Style at Home managing editor and resident crafter Catherine Therrien shows you how to make funky storage bags out of old pairs of jeans.

Style at Home managing editor and resident crafter Catherine Therrien got a leg up (literally!) on some old pairs of jeans by cutting off the bottoms and fashioning them into bright and cheery storage bags – perfect for all your artsy needs, from crafting to sewing to gift wrapping.

 

Materials

• Scissors
• Jeans (any adult size or a kids’ large size)
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Fabric marking pen
• Straight ruler

 

Directions
1 Using sharp scissors, cut off one leg from the pair of jeans about 8" from the bottom of the finished hem.

2 Turn the piece inside out and sew a 1/2" seam along the raw edge using the straight stitch on your sewing machine. This will form the bottom of the bag.

3 To create the boxed corners, flatten out the bottom of the bag. On one end, match the side seam with the bottom seam to create a peak. Place a pin perfectly in the middle of the seams to hold them together.

4 Mark a 3" depth using a fabric marking pen and a straight ruler, positioning your ruler so the depth is measured from side to side at the base of the peak (see image above).

5 Sew a straight stitch along the marked line, removing the pin once you’ve reached the centre seam. Then, cut off the peak using scissors, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat on the other end.

6 Flip right side out and turn down the finished hem of the jean or roll it over a few times.

Tip: These denim bags are a perfect storage solution for organizing soft goods, but if you want them to hold supplies like pencils and paintbrushes, hide a glass or tin can in them first.