denim bunting

Summer is unofficially here and I’m back to share a patriotic sewing project that uses denim! Yes, another way to repurpose those old holey (or should we say too tight?) blue jeans.

Nothing says 4th of July better than red, white and blue and this denim bunting is just that.  Blue denim combined with red and white gingham ruffle trim makes the perfect pairing and a great project to repurpose those worn out jeans.

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I think you might just be able to use this idea at your next backyard party regardless of the holiday, it’s chic, a little bit country, a little bit western and everyone loves denim.

I started with a pair of holey jeans that had seen the dryer one too many times and quickly made them into the cutest bunting decoration anyone with a little sewing skills could tackle.

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I only wish we had a little white fence in the yard to hang the bunting, but alas the white mantel will work too:

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Materials:

  • 1 pair denim blue jeans
  • red gingham cotton fabric
  • sewing machine
  • thread
  • straight pins
  • scissors
  • rotary cutter, self-healing mat and ruler
  • 6″ circle template (use a bowl or make a cardboard template)
  • dark marker
  • sisal string

Instructions:

Step 1: Open the side seam of blue jean leg and begin tracing 6″ circles on wrong side of denim.

Step 2: Cut out circles.

Step 3: Wash, dry and iron circles flat.  (I choose to wash and dry in order to enhance the distressed look.)

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Step 4: Fold red gingham at a 45 degree angle and cut 1″ bias strips.

Step 5: Each 6″ denim piece requires one 18″ long strip.

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Step 6: Sew a long and loose zig zag stitch near one side of bias strip, DO NOT back stitch at ends.  Gently tug one string to ‘ruffle up’ the bias strip.  Stop tugging when ruffle bias strip is 9″ long.

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Step 7: Fold the denim circle in half to create a center crease line, then unfold.   Lie sisal string across center line.  Pin ruffle in place along the bottom half of circle overlapping edges about 1/4″.  Keep pins as close to edge of denim as possible in order to remove them as you sew along.

Step 8: Fold upper half of denim circle down over string and match up edges, pin together to hold in place.  Straight stitch just inside the edge of the denim, making sure you catch the ruffle and other side of the denim in the seam.

Step 9: Trim any really rough edges of the denim.

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Repeat to add more!

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Now find the perfect place to hang and enjoy!

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15 replies
  1. Erin Krupp
    Erin Krupp says:

    I love this project! Your creativity is so amazing. I also have plenty of old denim blue jeans. I would love to try this just for fun. Thanks for sharing! 😉

    Reply
  2. Noemi Bostrom
    Noemi Bostrom says:

    Wow! This is super amazing! I have several old denim blue jeans and I don’t know what to do with them. I’m glad I passed by to this wonderful site. Thanks for the tutorial. I’m going to teach my daughter how to do it and we’re going to start this project.

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Patriotic Denim Bunting Tutorial from prettyhandygirl […]

  2. […] Check out the full DIY tutorial HERE […]

  3. […] to the tutorial: Patriotic Denim Bunting via Pretty Handy […]

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