Revamp your denim in style! Learn to embroider jeans pockets with monograms and upcycle them into practical hanging storage. Dive into this step-by-step guide and elevate your crafting game.

One of my favourite things to upcycle is denim. When I needed hanging storage for the pegboard in my craft room, I instantly thought of jeans pockets. They would make perfect pencil holders.

The Pockets on A Pair of Jeans

Most pairs of jeans have five pockets—two on the back and two at the front. The fifth pocket is the tiny one inside the front right pocket.

This small pocket was initially called the watch pocket. It was designed as a safe place for men to store pocket watches. It dates back to when Levi’s first-ever pair of jeans hit the market in 1879.

Now that most people don’t carry pocket watches, the fifth pocket is often called the coin pocket. Sometimes, it’s also called the ticket pocket.

I just repurposed only the back jeans pockets for these handy hanging pockets.

Along with the seams and waistbands, the back pockets of jeans are my favourite part. They add character to the jeans and make upcycled denim crafts more interesting.

My son has a great denim pocket organizer for the wall in his room. It is made from the pockets of the family’s old jeans. I also made him a denim iPhone pocket pillow.

I wanted something different this time, so I made these handy portable storage pockets for my craft room. They can easily be unhooked from the pegboard and carried around.

Although I have used them for craft storage, these hanging pockets would also work well in a kitchen and could be used as cutlery holders.

Embroidering Jean Pockets

I embroidered a letter on each pocket to add interest to the hanging pockets.

I love a rainbow; I embroidered an initial letter for each rainbow colour.

• R – Red
• O – Orange
• Y – Yellow
• G – Green
• B – Blue
• I – Indigo
• V – Violet

A rainbow seemed appropriate as the hanging pockets would be used to store my coloured pens.

However, you can always embroider a monogram initial on the pockets. Or even design them so they spelt a word when all hung up together.

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What You Need To Make Denim Hanging Pockets

• Old denim jeans
• Scrap leather
• Eyelet punch and eyelets such as a Crop-o-Dile
• Small embroidery hoop 3-4.”
• Coloured embroidery thread and needle
• Letter templates – You can download the one I used here.

How To Make The Jeans Hanging Pockets

Step 1: First, carefully cut out the back pockets from the jeans. Cut as close to the seam edge of the pocket using scissors as possible.

I made seven jeans pockets—one for each rainbow colour.

Step 2: Next, place an embroidery hoop onto the pocket. The inner hoop will go inside the pocket, and the outer hoop will be on the back.

Then cut out the letter template you want and place it on the front of the pocket. Draw around the letter.

Step 3: Using embroidery thread and a needle, fill in the letter template with stitches. No need for fancy stitches; a simple satin stitch will do.

Be careful to stitch only the front of the pocket and not go through to the back.

Step 4: Once the embroidery is finished, remove the embroidery hoop. Then, using a rotary cutter and mat, cut a leather strap for the pocket. The strap should be about 1cm wide and 15cm long.

Attaching the leather hanging strap

Step 5: The next thing to do is to attach the leather strap to the embroidered pocket. First, punch two holes into the leather strap, one at each end.

Then, punch two holes into the back fabric of the pocket. The holes should be at the top of the pocket and one at each end.

Attach the strap to the denim hanging pocket using eyelets and an eyelet tool.

If you don’t have an eyelet tool, you can stitch the leather strap to the jeans pocket.

Repeat with the other hanging pockets. Then, fill them with your pens and hang them from a hook.

FAQs About Embroidering Jeans Pockets

Other Denim Projects

I’ve also made embroidered Halloween denim pockets to use as treat bags. I also did some Sashiko embroidery on jeans and waistbands to make cool fabric bookmarks.

You can decorate your pockets with applique if you don’t fancy embroidery. Just like these denim applique heart Valentine’s gift pockets. Or even paint like these denim-painted mushroom pockets.

These hanging jeans pockets are so handy. I use them on the pegboard in my craft room to organize all my coloured pens.

If you liked these denim hanging pockets, you might want to look at my other no-sew projects with old jeans or what else you can repurpose from one pair of old jeans.

Or if you are more into craft room organization and storage, check out this washi tape holder idea, the denim and copper tin can caddy, and these map repurposed empty cookie tin storage.

For more upcycled crafts visit cheapandthrifty living.

Post updated June 2023