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I make garden bags, shopping bags for groceries, wine bottle bags (Which work really well for canned good and pop too), potholders, pencil or make up cases quilts and rugs with the denim I recycle. I emborider on most of these items to dress them up a bit. I used the parts of the denim thats dirty for the rugs as it gets woven or braided into the rug and not seen. When my granddaughters where out the knees in their little jeans I cut the legs off, open the bottom and stich it across than line it and have a wonderful little purse. If the legs are decorated I use that material for the flap at the top opening of the purse. I too have several boxes, lol! And I see lots of other neat ideas listed here by others. I will have to save this in my favorites since the check mark doesn't work right now, lol!
Diane
22354Wow just look at all your answers. Now that is some stassh you have there girl. Now you will get some inspiration from the list below. My DH thought I was mad when I started collecting demim throw outs.
Show us what you come up with....Have a lovely day.
Kerry
25546Oh my, what a wonderful stack of denim you have there. I would be going nuts with that much. I love to put together quilts with denim and what ever scraps I can get my hands on.
16260I would be overjoyed with such a stash of denim, I beg my family and friends for their old jeans and denim shirts. What to make? Anything! Totes, purses, ITH bags, binder covers, little dresses (old denim is so soft), rag quilts, bibs, burpies, coasters, place-mats, almost anything can be made from recycled denim. I'm so envious of your stash, have fun with it!
by jenne
03 Jun 2012
I'm with you girl, what devine statch I love anything made from denim I sometimes use it all together as in my denim crazypatch purse.
5347Make new covers for your pets beds.I'm in the process of covering all the animals beds at the moment using new denim that is about 20yrs old that was taking up room in the cupboard .
25212I would make bags or pencil cases but all the answers below have opened my eyes
9459No one mention teddy bears it makes wonderful ones also American Girl doll clothes you can also make little rag dolls and put them in the christmas colection bos for little kids that don have a christmas I use every peice of denim I can get my hands on.
Lenamae
by lenamae
02 Jun 2012
you can make little shorts oe dresses for little kids there is always a kid in need I have boxs full of knit fabric I got from a factory I am going to make kittle shorts and tops for the needy kids.
One year I went to a outlet and bought 350 yards if denum for 15.00 I made purses and sold 551 of them . I finished off my up staire with the money I made .
I made western shirts for all the boys and the denim slouch hats aldo the caps .I had fun with that denim.
by lenamae
02 Jun 2012
denim for 15.00 I made 501 purses and sold every one I made western shirts for all the boys oh there is no end.Have fun
32767I saw a gorgeous denim quilt on TV last week! I have a duffle bag full for when I am ready, and I no longer donate or trash anything 100% cotton! LLDS!
173580now is the time to have fun with the children
grab a few packs of crayola wax crayons and a few stencils
decide to test out on a couple of totes just simple ones with front and back pockets
no ned to turn and seem the pockets just lay it down and sew around the sides and let it frey for a great effect BUT
before you sew them on let the imagination sore with the crayons fill the pocket section with funny faces or flowers and rainbows.
next place the pocket section onto some newspaper on a firm surface place some pieces of kitchen roll over over the top of teh pockets and pres with a hot iron to melt the wax, the wax is absorbed by the kitchen paper but the dye is left behind showing a great art display.
why not make a waistcoat and decorate in the same mannner, cushions too done this way make great gifts.add free motion sewing to highlight sections and the a button or two at teh center of the flowers and hey lady this is design heaven.
young teens will adore the easy way to make a fashion staitment all of their very own.
so have fun in the holidays and reduce the amount you have
i can see skirts and tops to match, shorts too. and all for free and a bit of imagination
go for it i wish i had this stash of lovely stuff
annie in the uk
14995You have had so many answers. Here in SA I would give it all to the homeless and needy. Sarah.
253107What can you not do everything "till lately and now if it's real nice it goes to Good Will or somewhere that someone can get good use from it. I've done just about all of these suggestions except for the quilt. Placemats are great from the legs. they never wear out. Put a little pckt on them for napkin and silverware or picnics-plasticware, Denium is such a versatile fabric and great for anything that gets a lot of use./Lillian
145789The things you can make with denim is endless. I used to make pillows for my kids (didn't have an embroidery machine or a serger back then)- sewed pieces together and after done would top stitch a design (my machine had a few built in designs). I couldn't make them fast enough for them (even the foam was recycled - took foam from items no longer good and cut it up).
After I got my embroidery machine, the first thing I ended up doing was a quilt for my granddaughter and then my grandson who had birthdays shortly after I got it. And now I have been doing different types of shoe bags.
