There is something timeless about denim. It never really goes in or out of fashion – it just changes a bit with each season. So, when you have a pair of jeans that come to the end of their life (sob!), it is great to be able to upcycle them into something else. This was very easy. I didn’t even unpick the seams. I just cut up them. I drew round an apron I already had to get a good shape and then resewed the jeans back together into a flat shape to fit the apron. I did avoid the knees where the fabrics has bagged a bit. And I also avoided the very thick seams as they don’t go through the sewing machine that well (I broke a couple of needles before I just cut them out altogether).
The edging is ultra wide home-made bias binding made a from a small piece of Liberty fabric I had left over from a top I made. (I know I’m slightly obsessed with Liberty prints but they are just SO desirable!) Have a look at my tutorial if you don’t know how to make bias binding – it’s very easy.
I have to admit that I didn’t plan this at all – I would advise a little more forethought than the zero minutes I spent thinking about what was going where. When I got nearly to the end, I didn’t really like the slightly off centre mishmash of seams I was left with. So I cut a heart out of the remaining denim and sewed it into the middle. It doesn’t show up that well on the photos, it’s clearer in real life – you can see it if you look closely.
The corners are finished with some lovely green engraved buttons I got from the bargain bin at Fabworks. The waist straps are denim leftovers folded over into 3 and zigzaged into place.
A great way to reuse jeans