Ten Tips for Extending the Life of Your Denim Jeans

In today's economy, consumers are learning to take care of what they have, instead of running out to buy new. Fashionable denim jeans can be expensive, and the cheaper wear-to-work variety can still stress our budgets if they wear out quickly. Even when we have money to throw away (yeah, right) we are becoming more environmentally conscious in our consuming habits.

Taking good care of your jeans can be one way to contribute to the preservation of our environment and its natural resources. Most denim is made with cotton, which is a natural fabric, but we must consider the environmental effects of cotton production (gotta poison them boll weevils!) and the resources required to manufacture new cotton products.

Keep your denim jeans in good condition and help reduce your carbon footprint by following these ten simple tips:

1. Extend the life of your jeans by wearing them two or three times in a row, unless they are stained. Excessive washing will cause jeans to fade and fray much more quickly.

2. Wash your jeans in cold water to reduce fading, if they have no visible dirt or stains. Use warm if you must, but reserve hot water washing for very dirty or oily jeans.

3. Wash your jeans on the shortest and gentlest setting that will get them clean. Very lightly soiled jeans may even be washed on a delicate cycle, but will need an extra spin cycle on regular to remove the excess water.

4. Zip zippers and button buttons before washing your jeans, to prevent the metal fasteners and rivets from rubbing against the fabric during washing, causing wear and fading.

5. Turn jeans inside out before putting them in the washer, so fading dyes can settle back into the fabric. Throw some old jeans in with your new ones to absorb any excess dye and add new life to tired, faded jeans.

6. Let your jeans air-dry until they are only slightly damp, then finish drying them in the dryer to soften them up. This protects the fabric from excess heat, as well as reducing your energy usage.

7. Avoid buying pre-washed jeans. The industrial methods used to stylishly pre-fade your jeans weakens the fabric, shortening its life span.

8. The knees are often the first to go, especially in kid's jeans and work jeans. Patch them before they wear through. Iron-on patches are simple to apply, but fabric glue or fusible web may hold longer. Cut up an old, unwearable pair of jeans for patches. While you're at it, reinforce stress points like pocket corners.

9. Kid's jeans that have already worn through can be decorated with colorful patches on the outside of the fabric. Use a simple, yet decorative, embroidery stitch to hold the edges of rips in girls' or ladies' jeans together, then add embroidery designs to the pockets or other sections of the jeans so they appear to have been made that way. You've just created cool "designer" jeans at low cost, and nobody will have a pair exactly like them! If your sewing and embroidery skills are nonexistant, use colorful, decorative appliques that can be fabric-glued over small holes.

10. Store your jeans folded with zippers and buttons inside the fold, stacking the pairs in alternating directions to make a level pile. Hangers may make unwanted creases, and clips can distress the cuffs or waistband.

Bonus Denim Recycling Tips:

When your jeans are just absolutely unwearable anymore, reuse the denim fabric by cutting away seams, pockets, and hardware. Save large sections that are still in relatively good shape for craft projects and recycle the denim into things like toys, purses, or clothing items for babies.

Braided denim rugs fit in with informal or rustic decor and make durable, washable door mats or adorable rugs for children's bedrooms. Cut the denim into long strips and sew them together end to end. Use three strips to make a long, somewhat flat, braid. Different shades of denim can be braided together for a variegated effect, or braid like colors together to form a patterned rug. Coil the braid into a disc, starting at the center and stitching the edges of the braids together as you go, using heavy-duty thread or fishing line. For a smooth rug, fold cut edges of 2" wide denim strips to the inside as you braid, or leave the raw edges of 1" strips out for a cute rug that will become shaggier with each washing. If braiding isn't your thing, use an extra-large crochet hook to crochet the strips into a rug