Sadly, one of my favourite pairs of jeans has reached the point of no return. Theres no amount of stitching I can do to repair the holes - since the fabric has lost its stretch (they were stretch denim) and now when I wear them they are so baggy I feel like I am wearing a nappy.
But I am still not prepared to throw them away, and want to recycle the fabric.
I have done some research to see what I can do, and these below took my fancy. The hard part is choosing which project to start first!
My old jeans ready for new creative projects
A fitted mask
When I wear a mask, my glasses fog up. This looks like a great solution to clear vision and not having to find my way by feel when I am in public. And, of course, it is the perfect item to embellish with some sashiko stitching.
Sashiko Coaster
Because you can never have too many coasters.
Denim Oven Mit
Mr Zen and I have been doing a lot of camping lately, which means cooking over an open fire. These are a great idea for holding the handles of hot cast iron pans.
Recycled Denim Tote
I never seem to have enough bags to put things in. I love the idea of making a dedicated tote to put my special art books in when I transport them to my workshops. And of course, the pocket is a blank canvas that is perfect for some zen stitching.
Fold Over Clutch
I just fell in love with the simplicity of this design.
A braided rug
I've always wanted to make one of these….. and living in a house with floorboards makes it cold under foot in winter. To make a rug of this size you will need approximately 55 pairs of jeans. This could mean my rug will be a work in progress for many years!
A coiled crochet rug
Another version of a rug, but using crochet to connect the pieces…. this could be too much fun! And I like that consistently using the same coloured thread to crochet keeps all the colours looking uniform.
Recycled denim coaster
And here’s an idea to use up those pesky hems and seams that are too tough to include in other projects.
