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Saturday 24 June 2023

3 Projects In Defiance Of My Dislike Of Denim

Recycled Denim Coaster
This was different!
First of all, let me clarify. I like denim fine... when it's a pair of jeans.

It's when jeans get old and people start tearing them apart to make things out of them that I get all "judgy". All too often, my first thought is, "Oh, that was made out of an old pair of jeans".

Perhaps that's the response the maker wants to convey. After all, who among us hasn't seen the ubiquitous purse made out of the top part of a pair of jeans? (There are people who are willing to pay fifty bucks on Etsy to buy one of those, too.) The thing is, while I genuinely applaud the recycling effort — truly, truly, truly — I just don't care for the look.

What's more, when someone in my household gives up on a pair of jeans, they are worn through and and through. They are noticeably faded in certain areas (i.e., knees and seat), and have distressed crease lines in various places. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't want a purse that looks beat up before it's ever been used.

Recycled denim bag by Kinemaster
Of course, there are examples of crafters taking what seem to be almost new jeans and making stuff out of them. I understand that these people often find these denim garments at thrift shops at good prices and that they aren't taking a perfectly good pair of jeans out of their closet to cut up. The decidedly different take on the "old jeans" purse that you see here (courtesy of Kinemaster on YouTube) was made out a pair that was in relatively good shape.

Given my prejudices and propensities, you might be wondering why I'm looking for stuff to make out of old denim at all. Well, there's a backstory to that, and it's called...




Inflatable boat

The Tale of the Big Boat Tote


Do you recall seeing this?

This photo was included in a post from late 2022, when I described how my Bundled Up Bindle Bag had become a constant companion of mine last summer, perfect for holding essentials on our river excursions. Well, hubby had it in mind that I needed to make a storage bag for his inflatable boat.

For those who aren't familiar with this type of Jacques Cousteau watercraft, these are not your typical blow up toys for sunning yourself in the pool. Once deflated, they don't really reduce into a tiny package. My original instructions were to make a bag that was four feet long, two feet deep and a foot and a half wide.

Hubby gave me a bag of old jeans and said that the material would be a good choice for this boat tote. His old jeans all had big holes in the right knee. Some were torn through elsewhere too. Harvesting usable pieces from them — with the goal of creating a larger piece — was not as simple as he might have thought.

recycling old jeans
Prepping pieces of old jeans...

It involved a lot of sewing of a gradually bigger and bigger piece. The more pieces there are, the more seams there are, and denim seams are thick.

Adding to the problem was that when hubby saw the piece above, he declared it not long enough for the job. It was subsequently decided that the length needed to be about five feet. 

My enthusiasm for the project dropped down to near zero.

Large Denim Patchwork Tote by eSheep Designs
It's still big...

Luckily, when he started rooting around in the box of stuff that he got with the boat, he discovered an "envelope" style contraption stitched up with webbing and buckles. At first, he thought it was to tote around the floor boards of this boat, but when he tested that theory, he realized that the case was a lot larger than needed for the floor boards and therefore must have been intended for the boat itself.

Whew! Big sigh of relief for me as I could then proceed with making a bag for just the floor boards.

Large Denim Patchwork Tote by eSheep Designs
Boxed corners and reinforced straps made out of waistbands...

Two of the larger sections of fabric that I had managed to cobble together were sufficient for the job, which was as simple as I could make it; i.e., large piece folded in half and side seams stitched up. I boxed the corners to accommodate the thickness required for the boards and used some waistbands for the handles. (No finishing of seams.)

Large Denim Patchwork Tote by eSheep Designs
Filled with cardboard and floor boards...

It was just enough to do the job and I was happy to cross the project off my list.


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"Seamingly" Significant Scraps


While in the midst of making the big boat tote, I was reminded of a no sew project using the seams of old jeans.

You just roll them up and glue them together to create either a coaster or a hot pad. With the long leg seams, I made a large hot pad and one coaster (the one at the top of this post). For those first two attempts, I used hot glue sparingly at various locations.

Denim Seam Coaster and Hot Pad by eSheep Designs
Just cut, twirl and glue...

When I made another coaster with the shorter lengths of seams cut from the Daisy Duke shorts that remained, I used some craft glue liberally. The result is much more secure. This one won't come apart whereas the first two can conceivably be "popped loose" if someone were to push on them.

These will serve hubby well in his motorhome.

Pocket Potholders


Another project that's been relegated to the motorhome is this set of potholders. I took apart an old oven mitt and recycled the batting to provide the protection factor for these.

Denim pocket potholders by eSheep Designs
Pocket of jeans becomes a "grabber"...

As you might guess, an oven mitt doesn't have perfectly straight edges. I had to cut and piece to get two 6" x 7" pieces, which I then quilted onto a couple of pieces of denim. For the reverse side, I sewed on a back pocket and then wrapped the edges around to the front in a self binding fashion.

Denim pocket potholders by eSheep Designs
Recycled oven mitt turns into a denim potholder...

If I'd had more batting on hand, I'd have made these bigger. As it is, they are probably the bare minimum size to be practical. (Finished size is 7" x 8".)

Was considering using pieces of the seams to add a hanging loop for these, but decided against it due to the thickness.


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One Last Denim Project


You can't avoid the oh, you made this out of old jeans conclusion when it comes to at least two of the above projects. (The hot pad/coasters could be less obvious to someone who has never seen them before. Hubby was genuinely impressed when he first saw them.) However, I had a specific task to complete and I'm happy to have done so, while managing to make further use of the materials.

What's even better is that I came upon a fourth denim recycling project that totally surprised me with the end result. It turned out so much better than I anticipated and it did not trigger that "oh, you made that with old jeans" response when I showed it to someone. However, I've gone on long enough for today, so I'll save it for a subsequent post.

Have you recycled old jeans? If so, what did you make?
Just a quick note to advise that Makerist is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a $2 sale through June 26. You can click through to their site from the corresponding image on my sidebar at left. (I am participating with a few patterns from my own shop.)

'Til next...

2 comments:

  1. L.O.V.E. the coasters...and I have the old jeans in a tub just waiting... I just wonder about the finished outside "end". How did you manage that? And that hot pad - what a hoot - love that too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, utility plus style - how can you beat that? The end of those things is just glued and then pinned for awhile to hold it down. They haven't come apart as far as I know. (Haven't seen them since I gave them to hubby.)

      Delete

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