Have you seen all of the posts lately about making yarn from old t-shirts? I thought, hey why not try making yarn from denim? Denim is a wonderful, versatile and strong fabric that is easy to come by. And, making yarn from old jeans is super easy and quick! You can be knitting or crocheting with it in no time at all!

Update: I made some crochet trivets to test this yarn.

Step 1: Supplies:

– Old Jeans

– Sharp Fabric Scissors

Check your closet or head to the thrift store and pick up several pairs of jeans. Straight leg or boot cut work best and keep in mind that skinny jeans won’t give you much fabric to work with. Make sure they are not too old or worn and that they don’t have rips. Denim with a bit of spandex or polyester is fine and will actually make your yarn more durable.

Step 2: Prep Your Jeans:

The first step is to cut off the pants part of the jeans, cut straight across the legs at the base of the pants.

Next, you need to trim both of the seams off the legs and the hem at the bottom, which leaves you with four pieces of denim fabric. If the jeans are flared at the bottom, you’ll need to remove the excess fabric.
Lay one of your pieces right side up on your table. Now, look at the outside edge of the piece. Run a finger in a straight line from the top of the right edge to the bottom. That will show you where you need to make a cut to remove the flare. Make a 1-2″ cut, grab both sides and rip off the excess.

Step 3: Making the Denim Yarn:

You’re going to use the same snip & rip method to make the actual yarn. Lay the piece flat on the table and make a 1-2″ cut about 3/4″ in from the outer edge of the denim. Grab each side in one hand and rip it all the way to the other end, stopping about 3/4″ from the other end.

Turn the piece over. Now you will make another cut about 3/4″ from the previous line and again, tear it to within 3/4″ of the other end. Continue across the entire piece. Sorry if this is confusing!

That’s it! I used a Size 7 Women’s Jeans which yielded about 38 yards of denim yarn. This is a great material for weaving or to crochet a purse, coasters or even a rug!

Enjoy!
Annette
FiberArtsy

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