How to Reuse or Recycle Denim Jeans

This denim throw rug is made by sewing small squares of denim to a backing. The finished product is a fun rug with lots of cushion, perfect for a teenager's bedroom, or lounge area.

Reused Denim Rug by AllFreeCrafts

This adorable wall organizer is made from the cuff and leg of denim jeans. With a dowel rod, a sewing machine and a little creativity you can make this yourself at home. The contrasting stitching adds a lot of pizazz to the reused and useful denim art. Use it to store sewing and craft supplies, or organize just about anything in style with this cute and functional denim organizer.

Denim Organizer

Because denim is heavy, it makes a great rug. I also like that denim is a purely natural fiber, being made from cotton.

Frugal Veggie Mama gives a step by step tutorial of how to make these denim braids from old jeans and then shape them into a rug. I like the way she combined the various shades of denim. Read on to find out more abut how you can reuse your favorite worn jeans to make a rug for you home!

Braided Denim Rug Tutorial

This adorable denim book cover is sure to be a big hit with teenage girls. It is made by reusing old jeans. It would be a great craft for personalizing a diary, photo album, calendar, bible, journal, or agenda before giving as a gift. The pocket was cut out keeping the backing in tact, so when it was glued to the cover, the pocket still opened, making a perfect hidden stash.

Reused Denim Book Cover

This cute purse was made from the pocket of some repurposed jeans and faux fur. It's perfect for a young girl, or as a carrying case for small items like a cell phone and sunglasses. Choose a pocket from their favorite brand of jeans and this project is sure to be a hit.

Reuse Denim Pockets as a Purse

Here is an idea for a tote bag made from used children's overalls. On a smaller scale, the same instructions can be used with a pair of baby overalls to make a purse. Cut the legs off the overalls and serge them or zig zag stitch them closed. For more instructions, check out this tutorial:


Overall Tote Bag from Used Denim

Denim crafts can grow on you quickly, because there are so many adorable ways to reuse it. This denim rose is one more example of a way to reuse denim in crafts. This flower is a great way to embellish an otherwise plain denim project.

Denim Rose

There seems to be an endless number of ways to reuse pockets of old jeans around the home. Denim is very thick and makes a great potholder. For more information on how RecycleCindy made hers, visit her blog at:

How to Make a Potholder from Old Blue Jeans

Denim is such a wonderful material because it's made of natural fibers (cotton), yet it is heavy and warm. It's durability, warmth, and natural construction make it my all time favorite materials for constructing quilts from recycled fabric. You can make a quilt for your bed from your old jeans. Not only is it eco-friendly, it's amazingly beautiful, creative and warm. Here are several sets of instructions for making a quilt from recycled denim.

Denim Quilt
Denim Quilt 2
Denim Quilt 3

These are not only adorable, they have so many possibilities. Upon first glance, you would think it's only a denim flower pot, but you can work this style into many other projects. How about decorating an Easter basket from a plastic bucket? Jazz up that flower you give mom on mother's day. Create red, white and blue jeans Forth of July decor, or make a blue jeans gift basket for your next graduate.

For more information on making these and other cool denim crafts, see Cindy's blog.

If you liked the flower pots on Cindy's blog, then you will be crazy about these denim coasters. She shows us how to make spiraled circles from the hem of old jeans and tacky glue the spirals together. If you don't want to set a drink on them, stitch them together many combined would be an adorable rug or wall art. (more)

Gail Martin shows us how to use pockets from old blue jeans to make pocket organizers. Hang them on a locker, refrigerator, or anywhere a you could use a little extra organization.

They are perfect for holding pens, pencils and pocket notebooks. Your teenagers will love these. The are also functional refrigerator magnets. You will never lose your pencil again. Thanks Gail!

School Locker Pockets

For Christmas this year, I made some pencil holder and journal sets from recycled materials. Everyone loved them, so I thought I'd post a photo of the sets here. I made the journal following the basic instructions for a book cover below. Before I attached the pocket, I ran the ribbon around the cover and glued it. I used matching ribbon to wrap a bow around the pencil holder that is made from a soup can and repurposed old blue jeans.

How to Make a Book Cover from Denim

We used:
*old denim jeans
*tacky glue
*scissors
*and a Pringles can
to make this little bank. It stores your coin and your cash with a little pocket embellishment. This is a great way for kids to get involved in creating recycled crafts.

Reused Denim Coin Bank

Were you wondering about a pillow? I was, so I Googled "how to make a denim pillow," and found these instructions from Sookie at Info Barrel. She has instructions for both the frayed denim pillow and the "tooth fairy" pillow with the pocket on the front. Another great way to reuse your old jeans!

Denim Fray Pillow

Denim Tooth Fairy Pillow with Pocket

You asked for it, and here it is an oven mitt from reused denim. The denim is thick and heavy enough to keep heat away from the hands. Then its lined with more protective layers. It is a very practical reuse idea. Over at the MyRecycledBags blog, they are always coming up with new ideas to reuse denim, so check it out.



Reuse Denim as an Oven Mitt

Add a magnet to the back of an old jeans pocket and you have a perfect organizer for your refrigerator. It holds pens, pencils and small notepads. They would make a great gift for high school girls to keep in their locker at school. I used magnets that had a self adhesive strips on them for attaching business cards, but you could tacky glue any magnet on to the pocket.