We have been making mini Christmas stockings for the troops over at Ravelry. We are in the middle of a stocking-along at the Good Things Together group. I haven’t made any recycled denim stockings this year and figured it was time. So I broke out the sewing machine and stitched up 3 denim stocking shells.
I added crocheted tops to each of the 3 denim stockings. Here are the final results.
The stocking-along is for mini Christmas stockings that will be sent to the Warmth for Warriors organization. Each year people handcraft the little stockings and then they are filled with small goodies and shipped off to the troops.
Last year over 1900 mini stockings filled with soaps, toiletries, and candies were sent to our troops as a little Christmas gifts. The handmade stockings filled with goodies are a wonderful way to say thank you to our troops and give them a little Christmas cheer during the holidays.
Here is the link to my mini denim Christmas stocking tutorial. It is very simple to cut two pieces of denim from old jeans and stitch them together. Once that is done, you just add 3-4 rows
Here is another great use of recycled denim hem strips from your old jeans. This project uses a strip of hem along with a recycled glass jar to make a handy match holder. Take the screw-on lid from the jar and drill a hole into the lid top for the match opening. Then using the lid as a template, trace around it on a piece of sandpaper. Cut out the sandpaper and glue it onto the lid top as shown.
Here is the top with the sandpaper glued on the lid.
Here is a closeup on the inside of the lid.
Cut a length of denim hem from a recycled pair of jeans and trim it close to the hem line. To get the correct length of denim,
It’s Christmas in July for me as I’m working on mini Christmas stockings. The Warmth for Warriors organization needs 2000 mini Christmas stockings for the troops. They have just kicked off their 2013 Christmas Stocking Drive. The socks need to be around 6 inches long and will be filled with a small bar of soap, shampoo, body wash or similar item and given to the troops as a little Christmas gift. The socks can be sewn, knitted or crocheted and do need to be all handmade.
These recycled denim Christmas socks were all sewn on my Singer treadle sewing machine. It was fun to use the treadle to sew the denim sock shells. Once sewn, I just turn the socks so the right sides are showing and fold under the top to the inside. I then crochet a top
I know it may be early to start crafting for Christmas but I just had to share these mini recycled denim Christmas socks that I have been making. I used one of my crocheted small Christmas stockings as a template and traced around the sock to create the shape on a piece of paper. I then used the template to cut out two sock shapes from old denim jeans.
The sock shapes before sewing are about 8 inches long and 3-1/4 inches wide. Just use a stocking shape you like and the size of your sock can be bigger or smaller depending on your preference.
Put the right sides together and machine stitch a narrow seam around the sock. Leave the top edge unsewn as you will fold in the top edge about 2 inches to create a finished edge without having to sew along the top opening. The crocheted top and loop is then added to the top edge of the denim stocking.
Below the denim sock is shown with the narrow hem sewn and before it was turned to the inside.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to share some Valentine themed craft projects that I have been working on. Last month I participated in a cabled heart crochet along and here are the two heart squares I made.
The 12 inch crocheted cabled hearts square features 4 hearts.
This 6 inch cabled heart square pattern features just a single heart.
I just loved the 12 inch Yarncrazy Cabled Hearts Pattern (not available anymore) and thought it would make a wonderful center for a crocheted baby blanket. So I used the large square and then proceeded to double crochet around it to create this baby afghan.
Here are a few Valentine heart bookmarks I crocheted.
My blog friend and fellow recycled crafter Carmen is back to share a cool project that she created using old denim from jeans. She used the jeans, along with bandannas and other recycled materials to decorate these flower pots.
Here is another denim pot she covered and used a pocket too. She created a fun gardening gift package with this project. You can see Carmen’s step-by-step photo tutorial here to help you create your own unique recycled denim pot cover.
This month over at the Trash to Treasures group on Ravelry we are having a fabric and clothing scraps challenge. So I broke out some old jeans I have been saving and recycled them into some baby bibs.
The first bib is larger and I used the trimmed side seams from a pair of jeans for the bib ties. This bib is more suitable for an older baby or toddler.
My next bib is smaller and features ribbon for the ties. I thought the ribbon would be gentler for a younger baby’s skin than the denim ties.
Below you will find a picture tutorial showing how I made each of these recycled denim heart bibs.
Craft a recycled denim Christmas stocking this holiday. I used a pant leg of some old jeans and a printed stocking panel to make this unique Christmas stocking. I then topped it off with a crocheted top edge and a jingle bell.
Here is the back of the stocking. I left mine plain but you could add embellishments. Another option is to just make your entire stocking like this one and not use a printed panel as I did on the stocking above. Either way your recycled denim Christmas stocking is sure to be one-of-a-kind!
Below is a mini tutorial showing the steps to make your denim Christmas stocking.
I’ve been on a bit of a kick recycling denim jeans lately. I’ve made several tote bags from old jeans which are posted here under the Denim Crafts category. I’ve been wanting to make a potholder and still want to make a oven mitt too. But first things first, right? Here is my recycled denim potholder complete with a jeans pocket!
Here is my denim potholder in use.
Old recycled denim makes great potholders. All you need is an old pair of jeans, some cotton for padding and I added a piece of insul-bright. Insul-bright is an inexpensive reflective material that is designed for providing padding for potholders, oven mitts etc. Use only 100% cotton towels and cotton crafting batting. Do not use polyester batting or towels as the heat passes right through that material. I paid less than a dollar for a small piece of insul-bright so I figure this is a bargain to provide a good insulation for my potholder. Plus I have leftovers for my future oven mitt project.
Below you will find my step-by-step picture tutorial on how to make this recycled denim potholder.
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