Green spends her spare time weaving or crocheting sleeping mats for homeless people.

“It’s also something to keep me busy, so I don’t sit and look at four walls all day,” she said. “When I am at home, I sit and do mats.”

The 73-year-old, who lives at The Embers, has earned the nickname “The Bag Lady” because other residents bring her their plastic grocery bags, which she then transforms into the mats.

“I have tubs filled with bags, separating the colors,” she said. “I like to make them unique. Here, you have Dollar General and they have yellow bags, so I want to start those.”

A completed crocheted mat by Lillie Green.

Green grew up in Marshalltown, moved to Florida and returned home in March 2023. She began making the mats during her time in the Sunshine State.

“I’ve been making them for four, five years,” Green said.

Watching the population of homeless people increase in Florida is what inspired her to begin the task. She wanted to help the people somehow and saw a broadcast of some people doing the very same thing.

“I said I could do that,” Green said.

She logged onto YouTube and began watching tutorial videos on the process of transforming grocery bags into more useful items.

Lillie Green’s nimble fingers change plastic grocery bags into a mat for a homeless person. She hopes other people will join her in the task of giving the homeless a chance to not sleep on the wet or cold ground.

“It also keeps the bags out of the landfill,” Green said as her fingers maneuvered the crochet hook around the “plarn” — plastic yarn.

The mats are roughly 32 to 36 inches wide, at least 5 feet long and require roughly 500 grocery bags. She also makes sure to create a handle to make them easily transportable. The lightweight mats feel smooth and soft to the touch. The familiar sound of rubbing hands over plastic bags is the primary indicator of the material the mats are made of.

“They need something to lay on — a barrier to keep them off the wet or cold ground,” Green said.

The financial cost of creating the mats is minimal, but it takes a lot of time and work. First, Green has to cut the bags into strips if she is crocheting. The strips are then rolled into balls, which makes it easier for the crochet hook to work. If she crochets, Green said she can spend two to four weeks on a mat.

If she is weaving, she can knock one out in one week. However, Green prefers the look of a crocheted mat.

“It keeps its shape better,” she said. “A weaved one can get cockeyed. I don’t have a table to work on, so it is hard to maneuver. With crochet, I have more control over it.”

Before the Embers residents started bringing her their grocery bags, Green would go to Walmart and Hy-Vee to ask for their recycled bags. However, those experiences were not always the best. Sometimes extra garbage would accompany the bags.

“Now, I let residents know when I need more bags, and they hang them on my door knob or or drop them off at the front desk,” she said. “It’s a lot more convenient for me, and they appreciate it because they don’t have to haul their bags someplace. I have a steady supply of bags.”

Since taking up her crafting mission in Marshalltown, Green has made 20 mats. Plus, she also crochets slippers to accompany each mat, but those are made of yarn.

Even though Green has not seen anyone with one of her mats yet, she knows they are being used. Green was told the place she donates them to could use as many as she could supply. She also might start carrying some spare ones with her when she is out and about.

“I saw a lady pushing a grocery cart the other day,” Green said. “I wish I had a mat to give her. In Florida, I carried them with me all the time.”

Since the need for the mats is in Marshalltown, she really hopes others will join the cause. The information on how to make the mats is readily available, Green said.

“I would like to see more people think about the homeless,” she said. “It’s important. They get such a bad rap. I’m sure other people care. I did teach some people how to make them, but it was hard and they decided it was not for them, which is fine. I just would like to see more people participate.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.