How To Repurpose Old Jeans for Trendy Denim Upholstery
Eventually, there comes a time when you have to kiss your beloved jeans goodbye as they are beyond repair. But don't chuck them out yet; repurpose the denim. You can make many cool things for your home out of old jeans, and you can use them for denim upholstery projects.
Denim, as a repurposed fabric, has a lot going for it. As long as you like blue! Mind you; some denim does come in other colours. So all your upcycled denim projects don't necessarily have to be blue.
Indigo blue is one of my favourite colours, hence the name of my blog (Pillar Box Blue). Old jeans come in a beautiful array of shades of indigo blue. I have about 30 pairs of old jeans in my stash, waiting to be upcycled. I think every one of them is a different shade of indigo.
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What Makes Upcycled Denim A Good Upholstery Fabric
There are many good reasons for using repurposed denim for upholstery projects in the home. Firstly, it is a tough, durable, long-lasting fabric with strong tear resistance. That is why it is also a good fabric for denim floor rugs.
The denim from old jeans is a natural fabric and is soft and comfortable. That's why I live in jeans; they feel so good. A chair or sofa covered in denim will feel great too.
Also, using old jeans as your upholstery material makes the project very affordable. As you are repurposing and not paying anything for the fabric. It is more environmentally friendly; you save old fabric from landfills.
But the best reason for denim upholstery is that it can be very stylish and attractive if done right. Using old jeans to cover the furniture can bring a bit of rock-and-roll coolness into your home.
Old jeans have many elements to them besides the denim fabric. The jeans pockets, hems and seams, waistbands, and labels can all be used in the upholstery. This will give your furniture makeover character and personality.
How To Upholster With Old Jeans
One of the disadvantages of using old jeans to upholster is that it doesn't come in considerable continuous lengths of fabric.
A solution is to upholster smaller furniture pieces such as chair seats and pouffes. Or to use lots of pairs of jeans and stitch them together to make large swaths of fabric suitable for upholstery.
Some larger upholstery projects, such as sofas (couches), need a lot of fabric. To get the biggest continuous piece of fabric from one pair of jeans, cut up the inside seam on the legs, and spread the material out.
You can then sew the legs together to make a sizeable long piece of fabric, just like I did with my denim table runner.
Combining the denim from several pairs of jeans in different shades of indigo, you can make some denim upholstery, like this one-of-a-kind denim patchwork upholstered sofa.
The pockets have been included to make a unique sofa feature and somewhere handy to stash the remote whilst lounging. I've even seen upholstery that has just used the jeans pockets.
Patchwork denim upholstery doesn't have to be so haphazard. It can also be neat and uniform whilst still showing off its beautiful shades of indigo. Just take a look at these denim patchwork chairs.
This method is more time-consuming, but the results are well worth it.
I make a paper pattern for upholstering furniture and cut and sew my denim fabric to fit. Covering a small piece of furniture, such as a footstool, can be done with one piece of fabric.
With larger furniture items, I make a paper pattern for different elements, such as the arms, seats, and back. Then I stitch them together and attach them to the sofa chair with a staple gun or upholstery tacks.
By the way, if you want to cheat, you can buy unique digitally printed denim fabric. The fabric looks cool, incorporating all the exciting bits on a pair of jeans, such as the pockets and waistbands.
Tools For Jeans Upholstery
Denim can be challenging to sew; make sure if using a sewing machine, you use a heavy-duty needle. When sewing some of the thicker parts of jeans, such as waistbands and seams, it can be easier to do this by hand. Just make sure you use a strong upholstery needle.
Denim trims such as waistbands can be added to the furniture using good fabric glue, like with these denim fabric placemats.
When upholstering in denim, an excellent electric staple gun is your friend. After sewing several pairs of jeans, I used a staple gun to cover my IKEA office chair.
Staple guns are good to use when the staples are hidden, such as underneath a chair seat. However, if you can't hide the staples, use upholstery pins and make them a feature.
Examples And Tutorials For Denim Upholstery
There are many pictures of beautiful couches, chairs and footstools upholstered in denim on the internet. But there aren't that many tutorials. Here are the few denim upholstery projects with instructions that I have found.
Hopefully, something in this collection will inspire you to bring life back into an old piece of furniture and recover it in denim. I have a few upholstered denim pieces in my home, and I love them.
The jeans' fabric looks excellent and adds personality to an upcycled chair. Denim chairs are also lovely to sit in.
