Stuffed Animals
If you have kids, you will know how quickly they get bored of their toys. Every day spent trying to get them to appreciate all the old things they liked yesterday instead of looking to the next thing.
By making toys out of old jeans you are not contributing to more waste, and your kid gets a new toy. It’s also likely to be much cheaper than buying a stuffed animal in a store. Your kid can even help you to make it as a fun afternoon activity.
Tote Bag
The most classic way to upcycle your old jeans is to make a tote bag.
This is super simple and makes a very durable bag for you to take shopping.
No more need for plastic bags!
Rug
There are 2 main ways to make rugs from denim. You can either turn your jeans into yarn and weave, or simply sew together odd patches to make a more relaxed design.
Both designs create vastly different results and require different skills to produce. Either one will be a great addition to your home.
Jewellery
One of our favorite things to do with scrap bits of jeans is to make jewellery. As most jewellery is relatively small, you don’t need to worry about having fabric in certain shapes or sizes.
Likelihood is if you’re repurposing old jeans you want to get as much from them as you can. This gives your rubbish a new lease of life and adds a fun denim accessory to any outfit. These make great Christmas and birthday presents with a personalised twist.
Beanbags or Balls
These make the perfect toy for your kids of all ages.
Young children can practise their grip and dexterity, whereas older kids can play catch.
These balls and bags can be made with any filling you like, ensuring it is not too heavy or solid for your kids to play with.
Pillow
While this may not be the most comfortable pillow, it will add a splash of fun to your living room.
Denim pillows make for the perfect decorative couch cushion, and you get to proudly display something you have made.
Patchwork Skirt
For this project you will need a few pairs of jeans in different colors.
The idea is you cut up squares from different fabrics and sew them together to make a fun and unique skirt design.
Wall Organiser
This is a nifty idea repurposing the old pockets of jeans to become a handy wall storage solution.
The design is easy to change depending on your own personal style, and this will add an air of urban chic to your home office or kitchen.
Some people run with this idea and adapt it by adding ribbons to tie the organiser onto the slats of their kid’s bed for easy storage.
Lunch Bag
You will never get your lunch confused with your colleague’s with this nifty denim lunch bag design.
Simple to make and beautiful to look at, you will regret not making one sooner.
Hanging Storage Bags
Perfect for pens or even gloves, these hanging storage bags made from old jean pockets are so handy.
Attach some string or ribbon to the opening of the pocket to enable it to hang from a peg.
This is a compact and stylish storage solution you can personalise with your kids’ initials to keep things organized.
Bucket Hats
Denim is a particularly strong and durable material.
This makes it perfect for structured hats, such as bucket hats. These are super stylish at the moment and will give an urban edge to any of your outfits.
Follow our instructions here how to make a DIY bucket hat for step by step advice on how to make your own.
Crown
You can quickly and easily make a denim crown for your kids to play with.
It takes less than 20 minutes and gives your kids hours of fun. It also stokes their imagination, something very important for young, developing minds.
Placemats and coasters
You can either make these from scraps of fabric sewn together to form a quilted-style table decoration, or weave to form a more tight and structured coaster.
You will never have to worry about water marks on your tabletop again!
Decorations
You can use denim scraps to make a decorative wreath for your home. Simply wrap scraps around a ring, being as neat or as messy as you like. This style of design can work with any assortment of scraps and any level of dedication as a less organised design simply appears rustic.
You can also use denim scraps to create flowers to sit in jars around your house. These add the stylish element of plants to your home, without having to worry about watering them regularly.
Hanging baskets
An easy way to upcycle your old jeans is by sewing up the bottom of one leg.
Line with an interior fabric and place an embroidery hoop at the top to keep the opening from closing.
These are sturdy and durable and they look super cute in your house!
Pot covers
You can wrap denim around the exterior of pen pots or plant pots. These can then be sewn together and you can decorate the outside. This is a super cute idea to personalise your kids’ stationery supplies to make virtual learning more fun!
You can use this technique on plant pots to add a unique twist to your greenhouse, windowsill or hanging garden.
Animal toys
You can use scraps of denim filled with stuffing to create some upcycled toys for your family pet.
You can turn them into the shape of bones for dogs, balls for cats, and any other shape you think your pet may enjoy.
Cooking apron
You can cut the front or back top section of jeans apart from the rest.
Sew a hem on the edges and attach a ribbon at the top to tie the apron on. Keep sections of jeans with pockets for convenient storage.