Rocketboy
09-25-2008, 12:45 AM
I save jeans for projects, and I have an extensive stash. This was my most favorite pair like two years ago and I was about to cut them all apart and make a bag when I got some flashes of inspiration.
There were a few problems, mostly with fit. Were they always this tight? I have a theory that jeans continue to shrink over the years.... anyway.
Trying to think of somewhat easier ways to make them bigger I started with the waistband. I cut it in three places, two on the front and one behind the belt loop in the back. Then I simply spread the band and zigzagged a scrap of denim into the hole. Each cut gave me at least a quarter to a half inch of extra room.
Next the zippers, found some cool old metal zippers from my thrift shop stash and replaced the side seam with a new zipped openings. This gave me some additional room and sure did look cool but it still wasn't enough. I decided to slash both thighs and use this really stretchy elastic fabric I had to patch the slashes from the back. I then frayed the openings by hand. Now when I sit or squat the patch and slash spread open giving me more room, when I stand up they close again. Cool!
I had holes in these jeans, one in the crotch that I patched a few years back with the smiley face patch. I decided it would be cool to use fake fur to patch another hole on the leg, you can see how that turned out. I'm sure it's not an original idea but it's new to me. I liked how it just adds to the look of having strings coming from the edges of the hole.
The back pocket was also removed and replaced by some animal print? fur that I got on sale and I removed the back label which was leather and had gotten all hard, thick and actually shrank into something like rawhide. When I took it off I gained another 1/4" in the waist band!
So these jeans are now once again wearable. Project finished.
There were a few problems, mostly with fit. Were they always this tight? I have a theory that jeans continue to shrink over the years.... anyway.
Trying to think of somewhat easier ways to make them bigger I started with the waistband. I cut it in three places, two on the front and one behind the belt loop in the back. Then I simply spread the band and zigzagged a scrap of denim into the hole. Each cut gave me at least a quarter to a half inch of extra room.
Next the zippers, found some cool old metal zippers from my thrift shop stash and replaced the side seam with a new zipped openings. This gave me some additional room and sure did look cool but it still wasn't enough. I decided to slash both thighs and use this really stretchy elastic fabric I had to patch the slashes from the back. I then frayed the openings by hand. Now when I sit or squat the patch and slash spread open giving me more room, when I stand up they close again. Cool!
I had holes in these jeans, one in the crotch that I patched a few years back with the smiley face patch. I decided it would be cool to use fake fur to patch another hole on the leg, you can see how that turned out. I'm sure it's not an original idea but it's new to me. I liked how it just adds to the look of having strings coming from the edges of the hole.
The back pocket was also removed and replaced by some animal print? fur that I got on sale and I removed the back label which was leather and had gotten all hard, thick and actually shrank into something like rawhide. When I took it off I gained another 1/4" in the waist band!
So these jeans are now once again wearable. Project finished.