Denim Hearts: I’m not sure when it all started but you might have noticed I am a bit obsessed with upcycling old jeans.
I can’t resist making things in denim, it is definitely my favourite fabric to repurpose. Especially, for the home and holidays. I had made repurposed denim Christmas decorations and upcycled Valentine’s day crafts.
I even made upcycled denim eggs last Easter. So I thought why not do something in denim for Valentine’s, and you can’t get more Valentine’s than a heart.
These rustic denim decorations don’t just have to be for Valentine’s, I think they will look great all year round.
I couldn’t decide which way to go so I have made not one but 2 different kinds of denim hearts.
One’s a denim heart wreath to hang on your door and the other is a cute little padded jeans heart keyring for your door keys.
The little denim hearts also look great hanging together as a sweet decorative garland.
Both are very affordable denim upcycles that just use scraps. The heart wreath is an easy no-sew project.
Whereas the denim key chains just require the minimum amount of hand sewing. So simple it is a suitable craft for children.

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How to Make Delightful Denim Hearts from Old Jeans
Denim Hearts 1: The upcycled denim Wreath
All you need to make these denim heart wreaths are:
- An old wire coat hanger, or just some old wire.
- Strips of denim cut from your old jeans.
- Fabric Mod Podge or other white glue such as PVA.
How To Make the Heart-Shaped Denim Wreath
1. First, creat a heart shaped wire frame for the wreath. Do this by using a pair of pliers to bend and shape the wire coat hanger. (see the pictures below).2. Next, cut the denim from your old jeans into long strips about 1-2 inches wide.
At the same time fray the edges of the denim strips. Do this by simply pulling out loose threads along the cut edges of the denim. This will give the finished heart wreath a nice rustic look.
3. Then, paste the glue onto the wrong sides of the strips of denim. Wrap these strips around the hear-shaped wireframe. Make sure you overlap the edges of the denim as you wrap.
4. Carry on wrapping the denim until the whole heart is covered. Then go around at least twice more. This will give the finished denim heart wreath some thickness.

5. Finally, hang the denim wreath from a thick red ribbon. This will give it more of a Valentine’s vibe.

I really enjoyed making these denim heart wreaths. I found the wrapping of the wire very therapeutic and got carried away so I made two a big one and a little one and hung them together.


How To Make Small Jeans Hearts (keyrings)
These little hearts are great as they use up all those odd scrap pieces of old denim.
They are so simple to make are handsewn and can be used as a decoration or given as a keyring.
What You Need For The Small Hearts
- Small scraps of denim from old jeans. I love to use fabric from old jeans with seams running through them, such as on the pockets. I think this makes the denim keychains more interesting.
- Metal keychain rings
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter
- Fiberfill
- Needle and thread
How To Make The Denim Keychains
1.First, place the heart-shaped cookie cutter on the piece of denim you want to use. The use it as a template and draw around it. Cut out two heart shapes for each padded denim heart.2. Next, cut out a length of seam or hem from your jeans approximately 3-4 inches long to make a loop.
3. Then, pin the fabric heart shapes wrong sides together. Place the denim seam loop sandwiched inside at the top.
4. Next, stitch the denim pieces together using a simple running stitch. Leave a small gap for stuffing.
I used a red thread for stitching to give the padded jeans hearts more of a Valentine’s vibe.
5. Finish off by filling the hearts with a small amount of fiberfill and then stitch to close. Brush the edges of the heart with some fabric mod podge to prevent them fraying.

As these padded denim hearts were handsewn, I made a few of them whilst watching telly in the evening with the family. (I don’t know why but I find it hard to watch telly unless I’m doing something with my hands.)

This meant that I made enough of them hang them up in a garland as well as use them as a keyring.

You could always attach one of these jeans heart keyrings to a Valentine card for that special someone and write something corny about the key to your heart or perhaps not!

