I made this toy organizer for my daughter mostly for her sock monkey collection – although many small stuffed toys seem to like those pockets. Here is how the toy organizer looks hanging on her bedroom door:

You can see I alternated between denim from darker and lighter jeans just to make it more fun. Thanks to my friend Timna for the NORA letters – I finally put them to use!

Tips for Making the Jeans Toy Organizer

• Find the smallest pair of jeans in your stash. Use it to define your base size, and trim the other pairs to that size.
• You will need to cut the pockets individually and sew them together again in the middle. That is because pockets do not actually hang straight down from the hip.
• Use a denim-strength needle in your sewing machine.

Boro or Japanese Recycled Denim Art

Recently I learned about a type of quilt or clothing called boro, which means “rag” in Japanese. These were quilts or heavy clothing such as jackets that were continually repaired, sometimes for generations. These boro textiles are now highly valued as art pieces and historic items. I am keen to learn more about boro and perhaps emulate the boro aesthetic with my own denim rag quilt.