How to Make a Log Carrier Using Old Denim Jeans
A log carrier wraps around enough logs to make a nice fire in a fireplace, and lets you carry them without getting your clothes dirty. It also eliminates the risk of dropping an arm load of logs while closing a door or hitting a light switch. Old blue jeans provide enough sturdy fabric for a handmade log carrier. After making a pair of jeans into cut-offs, you can make the legs into a denim log hauler.
Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- Seam ripper
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Measuring tape
- Chalk
- 1-inch dowel rods
- Hand saw
- Sandpaper
Instructions
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1
Cut the legs off a pair of old jeans with a sturdy pair of scissors. Cut the triple-fold off the bottoms of the legs just above the hem. Use a seam ripper to cut the single-fold seams on the sides and open the legs to use for the fabric of your denim log hauler.
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2
Put the outer sides of the open pant legs together and line up the triple folds in the center. Pin the tops of the legs together with straight pins. Sew a seam across the leg tops with a sewing machine to close them together. This seam will be at the bottom of the log hauler.
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3
Trim the opposite ends of the denim to a width of 19 inches if necessary. The width may already be 19 inches or less depending on the size of the jeans. Measure seven inches in across the width from both sides and mark the spots with chalk. Measure 6-1/2 inches down the length from both marks and make chalk marks there. Mark both ends of the denim fabric as such.
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Cut down the length of the legs from the 7-inch marks to the marks 6-1/2 inches below them. Cut across the width from one 6-1/2 inch mark to the other and remove the cut out fabric to form a handle in your handmade log carrier.
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Fold and pin the ends all the way across the widths including the cut-out scoops. Sew a seam across each end separately that curves down into the handle scoop.
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Fold the seamed ends down 4-1/8 inches. Pin and seam the 7-inch sections across there. That leaves a 2-1/2 inch space for your carrying hand and a sleeve along the top of the ends for the wooden dowel rods.
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7
Cut the dowel rods to a lengthy that is 1 inch less than the width at the handle ends with a hand saw. In other words, cut the dowels to 20-inch lengths if your widths are 19 inches. Smooth off the cut ends with sand paper and slip the rods through the sleeves over the handle scoops.
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Tips & Warnings
Lay the denim log hauler completely open and put four or five logs across the width. Grab the handles and pull them together to wrap the denim fabric around the logs. Carry the logs to your desired location by the handles.
Do not lift or carry a load of logs that is heavy enough to strain your back or shoulders.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
