How to Make a Fun & Affordable 4th of July Banner With Old Denim

Confession.  I may be a hoarder.  Every year or so I help my hubby clean out his closet.  He wears his favorite pair of jeans ’til they’re frayed and so faded that I hate to donate them to Goodwill!  But I still can’t bring myself to throw them away.  So I stash them away in my craft supply closet along with all the other fabric I’m hoarding storing.

Several years ago I started making these patriotic denim pennants out of the jeans.  Each triangle is a little different.  I just tried to use up my scraps of red, white, and blue fabric, seam binding, and vintage buttons.

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Craft Supplies Needed for This Tutorial

• old jeans
• red, white, and blue thread
• seam binding
• scissors
• sewing machine

Check out my favorite sewing supplies HERE

How to Make a 4th of July Banner

One: Cut Triangles

• First, I played around with some newspaper until I got the size and shape triangles that I wanted. Mine ended up being 6 1/2″ x 9″. Cut a pattern out of the newspaper or cardboard.
• Cut an old pair of jeans open along the inseam and lay them flat.
• Lay the newspaper pattern on the jeans and lightly trace around it with a pen or pencil.
• Cut out however many triangles you want for your garland.

Two: Stitch Edges

• Sew a straight stitch about 1/4″ from the edge of each triangle.
• Snip up to that stitch about 1/2″ apart all around the two long edges.

Three: Add Seam Binding

• sew the short side of the seam binding to the denim triangle, along the short side of the triangle, using  thread that matches the seam binding
• fold over and sew through all layers

Four: Wash

After sewing the seam binding to the short edge, I washed them all. That gave the edges their nice, soft frayed look.

Five: Decorate

Then came the fun part of decorating each one with all my little scraps. After that, I just tied them together. The fact that they’re each separate makes them adjustable for any space!

And to make it even better, Somerset Holidays & Celebrations published my little project!

Tips

More things to think about when you craft with old denim jeans:

• Save the belt loops, waistband, hems, denim pockets, and seams for other projects
• You could also use other jean-type pants for these projects — khakis, etc.
• I save JEANS, other style pants, and other old clothes in my craft room to use in other projects.
• Ask another family member if they will give you old clothes to use.
• Keep a denim needle and washable pens in your craft supplies.
• Save all your denim scraps.

More Upcycling Ideas for Old Blue Jeans

• bracelets — See mine HERE.
• recover a stool — See mine HERE.
• skirts
• rag rug or denim rugs
• DIY denim bag, purse, or DIY denim tote bag, handbags
• cut off the jeans pockets for a cell phone purse
• aprons
• backpack
• pillow or other home decor
• pumpkins
• denim coasters
• denim wreath
• denim quilt
• planters
• upcycled jeans — just patch and embellish your jeans instead of turning them into something new.
• There are a lot more great projects for denim crafts! Just check Pinterest for more inspiration.

Can you think of any other ways to recycle old jeans? I’m thinking I need to make an upcycled denim handbag next!

More DIY 4th of July Craft Projects

If you enjoyed this 4th of July banner, check out these red, white, and blue DIY upcycle crafts, too!

• Red, White, and Blue Picnic Caddy
• Patriotic Blocks
• Patriotic Bandana Wreath
• 15 Patriotic Ways to Use Mason Jars
• My Patriotic Tree

And I have a lot more patriotic DIY projects on the blog.

Follow me on Facebook and YouTube to see more great project ideas!

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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Originally published on May 3, 2017. Featured on Red, White, and Blue Summer Fun.