What can you make with jeans that are out-of-style, ripped beyond repair or painted? What can you make with the inseams, waistbands and other components even after you use up the flat panels of fabric? In this episode, we’ll explore the ways people have been creatively recycling denim jean fabric for thousands of years, and get project ideas you can make today.
You can listen to my podcast episode on denim jeans recycling in this YouTube video. It originally aired in July 2018.
Where to Donate Jeans
How to Update, Repair and Make Your Own Jeans
Jeans Hacks
How to Shorten Jeans and Keep the Original Hem
When patching kids jeans, make a hole into a monster mouth!
Insert elastic in the waistband to make the jeans fit your shape better.
If you like to doodle, you can draw on jeans with a bleach pen to make them into a work of art.
Sew Your Own Custom Ginger Jeans with Closet Case Patterns
Sew Your Dream Jeans – Online Sewing Class from Heather Lou on Vimeo.
Trashmagination Projects Made from Recycled Denim Jeans
Over-the-Door Toy Organizer from Recycled Jean Back Pockets
Giant Cushion Chair from Recycled Denim Jeans
Ointment Organizer
Upholstered Dining Room Chair
Denim Recycling Projects that I Want to Make
- Beads from rolled denim jean scraps by Harmony Lawrence
- Coil basket from denim jean inseams
- Coil necklace from denim jean inseams inspired by LoveandDream
- Whale toy designed by Finnish artist Valaan Villapaita – combines blue and gray denim
- Lunch or Snack bag which reuses the leg of the jeans with minimal sewing and closes with a belt
- Denim quilts – Check out the Trashmagination Pinterest board for recycled denim jeans to see all the denim quilts I want to make.
Artists Who Make Items from Recycled Denim Jeans
Kymberly Leicester from Grubbee makes dribble bibs from recycled jeans and will donate 50 percent of sales to the Jeans for Genes campaign in Australia.
If you donate to the http://Jeans for Genes campaign in Australia, Angela Van Boxtel will crochet your old jeans into a rug. Her son has a genetic disease.
Pam DeLuco is a paper artist who makes books from jeans.
Jean Shin made an installation called Alterations from blue jean legs stiffened with wax She also did a recent installation where she made sandbags from jeans called Levee.
Claire Armstrong from the blog Pillar Box Blue makes a lot of upcycled crafts from denim jeans.
Yarn Made from Recycled Denim Jeans
- BettaKnit Love My Jeans yarn from Italy
- Venne Eco Jeans yarn from the Netherlands
- Wol zo Eerlijk from the Netherlands
- Wool and the Gang from the United Kingdom
Other Resources Mentioned in this Podcast Episode
- My Summer Job Sorting Textiles
- Home Insulation made from recycled denim jeans
- What is Japanese boro?
- Sri Threads – specializes in boro pieces
Show Details
- Script for this podcast episode about denim jeans recycling (not a transcript but gives the main ideas)
- The Trashmagination podcast theme music is Kitchen from the Marian Circle Drum Brigade.
