Thursday, September 22, 2011

One Pair of Old Jeans = Three Aprons

I've been cleaning the house lately. I can now walk through my laundry room without tripping over something and actually use my sewing machine. I celebrated by making aprons out of an old pair of jeans.
Here you see the three pieces cut from the one pair of men jeans. Cut the back down a few inches into the top of the leg. Leave the waist band on all the way around. I cut it off right before the button and the zipper on the front of the waist.



Cut up the middle of back seam a few inches.




Fold it over and sew it down the seam and the little section below the seam until you get to the bottom of the apron front. You can see that I trimmed the length of it a little. I think it may have been around 16 inches from top to bottom. You can make yours any length you want.



Cut two pieces of material. I cut them 17 inches long (you could make them longer if you want) and 3 1/2 to 4 inches wide. Fold and iron the edges all the way around at least 1/4 inches wide. Fold the material length wise and sew together, except for one end of it. Take the unsewn end and push it over the end of the waist band at least 1/2 inch.

Attach it by sewing it across the end.


I hemmed it all around with wide double fold bias tape.


For the aprons made out of the legs, I hemmed one long side of the leg. The other long side of the leg has the double seam and doesn't need hemming. The top of the apron is the bottom hem of the leg, so it does not need hemming. I sewed wide double fold bias tape on the bottom (which is actually the top of the leg) for the hem. You can use a real jean pocket for the pocket on the apron, but I hate sewing over the thick seams, so I made a pocket from a piece of material and sewed it onto the front of the apron. I sewed grosgrain ribbon onto the sides for the ties and on the neck. Here is a picture of the apron made out of one of the legs.


Here is the apron made from the seat of the jeans.

Here is the apron I made out of the other leg. This one ties at the waist. I cut the leg seam off the one side of the apron and hemmed both sides. I made the bottom ruffle with a piece of material 6 inches by 36 inches. I hemmed around the bottom and sides and basted the top. I then pulled the basting thread and made the ruffles. I pinned it on the bottom and sewed it on. For the waistband I cut off the jean hem and cut a piece of material 5 inches by 36 inches. I folded it long ways and sewed it together and turned it. I ironed it and sewed it to the top of the apron. I cut two 36 inch pieces of grosgrain pink ribbon and inserted them into the ends of the waistband and sewed them on. This makes the waistband very long and you can bring it around and tie it in the front if you like. I haven't put on a pocket yet, but probably will later. I cut the blue jean leg piece to a length of 20 inches before sewing on the ruffle. You could make these any size, depending on how tall you are.


Not bad, considering these were made from a pair of jeans that were unwearable.
Of course, different size jeans would make different size aprons. These were size 34/34 jeans.
I have made them out of women's jeans before, too. You could also make small aprons from a child's pair of jeans.
Which one is your favorite?
There are so many items you can make out of old blue jeans!

18 comments:

  1. Wow! You are clever. This is a great idea and you are probably selling these by the car load.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are so cute! My favorite is the second one, made out of the leg. I love all things denim, there's such a casual, comforting feel to it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Janet you're one creative girl! I couldn't pick just one, I love them all! Happy first day of fall!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Janet, the aprons are wonderful! How clever and creative, I would never have thought you could make three aprons from one pair of pants! My favorite is the one with the pockets. Although the other two are so cute! I love aprons and have been making them and collecting them for years. I especially like the ones that you can actually use and don't have to be afraid of getting bread dough on or a little cake batter on them. These look really sturdy yet very feminine. Have a great day ahead! Delisa :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have made one from the upper back of the jeans, but I think my favorite is the one with the ruffle. May give it a try because I have a whole pile of old jeans!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Janet,
    How clever and creative.

    My favorite is the second one with the back of the pants pockets.

    And horray for being in a cleaning mood!

    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well I have never in my life seen them made out of jeans. They are so neat that I think I'll give it a try.. Thanks Janet..

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a good idea. I have a stack of old jeans just waiting...Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. How creative..you could sell these at the craft fair that is held in Sept at the mound and make a bundle.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks everyone for your comments. I would like to make and sell them and make a bundle, but knowing me, I would make a lot and not be able to sell them. I'm not a very good sales person.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That reminds me of the old verse, claimed by New Englanders, but heard all over:

    Use it up; wear it out.
    make it do, or do without.

    Country folk were "green" long before Al Gore invented the internet.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sewing makes me a little crazy in the head. These are really cute. You're very creative.

    ReplyDelete
  13. They turned out wonderful Janet! I love them! I think I like the first one the best because of the pockets. I have seen them where they add another pocket in the middle from another pair of jeans and sew it in the middle to make it to hold a pen or pencil. I've wanted to make them but haven't taken the time to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. These are adorable and what a great "recycling" project. I love the last one especially.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Janet -- very clever -- I think these would make great gifts! -- barbara

    ReplyDelete
  16. How cute they are!! And durable too : )

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I love comments! Leave one and brighten my day. If you are signing as Anonymous, please sign your name, so I will know who you are.