Forever In Blue Jeans…

January 12, 2015

Well, this week I finished my “recycled blue jeans skirt”.  Although it did turn out kind of tacky looking, I think it was a good first effort and could definitely be improved upon if I put a little more thought into it.  This skirt will be perfect to wear around the house during the warm summer months when no shoes, no pantyhose, and no petticoat are required.

I ended up using fewer strips of the printed fabric and more of the plain blue jean fabric (which was actually the legs of the worn out blue jeans).  I also left off the red band of fabric that I had initially planned to put on the bottom of the skirt.  This was on the suggestion of my sister-in-law, Deb.  She thought the extra color might make the skirt a bit “busy” and it turns out she was right.  She’s got real artistic talent and I value her opinion.  Thanks, Deb!

I used another pair of the worn out jeans to make a new clothes pin bag.  My sister, Edie, made me a beautiful yellow flowered clothes pin bag a long time ago.  After years of use, I made some not-so-pretty repairs which also made the opening in the bag much shorter and a lot less user-friendly. 

I have one more pair of the worn out jeans to turn into something usable.  I’ll have to put on my “thinking cap” and come up with something creative to share with you in a future post. 

The front of the finished "recycled blue jeans skirt".

The back side of the skirt.

I'm thinking that a shorter length would look more flattering,
(it would also help if I had the will power to lose 10 or 70 pounds)
but since I plan to just knock around the house in this skirt, this length
will work best for me.

The items needed to make a sturdy clothes pin bag.

After turning the cut off jeans inside out, I sewed a reinforced seam
for the bottom of the bag.  I then sewed a long tube of the printed fabric,
leaving enough open (about a foot) to insert the clothes hanger.
Then I sewed the opening closed.  I also cut a small hole in the
top middle of the tube and reinforced it with a zigzag stitch
to accommodate the hook part of the hanger.  After that, I
threaded the fabric through the belt loops, which formed the "belt".
I added a few reinforcing stitches around the top of the "belt" so
the bag would hang straight on the hanger.  I also added Velcro
to the inside of the back pockets, where I will put those
pesky clothes pins that come apart until I can collect
enough to justify taking the time to put them back together.