Garden Apron From Old Jeans

Hi everybody,

In this Instructable, I will show you how to turn an old pair of clothes into something very useful.

We all have an old, ripped pair of jeans laying around somewhere in the house - they are likely never going to be worn again. Yet, there is some sentimental value and you refuse to throw them out. Good! Now you can justify holding on to them, since I can show you how to make a very useful garden apron.

Materials are minimal and mostly recycled and I give you 2 options to choose from - first one is easier and takes less time, second one is more fun! You will use this garden apron for years to come and not just in the garden. It can be machine washed and can be used for other purposes too - craft apron, car shop apron, painting apron, DIY apron - it will quickly become a must have! Soon enough, you will make more for your friends, this apron makes a terrific gift!

For both Version #1 and #2. you will need:

- two pairs of old jeans. It works better if your jeans are not stretchy and are a straight cut.

- measuring tape, scissors, blue thread, needles.

- glue gun and glue sticks, I needed about 2 sticks.

Additionally, for Version #2 you will need:

- contrasting thread. I used red colour.

- leather or fabric scraps. I used pieces of an old leather skirt.

- sewing machine. It would also be useful for Version #1, but it is not necessary.

- rivets and a punch

For Version #1:

Cut the legs of one of the pair of jeans off - I used zigzag scissors for this variant. Fold in half lengthwise and cut again. You should have 4 denim tubes that have the same length. Cut along one of the vertical seams for the two bottom parts and stitch them together, to make one rectangle. Do the same for the wider parts. Now, you have to make sure that the width matches for the front and back parts, lay them on top of each other mark the extra fabric. Cut the extra denim away and pin front and back with pins (see picture).

For Version #2:

Cut out fabric from one pair of jeans, go along the leg and remove the rim from all sides. You are aiming to have 8 rectangles (see picture) - 4 will be used for the front, 4 for the back. I went with the end dimensions of 23" by 16", but, of course, this is customizable.

Lay out your pieces and attached them by pins. You want to hide the seam, so place two pieces of fabric at a time with the front of the fabric touching (see picture). Stitch together - I did this by hand, but a sewing machine would have been faster. Repeat for the remaining pieces.

You should now have the from and back of the apron done, each piece has 4 pieces stitched together (see picture). Now flip it over and even out the edge, you want to get a nice rectangle, so use an edge of the table to fold the fabric over and secure with pins (see picture). Sometimes it helps to iron the fabric, but it is optional. Secure the edges with hot glue, but try not to put too much, otherwise it will be hard to sew later. You should now have two even rectangles of fabric. Let's move onto the pockets.

Design your pockets to fit the essentials you will use in the garden. For example, I wanted a pocket for my phone, clippers, hand saw, pencil and tape measure, as well as something small for plant labels. So I went with a total of 5 pockets for Version #1 and 6 pockets for Version #2.

For Version #1:

I used two of the back jean pockets, one small pocket (typically in the front of the jeans), and two pockets that I made from leftover material.

For the pockets that are already on the jeans, just cut them out carefully, follow the edge of the pocket. Then, cut out the back part, now your pocket is ready to be attached!

For the "new" pockets, cut out a rectangle with dimension of about 3" by 4".You can make the size anything you want, this is highly customizeable! Fold the edges - about 1/4 inch - under on all sides and secure with pins. Arrange on the body of the apron and secure by stitching on three sides - left, right, and bottom. I used a thread of a colour matching the jeans, so it is barely visible (see picture). The corners of the pockets are hard to stitch through, and, since we want them to be secure, put a droplet of glue underneath it and push the corner down for a few seconds (see picture).

Attach the backing of the apron by gluing around the perimeter. Leave the upper corners unattached.

For Version #2:

Start by cutting out the pockets, use leftover fabric from the first pair of pans and then move onto the second pair. At the same time, you need to cut rectangles of leather for the trim. Make sure the length of the trim matches the width of each individual pocket (see picture), the width of leather strips should be about 2 inches. If the pockets and leather strips are not perfectly straight, no worries, we can correct this later. Once you have cut all the pieces, it is time to assemble the pockets.

Begin by placing the face side of leather on top of the face side of fabric. The top should align. Stitch across the pocket, about half an inch away form the edge (see picture). If the stitch is not even, no worries, we can correct this later! Put some glue on the leather, closer to the top of the pocket. Next, fold the leather toward the top, over the stitching and glue. Press and hold for a few seconds, the leather should now be firmly attached. If not, add some more glue. Repeat with all of the pockets, you should now have 6 pockets ready to be attached (see picture).

Distribute the pockets on the body of the apron, arrange them so that there isn't too much overlap and the whole apron looks well-balanced (see picture). Once you are happy with the arrangement, glue the pockets down, folding all edges of the pockets in, except for the top one (see image). At this point, the pockets should be attached, but I decided to add some more flair and colour to the apron.

Use a contrast thread - I used a red one - to go around the edges of pockets with a zigzag stitch. I did two runs for each of the pockets. I have secured the corners of the pockets with rivets. Punch through with a punch at each of the corners - insert a rivet - and hammer it in.

Attach the backing of the apron by stitching around the perimeter.

For Version #1:

Cut the fabric out of the second pair of jeans - you want to have two rectangles, that are the whole length of the pants and width of one of the legs. You should have 2 pieces that are basically the same. Fold the edges in on all sides, secure with pins. Then, fold the piece in half lengthwise, secure with glue. For the end - fold the short part in first (see picture).

To attach the belt to the body of the apron, put 2 inches of the belt 1/2 inch away from the top of the apron (see picture). Fold the top of the apron on the belt, secure with glue. Put the top panel of the apron on, secure with glue (see picture). You should have a nice seam now. If you don't add a bit more glue.

For Version #2:

For the belt, I went with a half leather, half denim design, since I wanted to match the rest of the apron. If you don't have enough leather denim, it can be made solely out one of the materials.

I wanted the belt to wrap around twice and then tie, so I needed about 8 feet of length on total. So I made four pieces, 2 feet each. For this, you need to first cut out 4 strips of denim and 4 strips of leather, with dimensions 3 inches by 2 feet (see picture). Lay the face side of a denim strip on top of the dace side of a leather strip, secure with pins. Stitch along the long sides only, about 1/4 inch away from the edge. You should now have a tube, turn it inside out. Repeat with the three other pairs. You should now have 4 tubes, which will make up the belt (see picture). Fold the ends of the tubes in, secure with pins.

To attach to the apron, use rivets. Punch two holes with a punch about 1/2" away from the end of the belt. Punch two holes in the body of the apron (at the top right corner), then attach the belt. Do the same on the other side. Attach the other two pieces to the belt in the same way.

Your apron is now complete, time to fill it with your favourites! I still cannot decide which one I like best, what do you guys think? I hope you have a lot of fun in the garden!