Repurposing Blue Jeans in Ways that Make Others Green with Envy

Just how high in the sky would the pile be if all of the blue jeans in the world were stacked on top of one another? It's hard to say for sure, but even the image is enough to paint a picture that blue jeans are so plentiful they need to be reused, recycled, and even repurposed. Filling up landfills with old blue jeans should never be in fashion.

Most of us realize that we can avoid the landfill and be better denim stewards by donating old jeans to a resale charity such as Good Will or to a consignment shop such as On Second Thought. Of course, you can also save an unwearable pair of jeans for "patches" for future jeans that have holes but still a lot of shelf life, or should we say leg life.

One very effective method of repurposing and recycling old jeans is the the Gap clothing stores offer to recycle jeans, giving customers a coupon for their fair trade and turning old jeans into green insulation for homes, including Habitat for Humanity.

What else can we do with unwanted blue jeans?

Blue jeans can not only be resold, reused, and recycled-they can also be repurposed into new products. Here are a few of our favorite ideas.

Repurposing Jeans into Purses

There are a couple of different ways jeans can be repurposed into purses and not all of them require fancy sewing skills.

Imagine: The bottoms of jeans are cut off and turned inside out and stitched. Now turn them right side out again and you've got the start of a cute satchel bag that makes a neat small purse, lunch tote, or even Bible bag.

All you need now is a strap stitched to the inside upper edges and a little imagination. Teens and tweens will enjoy adding embellishments with fabric paints, iron ons, bling, patches, and bead work.

Now imagine: The top of the jeans are cut off as if you're making shorts. Again, turn inside out and stitch along the bottom. Once you turn them back right side out, you've got the beginnings of a purse. Depending on your sewing skills you could add a zipper closure, a button closure, or a simple elastic band that loops over a button closure. Now add some embellishments like a belt (you can even change the colors to match your fashions of the day or season) or even a scarf tucked into the back pockets.

These repurposing projects make great homemade gifts:

Repurposing Jeans into Pillows: Your old jeans were just so comfy and they can be turned into comfy throw pillows or camping pillows for their second life.

The process is similar to creating the purse. Once inside out, stitch the waistband top first. Use stuffing from old pillows and now stitch the bottom with the stitches on the outside.

These pillows made by repurposing jeans can be made for little ones, from their little jeans or any size, up.

Repurposing Jeans into Skirts: It happens to the best of us. Our favorite jeans are getting too tight in the rear or legs. We love this solution for repurposing old jeans. Simple cut out the inseams. Now imagine wearing the jeans just like this. There would be a long triangle opening in the front and back. Don't stop here for your skirt. Reuse a fabric of your choice from anything, including old sheets, and stitch in the two triangles. Now you have a unique and comfy long skirt from repurposing jeans. Of course, denim shorts can be turned into a mini skirt using the same technique.

Find out how old jeans go from decoration to insulation in Recycling Blue Jeans: From Environmentally Friendly Insulation to Decoration.