Do You Have Some Worn Our Denim Jeans Laying Around?

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I love denim. I love to work with it while making useable items and I love the look of denim. When I was a teen, denim purses and hats were in style. I noted that they are back in style again this year. I remember making both years ago. I have used denim to make many things over the years. I thought I would share some of the easy things to do with you. These are great ways to use those jeans that are wearing thin at the knees or have been outgrown. Recycle your used denim into homemade gifts. If your family is like mine, we live in denim. From denim jeans to denim skirts. We have plenty of denim in our house. So I found myself with a lawn and garden garbage bag full of no good denim. What is a frugal mother to do? This is what I did. I rose to the challenge and went to work researching and experimenting. Now that my daughters are grown, we do not have too many jeans. Our local thrift store has bag sales frquently and I purchase a garbage bag of jeans for about $2.00 a bag. I found there are so many uses for this denim, that I want more worn out clothes! What are you waiting for? Go clean out your closets and get busy! Here are a few items you can make with denim scraps:Denim Quilt: Cut the good parts of the denim clothing into four inch squares. Sew together to form a quilt. I did this and made a "rag" quilt. I sewed the quilt and left the denim seams on the outside of the quilt. Washed and dried for a little fraying and bam .. one Christmas gift was finished. PURSE: Turn the jeans (I used shorts) to the inside and sew just below the bottom at the beginning of the legs. I sewed a few times for extra reinforcing. Sew on a strap using the waistband from another pair of jeans. Lace a belt or use ribbon through the beltloops to draw closed. I also put a strip of Velcro on the inside of mine to keep shut. Denim Pillows: I made "butt" pillows for our van the same basic way the purse is made. Except you need to close the entire top with Velcro. Put a ready made pillow form in and you can unvelcro for easy cleaning. Just toss in the washer. I used an old pillow as the pillow form and had no cost at all for my pillows. Denim Apron: Use a pair of overalls for this project. Cut the seams of the legs apart and then sew both of the front legs together and then both of the back legs together. Slip over you head for a great apron. You can also use as a great overall dress. Quick and easy. Denim Rice Hot Pack Use the leg from a pair of jeans to make a tube-shaped Rice Hot Pack- just fill with white rice and microwave until warm; these are great to ease muscular aches and pains, or to pre-warm the bed on a cold winter's night. Denim Pocket Purses or Denim Pocket Fridge Magnets Re-use the pockets from old blue jeans to make Denim pocket purses or - Denim Pocket Fridge (or locker) Magnets. Both are great gifts or are sure to be bestsellers at your next church bazaar sale!Denim Placemats Use old jeans to make unique placemats...incorporate the pockets as part of the placemat to hold silverware in place. Denim Pot Holders Denim will stand up to the rigors of pot holder duty and look great in the kitchen. Line with fleece, quilt batting or even squares cut from old sweat shirts. Incorporate the pocket if you want to get fancy, or take advantage of those gold-thread seams