I'm always seeing a lot of ideas floating around the internet for repurposing old jeans. However, I find a lot of them aren't that useful, or sometimes even just a bit of an eye-sore. I'm a little picky when it comes to upcycling and repurposing projects, because I truly believe with a little creativity it's possible to turn old things into both useful and beautiful new things! I have 2 pairs of jeans at home which I can no longer wear, and would like to repurpose. So to help both myself, and all of you of course, I've made this list of repurposing ideas for jeans (and they're all things I would actually like to do!).
Through repurposing items at home, you could make an estimated CO2 saving of 12kg per month (120kg per year). Search online for simple ideas and how-to tutorials for giving new life to the things you no longer use, or were contemplating throwing out.
Here are some great ideas to repurpose old jeans into something awesome and new:
- 1. Make a shabby chic twisted denim headband ! I put this first as it's my favourite idea. Now you would still have a lot of denim leftover after this, so make headbands for your friends too, or use up the denim for any other of the ideas below!
- 2. Make a braided denim rug . Another awesome idea, especially if you have quite a few pairs of jeans to repurpose. It will make a nice tough rug for either you or for your pets. I can just imagine a denim rug looking great in a beachy house with predominantly white walls. (My house has all white walls, yay!)
- 3. Sew an apron. Transform that pair of jeans into a unique apron . This idea is so creative and would make a great present for somebody who loves to cook. I have two close friends who I know would LOVE one of these.
- 4. Turn your old jeans into a denim skirt. This is great, turning your denim-wear into another type of denim-wear. It would be a nice idea for when spring and summer arrive.
- 5. Make a denim backpack. For the experienced sewers out there, this would be a really fun project. I got excited just looking at it, but it's definitely a bit more complicated than the other ideas.
I hope you're all as inspired as I am. I think I'll give the denim aprons a go, and use them as a gift for my two cooking obsessed friends.
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