I have about 3 big boxes of old jeans. I cut out the seams and keep the rest - the zippers are still good and pockets. I just fold them and put them in a box as they've already been washed and I don't want them to fray and it's a lot of extra work to serge (which I never used to have). I made my first hubby a really nice jean jacket. I love working on it.
pic. #1 is first quilt, #2 is second one and the other two pics are two kinds of shoe bags I've made.
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38558Sometimes it is better to just donate to someone else, that may be starting out and doesn't have a stash.
I have done this a lot and it gives me please to see what lovely things are made from it, rather than sitting in my heap, cos i do't have time to get to all that I have.
I am much better suited to get on with what I really want to do and what inspires me now.
Hugs Bev
7875Gosh that leaves me out of the loop,i put all my old jeans into the good will bin this morning.cheers
by justonlyme
03 Jun 2012
Don't ya just hate it when that happens!! The opposite is considered hoarding though, so there is something in the middle....somewhere. :)
11814Since the denim obviously owes you nothing......
What immediately comes to mind is walker carry bags, that you could donate to residents of your local Aged Care Hostels/Nursing Homes.
LaurasSewing Studio has four? on her site, start at the link below and there are three more links on the page.
You could make little rag dollies for residents so they have something of their own to cuddle. As with children, no buttons or objects that can come off.
Little wall hangings for their rooms are also a nice gift to brighten up rooms and hallways.
You could make kiddie's painting aprons and donate to your local kindergarten.
I would embroider fun designs on the denim, then cut out your pattern and cover the whole front with clear plastic.
Denim makes fabulous Tote bags, or bags for hair curling irons, straighteners, etc. Give them to family members for Christmas to use as GREEN shopping bags.
OK, that's the limit of my inspirations. LOL!!!
122864Wow...some fabulous ideas here.
Personally I have made bags,
but my biggest endeavour was making a fitted cover for a lounge suite years ago.
... trust me it was heavy work, very hard to handle as it weighed a ton.
In the end I had to do a lot of hand sewing as it wouldn't fit under my machine, but it looked fabulous when it was finished.
10333Make purses and bags lots of bags with embroidery. Hugs Joyce
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85867I did a rag quilt for my son. I did flannel on the backs of the squares that had holes and pockets. I put embroidery on a few to personalize it. I would suggest taking it to the laundry mat to wash for the first time. I thought I had messed up my machine.
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by sewfrenzie
03 Jun 2012
Love them paper making idea! Do you have instructions somewhere you can share?
Diane
1648Great idea to recycle fabric! I am doing it now also. It is a great way to stretch your investments and make resized goodies for the wee kids in the family, or totes or quilts, etc!
19452ok it would appear that a quilt is pretty much a favorite here sew please allow me to share something with you.....ONLY MAKE ONE SIDE OF THE QUILT WITH THE DENIM, I REPEAT ONLY MAKE ONE SIDE OF THE QUILT WITH THE DENIM NOT BOTH ask me how I know LOL I did both sides years ago & it weighs a TON! traditionally flannel is used for the back!
299557wow a DENIM QUILT For each of my kids sew they stop steeling mine!
299557Wow!!! I envy you!!!! I love denin, you can do so much with it, a nice design and you can redo chairs, do pot holders, there is not limit, purses!!you are sooooooooo lucky!!! Hugs and blessings.******
60484Make a Quilt. I made a huge pillow useing a back pocket for candies or some kind of favorite snack. It is good to lay on the floor and watch TV I made it like the raggy quilts only not as big. I used a back pocket for candies or some kind of favorite snack. My son used untll he left home. Hugs & Stitches, Liz
4766you have alot of idea's and surely have enough fabric to make them all - if you wanted to - I like that you went ahead and serged the pieces - that does make it neater and you can store it better, too. I have always wanted enough denim to make a quilt, myself.
211078All of this would make a nice warm quilt. You could also use it to make bags and purses.
20661myself i bake tote bags but you have quite a few ideas to keep you going here..let us see your finished projects....soozie
25169Make a blue jean quilt. Just cut squares as large as you can (all the same size) and sew together. You'll have a great quilt in no time at all. Hugs, Susan
25510i would make a quilt the Fry's the frying will be on top and it uses lots go for it hugs
360419Glad to hear I'm far from the only hoarder in this group, LOL. Denim does look great on just about anything. I've been using some for pocket key fobs (Fivestar Fonts or Embroidery Garden)-can use the smaller bits for that.
