Tutorial: make a pretty storage container using recycled jeans

Where did the week go? It’s time for our project that I created with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 50.

We’re going to make this cute storage container from a pair of jeans and some fabric from Northcott’s ColorWorks Concepts collection.

This sample is a prototype. As I was making the project, I was wondering if the denim from the jeans would be sturdy enough to give the basket some shape. I love using stabilizers, but I also like to experiment. And once I was finished, I realized that I should have included some form of a stabilizer. In the photos below you won’t see any stabilizer, but I’m going to let you know where and when it should be added to the project.

The size of the basket as well is up for discussion. My next one will have a bit different size and I’ll mention that in the appropriate place as well.

I love the container – it has a lot of potential for putting stuff in and I have lots of stuff that needs to be stored in a pretty container like this.

Let’s get started.

I started off with a pair of jeans that I purchased at the thrift shop. I picked a pair with wide legs. Now that I’ve made my prototype, I would pick a pair with the widest and straightest legs that I could find. The larger and straighten the leg, the larger the diameter of the storage container. The straighter the leg, the less you have to trim off and again that will make the container larger. Alternatively, you could cut the bag piece along the length of the leg.

Skinny jeans would yield a little container. You decide! This denim was 100% denim, no stretch in it, but I don’t think the stretch would affect the end product that much, especially if you use a stabilizer.

I had a selection of cotton to choose from and it wasn’t until I was ready to cut that I picked the one with the large dots on the black background.

Using my ruler and rotary cutter, I started by cutting off the leg as high as I could cut.

I actually cut two pieces, each of them was about 13″ long. You can see how tapered the leg was and how different in size one is from the other.

I decided that taper was going to cause me some problems, so I cut the excess off on the tapered side and resewed the side. Now before you sew up the side, I would add some interfacing (foam, fusible fleece, or heavy fusible interfacing) to the wrong side of the denim. Measure how big your piece of denim is and cut a piece of stabilizer that is the same size. Fuse the stabilizer to the wrong side of the denim. This would be tricky to do without cutting off the seam, so I recommend you open one seam on the jeans leg, add the stabilizer and then sew it up again.

I had cut the length of the leg into pieces that were 13″ long. In hindsight, this was a tad too long. I think 10″ would be sufficient unless the legs are quite wide. Otherwise, you end up with a long, narrow container.

I cut a piece of the cotton for the lining the same size as the denim. I’ve created two tubes – one from the denim pant leg after I removed the tapered edge and the second tube was from the cotton lining. In the photo below, you can see the two “tubes”. I pressed the seams open on both. Unless you were going to put pockets on the lining, I wouldn’t bother putting interfacing on the lining.

Remember that I didn’t interface my denim, but I would recommend it.

Two tubes for the container – one from denim for the outer part and the cotton lining

We’re going to make box corners for the bottom. Normally you would cut a square to make this happen. However, we’re going to lose a ¼” on the bottom in the seam allowance. Since there’s no seam on the sides, we’ll not lose a ¼” and so we have to adjust the cutout slightly from what you would normally do. Using a ruler and a marking tool, mark a shape that measures 2″ from the bottom and 1¾” in from the sides.

Use scissors to cut out the corners. Repeat for all four corners.

If you’re getting picky, yes my cutout below looks like a square. That’s because it’s a square! I cut the square, went to sew, and realized – oops, I just lost the seam allowance. So do as I say, not as the picture is!

Place a pin at the folded edges of both the outer piece and the lining. The pins will be used to match up the sides when you sew the two pieces together.

Turn the lining right side out.

Place the lining inside the outer part with the right sides together. Match up the pins – this will ensure that the bottom corner cut-outs are in the same position for the two pieces and will line up properly when the container is finished.

Sew the two pieces together around the top. I removed the extension table to sew this seam. It’s nice to have easy access to the free arm on the Designer Topaz 50.

Pull the lining from out of the outer part.

Sew the bottom seam of the outer piece and the lining, leaving an opening in the lining so you can turn the container inside out. Sew the bottom seam only, you’ll sew the corner cutouts in the next step.

Sew the four bottom corners by taking the side fold of the corner cut out and lining it up with the bottom seam. Stitch across the corner to create the box corner. Repeat on all four corners.

Turn the project inside out by pulling it through the opening in the bottom seam of the lining. Using the sewing machine, topstitch the opening in the lining closed.

Push the lining inside the bag and press that top edge well. I topstitched the edge, however, I didn’t want my black thread to show through the dots so my line of topstitching was down from the top to accommodate the design on the fabric.

Turn the top down to the outside to create a decorative trim and you’re finished!

Here’s the finished project. I tried to take pictures of the container, however, Murphy had other plans. She thought the container was for her to put sticks in. She wasn’t happy when I told her that this was NOT for her and you can see she’s sulking in the background with her stick!

The best part of this project is that it’s super easy and super fast. It’s also something that you can personalize by picking the lining fabric that is appropriate to the person you’re giving it to.

And that brings this week with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 50 to a close. I hope you had some fun and learned a tip or two this week.

Have a great day!

Ciao!