by Diana Schonhut

Created on: March 25, 2009

Denim is a great fabric for recycling because the older it gets, the better. No-one wants to wear brand new crisp denim, so after all the effort to get it butter soft you just can't let it go to waste. There are some significant advantages to using denim too. It's a very hard wearing cloth, which is why it became so popular in the first place, so your efforts will last.

It also frays beautifully; just enough to roll and curl, but not enough to fall apart. This means you don't have to hem or turn under the edges unless you want to and can have the frayed bits adding to the charm of your piece.

There's usually plenty of denim around too and it should be easy to find enough for your project, whatever it might be, because most people can find an old pair of worn-out jeans. You can probably get lots of different shades of denim from even one piece because the fade and wear will leave some places almost white while others are still mostly blue. It might be possible to use some of the existing parts in your new item without too much difficulty, such as the pockets or waistband. And don't forget to save the label or logo to add later.

What to make? Just about anything goes: clothes, bags, household items. Because it's such an informal fabric and never out of fashion, it does tend to appeal mostly to the young, or young at heart, and is one of the few fabrics that most males would find OK. Obviously, you might want to customize your item accordingly: a throw for a teenage son could be embellished with sew-on patches for a sports team, rather than embroidered with hearts and flowers for your grandmother. And when it comes to embellishments, it's easy to think up ideas but hard to know where to stop: lace, ribbons, beads, buttons, charms. Why not go to town recycling old jewelry and beads while you recycle the denim too?

The main problem with using denim is that it can get to be very thick and difficult to sew once you have a few layers together, as you might find when joining major seams. Most sewing machines should be able to handle this if you take it very carefully and slowly, even moving the machine needle by hand to help with the very thickest part. If the machine foot has difficulty going over the major thickness, place a folded scrap of fabric to act as padding behind the foot to help keep it level. If all fails, you can always investigate the growing number of fabric adhesives on the market that are totally washable and stick like, well, glue.

So, find yourself some old denim and get started, but just be really careful to make sure it is unwanted or you could find yourself in a lot of trouble.

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