How to Recycle Jeans
Since the 1800s, denim has been made from cotton and turned into what can arguably be called the most versatile style of pants ever designed: blue jeans. Not only are jeans great casual wear, but they have become a symbol for high-fashion designers as well. At once a status symbol and working-class staple, the life of a pair of jeans does not end when the first hole appears. There are myriad ways to recycle jeans. All it takes is a little know-how and imagination. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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How to Recycle Jeans
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If you have pairs of blue jeans that in pretty good condition, there are some stores and organizations that will distriubte them to the less fortunate. Aeropostale, a clothing store with retail outlets around the world, will take your donations and give them to homeless and poor families. Bonded Logic is an industrial company that will recycle your blue jeans into green-friendly insulation. Visit their website (address below) for a list of drop-off centers.
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Turn those flared jeans into a long skirt. This is an easy project that can be done with or without a sewing machine. Make sure you use a pair of jeans that are at least two sizes too big for you to ensure that the skirt fits. Take out the seam of the jeans on the inside of the leg all the way up to, and including, the crotch. Overlap the undone seams in the front and the back, tucking inside any extra material. Now, sew down the overlapping seams in the front and the back. Hem to your desired length and wear with any casual top.
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Convert the worn-out jeans into a handbag. Cut off the jeans just below the hips. Push the small amount of leg material inside the jeans and sew the "leg holes" shut on the inside with a strong nylon thread. Cut an inch and a half vertical slits in the waist of the jeans every 3 inches, all the way around. Using a strip of denim cut from the leg of the jeans, lace the denim strip all the way through the slits, going in and out, until it comes out the other end. Tie the ends into knots to make them decorative. This will be used to tighten the bag shut. Sew two more strips of denim onto either side of the "bag" to make handles. Fill with your belongings, and leave the house in style.
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Make a stylish book cover. Rip open the seam on one side of the leg to your jeans and cut down the material so it is larger than the book you want to cover by 2 or 3 inches on all sides. Fold the top and bottom sides of the denim down, so it is the exact height as the book and presents clean top and bottom borders. Now, fold in the front and back sides. Slip the front cover and back cover of the book into the pockets you have created from the folds, and cinch them in for a secure and tight fit. Once it is sized right, tape the flaps down to the front of the book securely with a strong clear tape, like that used for packing.
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