I’ve been working on another denim upcycle. If you have some blue jeans to cut up for an upcycle, you can turn it into a basket for your desk or craft area.
You will need:
- old jeans (I used kids jeans for a narrow basket)
- scissors
- trim
- sewing machine (or needle and thread)
First of all, I cut the jeans off around 7 inches from the bottom. I don’t mind the rough bottoms as long as the jeans are clean before you start. I think the frayed bottoms look good too!
Turn the piece inside out. Sew straight across the bottom 1/2 inch or 1 cm from the cut edge. You could hand sew this if you don’t have a sewing machine.
Now flatten the bottom and pin 1 inch (2.5 cms) from each corner. This will make your basket more boxy at the bottom and easier to stand up.
Stitch across the line.
Cut off the triangles on the outside of your last stitch.
Turn the basket inside out.
The square corners that you just created will help it to stand up. You can roll over the edge once or twice.
So you can stop there and fill up your baskets with small toys, pens, sewing items, nail polish etc….or…add some garnishes.
I pinned a bow on one but decided to add more color…. I added a felt flower left over from coffee cup warmers (see the link below).
Then I thought of some trim…maybe with some pompoms. The kind sold in the drapery part of the fabric store. Yes!
The solid white and pink trims cost approx. $2 per yard but the colourful larger trim was $8.99 per yard. Ouch! Fortunately it was on sale for 50% off so I got a yard.
Turn the basket inside out to pin the trim in place.
Before sewing, turn the basket right side out again to check out how it will look.
Here is my colorful pompoms too. They make me so happy!
Take it slow while you are sewing on the trim. The pompoms keep trying to get in the way.
There you have it!
I used children’s jeans so that the basket would be small to hold a bunch of nail polish, sewing supplies, Lego or pens. If you use adult jeans and the area higher on the pant leg you could use it to hold magazines Fill the bin with craft supplies, bigger toys, or whatever things need gathering up to keep your place tidy!
Below I have put some more upcycle projects that I posted in the past year. Have a look!