homeless in the Des Moines area.

“We thought they would go overseas,” said Biedenfeld, “but if we can fill a local need, that’s even more exciting.”

He said the mats have been well-received. “Every time we deliver a mat, you can see it on their face how grateful they are to get it.”

Making a difference

At Trinity United Methodist in Fort Dodge, church members have been weaving mats since last summer. Carol Etzel, a member of the mission committee, co-chairs the project with Jayne Cassidy. She said the church is in the process of making its 17th sleeping mat.

About a dozen members are involved, including one 94-year-old. They work on the mats at least twice a week for an hour at a time and also hold a couple of two-hour work sessions each month. “It’s good fellowship, and we feel like we’re doing something good to help others,” Etzel said, “to make their lives a little better.”

Their mats have been delivered locally to the Beacon of Hope men’s shelter, the SALT Center and The Salvation Army, as well as the Des Moines area.

Etzel said their first delivery to the SALT Center was especially memorable.

“Pastor Dani Rogers (of First Baptist Church) said that she knew of a homeless young man that was at the church then and was going to ask if he would like one. She came back and she said he was so excited,” Etzel said. “He asked if he could come and give us hugs. So Pastor Dani came out and asked if that would be OK, and he came out and gave us hugs. We later learned someone had stolen (his mat), so we gave him another.”

The church keeps one mat on display in the hallway to remind people of the need.

“We can’t cut fast enough sometimes,” Etzel said. “It’s wonderful. People enjoy bringing (their plastic bags) to us too, because they can see the finished product.”

Etzel said St. Paul Lutheran Church also has a loom and has distributed mats to the emergency room at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center for the homeless that need care there, as well as to Upper Des Moines Opportunity.

A growing movement

As word has gotten out, Mike Biedenfeld has helped other churches and organizations get involved.

Augustana Lutheran Church in Manson now has a loom and members there have begun work on their first mat. Meanwhile, a Kiwanis member made a loom for the K-Kids in Fort Dodge.

Recently, Biedenfeld gave a demonstration to youth at Grace Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge, and he said he is willing to do a “show-and-tell” for any church or organization interested in getting involved. He even had a mat on display during RVTV in Manson last fall.

“This is a growing ministry,” he said.

Meanwhile, nothing is wasted.

Any unused plastic scraps are saved and taken to Midwest Mission in Jefferson, where they are made into other items, such as railings for decks and outdoor furniture. Biedenfeld will pick up scraps from MNW Elementary, the Fort Dodge churches, and local grocery stores.

“We took 77 pounds of scraps to be converted into park benches,” he said.

To put that into perspective, Biedenfeld said it takes 400 pounds of plastic scraps to make one bench.

How you can help

To learn more about how your group or organization can get involved in making sleeping mats, contact Mike Biedenfeld at 515-571-5353 or email him at mdbdnfld@gmail.com, or Alaire Willits, volunteer coordinator for Midwest Mission in Jefferson, at 712-212-5333.

-Submitted photo
Georgia Brandow, a ninth-grader, works on the first sleeping mat at Our Savior United Methodist Church in Manson.

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