23163Love it, love to work with it...denim is never tossed in my house. Have made book-covers, journal covers, bags, purses, rag blocks for quilts, lots of embroidery on squares of denim to make into wall hangings, or pillows...
cut off top, sew up and make a bag for teens and that is just to name a few...recycled denim for years so I definitely would use every bit...
15874I would make a tote bag out of embroidered squares such as on the designs by sick web site.
7854I have cut them into rectangular patches and embroidered flowers, etc on them. Then I sew them together into strips for peasant skirts. My teenage daughters and their friends just love them. (So do their Moms)
1831Wow, what a denim stash! I would start with a rag quilt with some cute embroidery here and there. Then I would make a rag bag, also with some embroidery. Then I would make mug rugs for all the kids. Last year I bought a brand new denim skirt for .50, cut it up, put some christmas designs on them and made mug rugs for the kids. Have fun. You have a load of ideas here. Hugs..Carol
12165Some of the cutest throw pillows for a teen's room or a rec. room were made out of denim. You could embroider on them, or cut squares, etc. sew them together and quilt them.
They are sturdy and very washable!
MJDG
7672Make yourself or family member a scrap Jean jacket or purse. I had a friend who made a scrap jacket and she had so many compliments on it.
I sometimes use the pieces to test stitch designs, then you can make a scrap quilt for someone special.
I used to keep pieces for mending kids and grandkids jeans too. I would embroider something on it and then make it into a patch. Just a few suggestions.
30631You know Toogie, I've never worn jeans. I'm more of a tailored person. Everyone over here in Newcastle knows me as the "Woman in Black" almost reminds me of Roy Orbison! I'd make a quilt - I've seen some awesome quilts made out of denim. Karen's idea bikermomfl) is good about the bags too.
You've got some great ideas here. Love and blessings Chris
by meganne
02 Jun 2012
Would you like some of my old denim jeans to cut up. I was a "Skin tight jeans and high heels gal" right up until I met Ray and his mother came as a bonus, along with 4 stone of depression weight, now none of my jeans fit me. LOL!!!
234253Looks like rag tote bags to me - with some fun designs on them, of course! Have fun, whatever you decide will turn out great. You can't miss with denim!
59617Last year I made a big bag and fill it with styrofoam . My daugther loved him . It´s the best seat in house everyone want to seat there. Forget to say that I cut the peaces in squares and patch them togheter. You know waht I meen?
7428I've actually gone to the good will store and bought small jeans (we all know I wouldn't fit in a small anything!) then you cut off the legs, turn it inside out and serge the bottom closed, turn it right side out and poof you have a darling purse and all the pockets and just that pockets for keys, etc. Pretty cool, they also sell well as craft fairs.......;-)
by hightechgrammy
01 Jun 2012
Oh, I like this idea! I'll have to try that, I hate to make pockets, but if they are already made......
17161i will use them to make bags, clothpin bag, covers for many items, shorts for the summer, for you and your family.
26714Denim is my favourite fabric to embroider on. If I want to try stitching out a design .. just because, then denim is my first choice for fabric and all mine is recycled too :) I made machine covers for my 3 machines and embroidered their "names" onto the cover eg Brother P1000. My overlocker is still waiting for hers lol. Denim makes great pencil cases, school chair bags, reading bags, lunch bags, shopping bags etc. (Can you tell I have small children lol?) xXx
4309I now have lots of ideas, due to your question. Thanks for the asking about using old denim. I will definately make some bags and inthe hoop projects that requires a strong fabric.****
21543I have made bags. Think I put some pictures here. They were fun doing
113303You can make tote bags for groceries, placemats, purses, vest , quilts, chair pillows, coasters, shorts, my my I could go on and on. I never throw out old denim. It is soft and i like the variation of color when you make a tote bIg or something else. I embroider the designs on the totes also. Hope that helps you.... If you google DIY sewing projects for old denims you get a lot of ideas Suzanne
11109267271I'd make a rag quilt. Denim works great for this! See first link for picture.
See second link for instructions and some different ways to do it at the bottom
by loosie
01 Jun 2012
I was thinking of a rag quilt too, but I would embroidery in the center of some or all the blocks, like farm animals or white daisies... my stash isn't a large (in amount not size of garment....LOL!) I have too some outgrown jeans some of which are like new!
by toogie
01 Jun 2012
In #2-I really liked Doreens circle jeans quilt.I would have thought denim would have been to heavy for a quilt, but evidently others don't. I can't stand any weight on my legs, they bother me too much. I wonder if you could use this circle, windowpane quilt blocks and make a tote out of that? Do you think that it would work?
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