Nifty Denim DIY Storage Ottoman Crate an Ikea Hack
This is a simple no-sew denim upholstery project making a storage ottoman from an old IKEA crate. A handy piece of storage that doubles up as a seat and can be personalized.
How to upcycle a Skruvsta Chair - an IKEA hack
A rather dull and boring old IKEA office chair is given a rock and roll makeover with old jeans. This tutorial shows you how to make a paper pattern for upholstery.
How to make a Denim Floor Cushion
A tutorial for a denim pouf. Whether you use it for handy extra setting or somewhere comfy to rest your feet whilst lounging on the sofa.
How To Make A Denim Patchwork Chair
This tutorial shows you how to make hexagonal patchwork material out of denim. It's a great way to show off the shades of indigo. I also love the cheeky pops of colour with this clever patchwork.
How to reupholster a dining room chair with denim pockets
Another patchwork chair upholster this time just using the pockets from old jeans.
Reupholster a Chair with Colorful Denim
I did say not all denim is blue. This chair has been upholstered in red denim, just using one pair of jeans. No patchworking here.
How To Make An Easy DIY Footstool
How to make a DIY footstool with an old pair of jeans and some hairpin legs. This is a handy piece of furniture that can be a foot rest, extra seating and coffee table in one.
Denim Upcycled Bedroom Chair
Another one of Vicky's wonderful denim creations. This time an arm char. The tutorial also shows you how to add tufted buttons to your denim upholstery.
101 Things You Can Do With Old Jeans, No.4: Upholster a Chair!
This is an even more complicated jeans covered armchair, but the result is fabulous.
Drop-Dead Denim: One Tough Pouf
I love the crazy but uniform patchwork on this pouf. It definitely gives it a Moroccan feel.
Fancy Makeover: Jeans Upholstery for an Old Chair
Wow, what a difference the denim makes to this old battered office chair. Also a great tutorial for covering a rather complicated chair.
Sof� renovado com jeans
Another repurposed jeans sofa. I like the neat stripes on the seat cushion.
Denim upholstery is featured in the A to Z of denim upcycles.
I have many denim pillows and cushions ideas to match your denim furniture, including some Boho jeans pillows combined with vintage sari material. Or, if you want to add more denim to your home decor, there is a tutorial for an upcycled denim lampshade and a denim magazine rack.
Also, don't throw away any of the denim scraps; you can use them to make decorations such as feathers, tassels, and even beautiful denim flowers.
These upholstery ideas for old jeans are featured in the alphabet of upcycling resources and id s. Check out these other sustainable ideas for un-donatable clothes.
I'm a sucker for anything upcycled so your post is absolutely inspiring. Thank you very much for sharing at Meraki Link Party.
Naush
Upcycling is my jam so I get it. Thank you!
Such gorgeous projects. You know I love upcycling denim but not quite as much as you!
Thank you, Julie. I just find it a challenge to find as many things as possible to make with an old pair of jeans.
I love good denim upcycle project. I would love to have a chair or couch with denim upholstery. I love your denim creations.
Aww, thank you so much T'onna that's lovely to hear.
Claire, you're denim projects are truly inspiring! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Thank you, Cecilia. It is a bit of an obsession of mine, upcycling old jeans.
Great example of recycling, many people threw out the old jeans but you did amazing work and now we learned how to reuse the old stuff. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you, jeans are a great fabric to refurbish.
You share some of the best and most unique ways to upcycle an old pair of jeans. I always enjoy seeing what you make or do with them. Thanks for sharing again this weekl. #HomeMattersParty
Thank you, I just love working with the fabric. I still have a big stash of old jeans and ideas so watch this space.
I have wanted to do this for years, I even have a huge bag of demin. The sewing puts me off because I am not that good at sewing. Pinned
You should just dive in and give it ago. It's not as hard as you think.
How fun, creative and resourceful! Thank you for sharing with us at Embracing Home and Family!
Thank you, upcycling with denim is fun.
The denim queen does it again. What a fabulous round up of denim upholstry projects and your tips and tricks will come in so handy. Pinning because I know I'll be coming back again and again.
Thank you, Michelle. I do love a splash of denim in my home.
I never thought of upholstering with denim. What a cool look! I'm currently making a denim quilt...classic. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this. I'm visiting today from the Home Matters link party. Have a great weekend Claire!
Thank you. I have a denim quilt on my bed, they look great and are so warm. They are very heavy though but I like that.
Aww, thank you very much for including my project on the list. I'm sending you a big hug from overseas, and stay safe!
Thank you, Gabi. I was really pleased to include it as it was a great denim upcycle.