Old Blue Jeans

Hum, everyone has them.  What do we usually do with them?  Of course the most popular is to take the jeans to Goodwill or sell them in a garage sale.  That works really will with the jeans that are still in good shape and wearable.  Our kids outgrow them so quickly that the supply is almost unending.  What do we do with ones that are not in good condition.  AND I am not talking about the ragged torn and shredded jeans that young people are wearing now-a-days?  My husband had a pair that the seat had gotten ripped out of.  Repairing them was really out of the question.  I could not just throw them out .... 

I had been wanting something to put by the bedside to hold the TV remote and other items that keep getting misplaced or lost under the bed.  These torn jeans suddenly became the answer.  It just so happens that my puppy took the opportunity to shred the pillow she was using for her bed and redecorate her crate with all of the stuffing!  So, my little granddaughter and I cut one of the legs off of the ruined jeans, restuffed the pillow innards into the pant leg and sewed up both ends.  Viola, Rovette had a new pillow with slightly more durable material.  

That left me with the seat part, which I sewed the legs shut, strung some cording I had bought through the belt loops and here was the bedside storage I was looking for.  It is now possible to keep the remote, glasses case, pens, book, or whatever else I want to keep handy all right there.  This still leaves the bedside table clear and uncluttered.  

There was still one pant let still left unaccounted for.  Which after some consideration I was able to turn into an apron.  With the help of some leftover fabric for trim and a ruffle I now have the cutest blue jean apron that can be used for garden work.  The 8 or so inches that I cut off the end of the pant leg was used to make pockets for the apron.  That made the whole pair of pants accounted for.  

Now, hopefully we will not have another pair to deal with for a while, but if we do I am certain there are plenty of ways that the jeans can be used.  I think that if we are going to repurpose items, we have to learn to think outside the ordinary and put our ideas to work.  Even it our project does not turn out, at least we know what NOT to do.  Keep trying.  Keep thinking.  

I have always heard "Necessity is the mother of invention".  For me that is true.  I am and have had to learn to make do with what I have.  Now, with so many people out of work (as am I) or dealing with cuts in their salary, I know there is not enough funds available for spending on items that are not absolutely necessary.  That makes repurposing even more necessary.  

After hanging the apron on the window at my kitchen door I wish I had more old jeans to repurpose.  These would make gorgeous curtains in my kitchen.  Love that idea.