How to Make Delightful Denim Hearts 2 ways from Jeans

Denim Hearts: I'm not sure when it started, but you might have noticed I am obsessed with upcycling old jeans.

I can't resist making things in denim; it is my favourite fabric to repurpose, especially for the home and holidays. I've 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? You can't get more Valentine's than a heart.

These rustic denim decorations don't have to be for Valentine's; I think they will look great all year round.

I couldn't decide which to go with, so I made two different 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 as a sweet decorative garland. Both are very affordable denim upcycles that use scraps. The heart wreath is an easy, no-sew project.

Whereas, the denim key chains require a minimum amount of hand sewing. It is so simple that 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, create a heart-shaped wireframe for the wreath. Do this 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 enjoyed making these denim heart wreaths. I found the wire wrapping 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, hand-sewn and can be used as a decoration or 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. Then, use it as a template and draw around it. Cut out two heart shapes for each padded denim heart.
2. Cut out a 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. 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 from fraying.

As these padded denim hearts were hand-sewn, I made a few while watching the telly in the evening with the family. (I don't know why, but I find it hard to watch the telly unless I'm doing something with my hands.)

If you cut your heart shapes out of old jean pockets, you can make these reverse applique heart treat bags for Valentine's Day or even these cool, colourful, hanging denim decorations.

This meant that I made enough of them, hanging them up in a garland and using them as a keychain. Check out these other keychain ideas.

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

This isn't the only fabric heart garland I have made. I also made upcycled Scandi woven hearts using denim and repurposed sweater wool. There are also many more hearts in this Valentine's Day sewing project collection.

Both these denim heart crafts are 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, how about making an upcycled denim flower bouquet?

I've also made some gorgeous Valentine's flower hearts out of pinecones. Check out these other Valentine's craft ideas.