Cool Ways to recycle your old jean! DIY

ClothingDIYFashion

Everyone who pretty much lives in jeans all year round is always on the lookout for a new pair of classic jeans to be in their closet plus something that looks a little more special too. I personally love all the current jean trends such as bleach splatters, jean fringe, stepped hems, prints, and strategic distressing but what if just like me you do not have enough money or time for shopping? here is the coolest thing that you can do them all at home!

Here are few ways you can either DIY a new pair of jeans (just make sure they’ve been washed and dried first) to be the perfect new pair you wish to buy as soon as possible:

Bleach splashed jean

What You Need?

bleach
paintbrush
glass or ceramic dish
plastic drop cloth
rubber gloves and protective eye wear
spray bottle with water (optional)

What To Do?

Lay your jeans on a large drop cloth in a well-ventilated area. Wear clothes that you wouldn’t mind getting a drop or two of bleach on. If you have a spray bottle, mist your jeans with water so that the bleach will absorb more quickly. Put on your rubber gloves and protective eye-wear.

Pour about ¼ cup of bleach into a bowl. Dip your brush into your bowl, stand over your jeans, and fling your brush at your jeans, splattering them with bleach. Keep flinging the bleach, making sure to change the angle so that you sometimes fling straight at the material and sometimes draw an “X” in the air as well.

Once you think you have enough bleach for your taste, leave the jeans for 30 minutes while the bleach absorbs and changes color and then flip the jeans over and repeat on the other side. Once that side has set as well, wash the jeans on the hottest setting recommended for the material and dry.

here are the results!

Cool isn’t It?

Fringed Jean

What You Need?

jean fringe that matches your color of jeans
iron or sewing machine (whichever your jean fringe calls for)
straight pins
fabric scissor

What To Do?

Try on your jeans and roll them up and pin your fringe at different lengths until you find a length that you like. Mark the top of where you want the fringe to sit with straight pins. Use fabric scissors to cut the jeans ½” below where the pin line is.

Now, Pin your fringe to the bottom of your jeans starting in the back so that the fringe goes all the way around and meets perfectly at the starting point again. You can either sew your fringe on all the way around the cuff or iron the fringe on if the fringe is an iron-on variety.

here are the results!

Stepped Hem Jean

What You Need?

fabric scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat
straight pins
seam ripper

What To Do?

Try on your jeans and decide where you want the front (shorter) hem to fall . Use straight pins to mark that length and make sure they are at the same location for each leg so they are even. Cut across your jean legs 1” lower than your pin location.

Use fabric scissors or a seam ripper to cut up both sides of each leg, going ¼” past the mark for your shorter front hem. Most jeans have a thicker seam on the inside of the legs than the outside, so just cut in front of that and leave the thick seam intact rather than try and seam rip it apart.

Once you cut up each side, cut across at the markings for your front hem and your stepped hem is complete. This method will leave you with a back hem that is 1” longer than the front, so if that’s too big of a difference for you, you can always trim the back hem another ¼” or so for a smaller difference.

here are the results!

Star-Printed Pattern Jean

What You Need?

fabric scissors or X-Acto knife and ruler
straight pins
tweezers

What to do?

Cut whatever shapes you want to stamp out your foam sheet and cut two pieces of square cardboard that are just a bit bigger than each shape. Glue the two matching layers of cardboard together and then glue your foam shape on top (two layers of cardboard make for a more stable stamp).

Lay your jeans out flat and paint your stamp with an even layer fabric paint. Do a couple of test stamps on some scrap fabric to see how hard you have to press and then stamp your jeans with as many stamps as you like on the front, allow to dry, and then repeat the process on the back.

I find that it’s best to put it down flat on the fabric and then rock side to side and up and down to get every corner in contact with the jeans (I used these jeans in pink, BTW).

here are the Results!

Enjoy Experimenting with your old destroyed jeans by these amazing ideas and let us know!

Credits: Laura Gumerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

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