What can I do with an old pair of jeans?

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

DH gave me two pairs of old jeans that are in decent condition, but no longer fit.

One got made into a large totebag (which taught me quite a few things I didn't know ) but I'm at a loss as to what to do with the other pair.

Ideas anyone?

 

[TwistofLemon]

How about a big floor pillow, or a couple regular size pillows for the sofa or your bed?

I'd love to see photos of your tote. I am obsessed with tote bags LOL

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

If I didn't already have a ton of pillows, I'd turn it into a pillow. Unfortunately I am a GENIUS at making pillows, so I have tons of them around already.

Thanks for the idea though.

I need to go buy batteries for the camera so I can take pictures of my bag. It's basically the front and back half of the top part of the jeans sewn together to make a bag. I used part of one of the legs for the handles. On the belt loops (two of which I had to move to make it sit right), I attached ordinary silver keyrings (like you put your car keys on) and sewed the handles on around them. That way if I want to add charms, etc later I can do so very easily.

I had a 'You are loved' pin from a local jewelry store on there, but it came off somewhere, not sure where. So now I have a second one, from the same store, which says "Soy Amada" (You are Loved in Spanish), along with a small, oval shaped pin that says "WWWD" (what would Walt do?). I used a black Sharpie to draw a Mickey head on it also. I'm thinking of going to Hot Topic and buying a bunch of cute little pins to put on it.

 

[TwistofLemon]

Your bag sounds great! I'll have to keep it in mind for my list of things I want to do. First I need to finish some things I've started!

What kind of sewing machine do you have that goes through all those layers of denim? I've been looking for an industrial strength machine so I can make

http://www.straw.com/quilting/articles/bluejeans.html

(i hope the link works!)

 

[Disney Ontario]

Hi. I have also seen them use jeans and cover binders. The pockets make good pencil/note holders, then the belt loops hang chains or key chains.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

What kind of sewing machine do you have that goes through all those layers of denim?

I didn't do it on the machine..I was afraid that it wouldn't be able to handle it so I sewed the whole thing by hand. I did learn a VALUABLE lesson though--if you're going to sew through thick fabric like denim, USE A VERY STURDY NEEDLE!

I figured, "Oh this is cotton, it's not that thick." and sewed it with a regular handsewing needle. By the time I was finished I had a bruise on my finger from holding the needle and the needle itself looked fairly awful. It had been bent (and badly straightened back again) several times to the point I couldn't use it anymore so I tossed it out.

 

[jumoo044]

I remember back when I was in school (A looooong time ago LOL), we used to make book covers from old jeans. The back pocket would be right at the front of the book, to hold pencils, etc.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

If I were still in school, that'd be a great idea. But I'm not. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with these jeans.

I also have another project on hold until I can figure out what to do. I want to make an OOAK (one of a kind) doll out of a Barbie I picked up supercheap at garage sale. She's in decent shape (except for her feet, which have been chewed) and I've sort of straightened her hair. It's not straight-straight, but straight enough.

Now I just have to figure out how to straighten her arms, if I can. They are bent like she's giving a karate chop which makes it difficult to make clothes for her.