Transform Old Jeans into Beautiful Denim Flowers — Easy Upcycle Tutorial
Give worn-out jeans a new life by turning them into pretty denim flowers. This easy upcycle project uses simple cuts, folds and glue to create durable, rustic blooms that look great in a wrapped vase or as a long-lasting bouquet. Perfect for beginners, the steps below show how to prepare the vase, make individual denim roses, add stems and finish the arrangement.
Materials
Old jeans
Gardening wire
Vase
Rustic ribbon
Faux pearls (optional)
Tools
Hot glue and glue gun (use with care)
Scissors
Instructions
The first thing you'll need to do is figure out how much of the pant leg you need to cut out to cover your vase. The best way to make sure that you have enough material is to stuff the vase inside the pant leg, and then pinch it together at the bottom. Then go down an inch or so from there, and mark where that spot is. Next, remove the vase and use your scissors to cut out that section of the pant leg.
You need to close one end of the pant leg off so that you can set the vase inside. This is why I had you go an inch or two below where you pinched the fabric together. That way, you can apply glue to that section and fold it up to close the pant leg. Press down and wait for the glue to dry before proceeding to the next step.
You can now insert the vase into the pant leg. Obviously, the base of the vase should rest inside the closed end of the pant leg, with the opening of the vase being at the top with the opening of the pant leg.
For this project, I used a vase which pinched together just below the mouth. This made it easy for me to tie a rustic ribbon around the vase and make a bow. This type of vase is ideal for this project, but even if you do not have one, you can still tie a ribbon around yours. If you are worried about it sliding around, you can just dab on a little glue to keep it in place.
Now, we will make the denim flowers. For each one, you need to cut a long strip of denim. Try and make them around 20 cm in length and around 3 cm in width.
Fold the strip of denim in half. Then fold it in half again. Repeat this step a few more times.
Cut a scalloped shape along one edge.
Unfold the strip of denim and lay it flat. You should see the scalloped shape continue along the entirety of the length along one side.
Apply glue along the straight edge of the strip of denim, and start rolling it up.
As you did not glue together the scalloped edge of the strip of denim, you can fan it out and arrange it so that the scalloped shapes look like flower petals. It should come out looking like a rose.
Get your gardening wire and wrap it around the base of the rose and then pull it out straight below that so that you have a stem attached to the flower.
- If you want, you can glue a faux pearl to the center of your flower.
- Continue creating as many flowers as you want.
Once you have completed making your flowers, it is time to put them inside your vase and display them. I decided to add some paper flowers to mine as well.
Tips: Work carefully with hot glue and scissors. Try distressing the petal edges slightly for a softer look or add small beads, buttons or painted highlights for variation. These denim flowers make long-lasting, low-maintenance decor or a charming handmade gift.