How to Make Delightful Denim Hearts from Old Jeans
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.
I made upcycled denim eggs last Easter and did a very popular round-up of denim Christmas decorations. 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 denim heart keyring for your door keys. The little denim hearts also look great hanging together as a sweet decorative garland.
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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.
- Using some pliers bend your wire coat hanger into a heart shape.
- Cut your denim into strips about 1 -2 inches wide.
- Fray the edges of your denim strips slightly by pulling out the loose threads.
- Paste the wrong sides of the denim strips with glue and wrap them around the wire overlapping as you go.
- Carry on wrapping the denim until the whole heart is covered. Then go around at least twice more.
- Hang from a red ribbon for a more Valentine’s look.
I actually made 2 of these denim hearts a big one and a little one and hung them together.
The Small Padded Denim 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.
- I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter as a template to draw around.
- I cut out 2 heart shapes from the denim scraps.
- Cut out a length of seam or hem from you jeans approximately 3-4 inches long to make a loop.
- Pin your denim heart shapes wrong sides together with the denim loop.
- Stitch them together using a simple running stitch, leaving a small gap. I used a red thread to make them more Valentine’s like.
- Fill your hearts with a small amount of fiber 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.) Which 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 denim heart keyrings to a Valentine card for that special someone and write something corny about the key to your heart or perhaps not!
maria
23rd January 2019 at 5:51 pmYou are so creative with denim, love all your projects. The heart one is so cute..
Claire Armstrong
24th January 2019 at 4:25 pmThank you so much.
Kathy Kristofice
2nd May 2017 at 3:56 pmLove 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
2nd May 2017 at 6:09 pmThank 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
14th March 2017 at 4:43 pmWhat a fun project and just what I was looking for to teach Grandkids a little simple basic sewing. Thank you so much .
Claire Armstrong
14th March 2017 at 4:59 pmThank you! They could make them out of their old jeans.
Tara @ Lehman Lane
14th February 2017 at 2:26 amWhat a fun denim craft! Love the heart key chain you made. Pinning 🙂
Claire Armstrong
14th February 2017 at 7:29 amThank you, I got a bit carried away and made 6 of them as they were so sweet.
leanne with divaofdiy.com
13th February 2017 at 11:53 pmWhat a fun project! I love the look of denim!
Claire Armstrong
14th February 2017 at 7:28 amThank you Leanne!
Sam @ Raggedy Bits
13th February 2017 at 10:40 pmClaire, you amaze me with all of your wonderful projects that you make with denim!! So clever! These hearts are just so sweet!
Claire Armstrong
13th February 2017 at 11:00 pmThanks Sam, denim is fun to work with.
Suzin
10th February 2017 at 4:54 pmClaire, 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
10th February 2017 at 6:57 pmThank 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
26th January 2017 at 4:59 pmI 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
26th January 2017 at 6:31 pmThanks Julie, I love to use the seams and waistbands in my denim upcycles whenever possible as I think they add character.
Michelle
24th January 2017 at 11:18 amThese 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
24th January 2017 at 7:14 pmThanks, Michelle, the key ring with a corny quote will be on my Valentine’s card this year!
Caroline
23rd January 2017 at 8:42 pmA great way of using up stash denim or re-use old jeans. I love the keyrings!
Claire Armstrong
23rd January 2017 at 9:04 pmThank you so much.
Cecilia MyThriftStoreAddiction
23rd January 2017 at 7:10 pmSo fun! Thanks for sharing @Vintage Charm–pinned & tweeted!
Claire Armstrong
23rd January 2017 at 9:04 pmThank you.
Helen at Pleasures of the NW
23rd January 2017 at 3:04 pmWhat a fun project – I see these on my front porch! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Claire Armstrong
23rd January 2017 at 4:20 pmThanks so much.
creativejewishmom/sara
22nd January 2017 at 11:04 amLove them both! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling sunday!
Claire Armstrong
22nd January 2017 at 12:51 pmThank you Sara.
Katy SkipTheBag
21st January 2017 at 4:35 pmI love the heart wreaths! Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!
Claire Armstrong
21st January 2017 at 5:28 pmThank you Katy!
Medina Grillo
21st January 2017 at 11:12 amYou certainly are the queen of denim! Love these 🙂
Claire Armstrong
21st January 2017 at 11:51 amThank 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
21st January 2017 at 10:52 amI can’t decide which hearts I like best. Another awesome way to reuse jeans, Claire. Featured today, both your tutorial and blog.
Claire Armstrong
21st January 2017 at 11:06 amThank you so much, Pam, I look forward to seeing them. I couldn’t decide either that’s why I made both.
Susan
20th January 2017 at 6:35 pmLove 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
20th January 2017 at 7:03 pmThank you Susan, and extra Brownee points to you for spotting the not so deliberate mistake. I’ve now corrected it, cheers!
Anne
19th January 2017 at 9:00 pmCute 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
19th January 2017 at 9:27 pmThank you, look forward to seeing it.
Toni | Small Home Soul
19th January 2017 at 5:19 pmThese 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
19th January 2017 at 6:13 pmThank you, Toni, I love to think of new ways to upcycle denim it’s kind of a personal challenge for me.