Earth Day/Birthday Jean Refashion - Jeans to Bags

I love a good jean refashion.  It's by far my favorite thing to cut up and re-create.  My neighbor, Kevin, gave me a bunch of his old pairs.  His birthday was on Saturday and with all the Earth Day celebrations I knew the perfect thing to make for him.  Something practical he can use and something repurposed, both a gift for him and for the Earth.  What better way to celebrate both by recycling a pair of his jeans.

I forgot to take a before picture of the jeans, but you all know what jeans look like.  

Here are my materials already hacked up:

I decided I wanted to make him a little bag that he can use for his toiletries when he travels, storage, or whatever.  I found this great little tutorial.  Follow the link to learn how I went about making the pouch.

I added some fusible fleece to the back of the denim and for the lining I used a nice water resistant sport nylon fabric.  Here it is halfway through.

And here it is finished!  It's pretty cute!  I probably should have added a little tab for holding it below the zipper pull.  I added ribbon to the zipper later.

Unzipped :)

I also found another great tutorial on the same blog as the tutorial for the bag above.  It was for a drawstring pouch.  Oddly enough, I had just made Kevin a drawstring bag because he needed something for his headphones.  I wasn't really happy with how my design came out, so I figured I'd give it another shot and try using this tutorial as a guide instead.

My bag dimensions are a bit larger than the tutorials.  I had to use two panels instead of one continuous panel for the outside fabric.  I also lined it with fusible fleece, since it's for an expensive pair of headphones, I want it to be padded.  I also am adding a zipper pocket on the inside for headphone wire storage.

Here is my finished bag!

Zipper pocket and sport nylon water resistant lining.

Happy 40th Birthday Kevin.  You are a fantastic friend!

See what things you can repurpose or reuse before you toss it in the garbage can.  Everything you recycle, reuse, compost, or repurpose is a gift and a way to give back to the Earth.  We can make a difference in this disposable world we live in.  

Be creative, have fun, get inspired!  

Happy Earth Day Everyone!