This isn’t the only denim heart garland I have made. I also made some upcycled Scandi woven hearts using both denim and repurposed sweater wool.
Both these denim heart crafts featured in the A to Z of denim crafts, under H for hearts.
Or if you prefer to say it with flowers rather than hearts on Valentine’s day then how about making an upcycled denim flower bouquet.

I’ve also made some gorgeous Valentine’s flower hearts out of pinecones.

maria
You are so creative with denim, love all your projects. The heart one is so cute..
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much.
Kathy Kristofice
Love them all. Went on vacation month of March. Took denim, cookie cutter and cut out many hearts, bought some embrodiery thread for my running stitch around hearts, liked a thicker stich around heart. Now home and got my 9 yr old Granddaughter making them.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you! They sound lovely, what do you plan to do with them a garland. I’d love to see a picture of them you can post it to my facebook page if you want. Pillarboxblue Facebook page
Jo-Ann
What a fun project and just what I was looking for to teach Grandkids a little simple basic sewing. Thank you so much .
Claire Armstrong
Thank you! They could make them out of their old jeans.
Tara @ Lehman Lane
What a fun denim craft! Love the heart key chain you made. Pinning 🙂
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, I got a bit carried away and made 6 of them as they were so sweet.
leanne with divaofdiy.com
What a fun project! I love the look of denim!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you Leanne!
Sam @ Raggedy Bits
Claire, you amaze me with all of your wonderful projects that you make with denim!! So clever! These hearts are just so sweet!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks Sam, denim is fun to work with.
Suzin
Claire, these hearts make me smile! Im making them right now. I really hate to throw out my hubbys jeans so I constantly look for ways to use them. I’ve never seen these before, thank you so much for sharing your creativity!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, so nice to hear that you are making them. If you want I’d love for you to share a finished picture of them on my Facebook page.
Julie
I love working with denim too, it’s the perfect recycling medium.
I love these ideas, especially the padded hearts, they make a really cute garland and lovely keyrings too. I especially like how you’ve used the seams for the loops.
Claire Armstrong
Thanks Julie, I love to use the seams and waistbands in my denim upcycles whenever possible as I think they add character.
Michelle
These are really cute Claire and your idea of adding the little heart key ring with a corny “key quote” works for me. I think it would make a lovely Valentine’s gift.
Claire Armstrong
Thanks, Michelle, the key ring with a corny quote will be on my Valentine’s card this year!
Caroline
A great way of using up stash denim or re-use old jeans. I love the keyrings!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much.
Cecilia MyThriftStoreAddiction
So fun! Thanks for sharing @Vintage Charm–pinned & tweeted!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you.
Helen at Pleasures of the NW
What a fun project – I see these on my front porch! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks so much.
creativejewishmom/sara
Love them both! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling sunday!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you Sara.
Katy SkipTheBag
I love the heart wreaths! Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you Katy!
Medina Grillo
You certainly are the queen of denim! Love these 🙂
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Medina! You make it sound like I wear double denim, which I don’t by the way! But I do like to upcycle the old jeans for crafts.
Pam @Threading My Way
I can’t decide which hearts I like best. Another awesome way to reuse jeans, Claire. Featured today, both your tutorial and blog.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much, Pam, I look forward to seeing them. I couldn’t decide either that’s why I made both.
Susan
Love these little hearts and definitely on my to do list and not just for Valentines. My mind is racing with ideas and uses for the wreath ‘idea’ too. Thank you for posting them.
Psst did you mean wrong sides together in number 4 above? 😉
Claire Armstrong
Thank you Susan, and extra Brownee points to you for spotting the not so deliberate mistake. I’ve now corrected it, cheers!
Anne
Cute ideas!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow morning that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=91346 –Anne
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, look forward to seeing it.
Toni | Small Home Soul
These are so cute, I wondered what you used to make them so big. I love how you are so creative with Denim. You inspire me!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Toni, I love to think of new ways to upcycle denim it’s kind of a personal challenge for me.