How to Make a Pretty Wine Bag With an Old Pair of Jeans
Everything is about taking something old and using it to create something new and chic. Recycling is not only the rage -- it is a good practice environmentally. This keeps used and discarded “stuff” from the landfills. Jeans are made to last. When a pair goes out of fashion or starts looking a bit ragged, you can recycle the legs of the jeans into pretty wine bags.
Things You'll Need
- Needle
- Thread
- Sewing Machine
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Elastic
- Ribbon
- Pins
- Fabric paint
- Beads
- Appliques
Instructions
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Select the jeans. You may only have one pair to discard, which makes the choice simple. However if you have choices, look for jean legs that are not worn and have no rips or tears. Wash the jeans to make sure they are clean.
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2
Measure the jeans from the hem up the leg to where the wine would just peek out of the top. Add four inches.
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Cut the leg from the jeans. Turn this leg portion inside-out. The finished hem becomes the top of the wine bottle bag.
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Cut off the side seam. Measure the jean leg around a wine bottle. Add 2 inches. Cut off the rest of the side seam. If the jean is a skinny-leg jean, you may not have any extra fabric to cut off. If you use a wide leg jean, you’ll need to trim the material so it fits a little more snugly around the wine bottle.
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Cut a 1-inch strip of elastic to fit over the jeans hem. The strip of elastic should be 1 inch shorter than the length of the jean's hem. Pin and sew in place, using a zig-zag stitch.
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Fold the jeans material right side in to create the tube for the wine bag. Select a 2 inch wide ribbon. Measure the vertical length of the bag, plus how much of a handle you wish to have at the top of the wine bag. Fold the ribbon with the loop above the elastic top and then down the double side of the bag ½-inch from the edge. Pin it into place, and sew the seam ½-inch from the edge and up the ribbon. This not only sews the side seam of the bag but also anchors the loop handle. Sew a second seam just inside the first, also on the ribbon.
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Sew the bottom seam, making it ½-inch from the bottom. Sew a second seam inside the first. The double seams make the bag extra secure. All around the sewn seams, snip vertically from the edge of the fabric toward the seams to the seam line but not through the seam. Make the cuts ¼-inch apart. Turn the wine bag right side out.
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Decorate the wine bag with ribbon, fabric paint, beads or appliques. Create a ribbon bow with long tails. Sew the bow to the top of the wine bag, opposite the loop handle, letting the ribbon tails hang down the length of the bag. Fill with your favorite wine.
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References
- Photo Credit Goodshoot RF/Goodshoot/Getty Images
