New Uses For My Old Jeans

I'm one of those people who saves those old jeans that don't fit anymore, because I am bound and determined to squeeze my (now mom sized) butt back into them. My daughter is now four and I still am not down to the size I was pre-pregnancy.  I'm still not giving up though; I'm soooo close.

I actually managed to get an older pair of my stretch jeans on this week! Victory!  The only problem was the two small tears near the butt pockets.  Well I really like the jeans, and I was too happy about them fitting to get rid of them, so I decided to patch them up.

Once that task was completed, I had the leftovers of another pair of ripped jeans and an idea.

I was finally going to make a denim rug.  I have been wanting to make one for years, and I finally got the ambition to start cutting up the pants and make some "yarn" from them.

I found a few other pairs that had been so ripped/damaged that they had made it to my craft pile a while back.  I began cutting strips from the pant legs, saving the tops of the pants for other future projects, and connecting the strips to roll into "yarn" balls.

Once I had two pairs of pants rolled up, I began.  Using my jumbo Q hook, I got to it.

I will say that I can only work on this for a short time, as it hurts my hands, but it is coming along quite nicely.

I also probably should not cut jeans atop my white down comforter, which I learned the hard way.  My bed is covered in fuzzy denim lint.  Jeans shed like crazy and get quite messy.

So I am now about 6-7 pairs of jeans in, measuring at about 26", and I have two more long denim skirts to add.  I am now hunting for some more jeans, because I swear those 3 pairs of size 6 jeans sitting on my shelf WILL fit again someday soon.  A few friends are sending their old ones my way and then it looks like I will be thrift shopping in the coming weeks.

I haven't decided how big I want to make it, or whether I will keep it, sell it, or gift it, but I'm going to keep going for a while.

I'm also thinking up different ways to use up all of the jean pieces.  Why waste them?

So, I think I will use the thick seams that I didn't incorporate into the rug to make some denim trivets.  They look kind of cute.  Could make some fun holiday gifts.

The next few pictures are just some inspiration from Pinterest.

With all of the back pockets I have left over, I should be able to put one of these bad boys together.  Of course, I am not a huge fan of sewing, and I have to really be in the mood for it to take on a project like this, but I would love to have one of these.  Wouldn't you?

I like how they're all slightly askew in the top photo.  They are far more uniform in the bottom picture, and I don't know which I like more.  I'm thinking the above version might be a bit more forgiving of my sewing skills.

And how cute is this little bib?!

I absolutely love this idea (also found on Pinterest) and think I might need to make one for friends who are expecting a baby boy in the spring.

Hoping I can acquire enough denim to finish my rug soon, and I'm thinking a tutorial may be in order.

What are your favorite ways to reuse your jeans?  I know there are so many options and I'd love some more ideas!