Upcycling Old Jeans into a Clothespin Bag (No Sewing Machine Needed)

Got holey jeans and no sewing machine? This simple upcycling project turns old denim into a cute, functional clothespin bag—perfect for anyone living that frugal, minimal, beachy life.

Here’s how I made ours in one afternoon.

If I could somehow, bring forth the words in this blog post, to show the pride I have for myself right now, I would… but I cannot. It’s just not possible.

I have always wanted to be crafty. I used to scrapbook every single moment of our lives until the minimalist bug hit me and I started getting the heebie-jeebies of having all of that stuff around (now, it’s all digital).

My mom can make anything out of anything, which comes in handy when I need her expertise; however, now that I live 3.5 hours away from her, I have to do it myself, but usually, I am not successful.

I mentioned previously about our sustainability projects– mainly installing an outdoor clothesline. It has now been two weeks, and it has already paid off in our dryer bills, not to mention, it’s a great way to just have your clothes and linens smell and feel better.

It feels really good to repurpose something old into something new.

How to Turn Old Jeans into a DIY Clothespin Bag

These are the steps, then I will get into more detail:

• Cut off one pant leg
• Turn it inside out and stitch the bottom closed
• Roll down the top edge and sew to keep it in place
• Cut a small hole and insert an S-hook
• Clip to your clothesline and celebrate your crafty brilliance

Nitty Gritty Details

While we were hanging clothes Saturday, we kept reaching down on the ground for clothespins, holding them in our mouths, clipping them to the clothes we were wearing, etc.

Of course, leaving the clothespins on the line is not an option since the weather will damage them and/or make them where they will just mark your clothes with little dirty spots next round, so I needed something to put them in.

Insert another project – Gerry had some really holey jeans and wanted to cut them off into shorts he can hang around in, wear the on a boat, hang on the beach, living his best Jimmy Buffet life- nothing fancy.

So, I cut the legs off for him, and kept looking at the legs-all this denim could not go to waste. I’m not one to keep around things I don’t need. I’m definitely not a “let’s keep it in case we ever need it” gal. I’m all about getting rid of things we don’t need, so having two random denim legs sitting around is not an option.

Call it serendipity, call it what you want, but I knew what I was going to do, almost a few seconds after having that denim in my hand. I was going to make a clothespin bag! 💡

Back to Basics: No Sewing Machine Needed

I got out my little sewing kit (because I do not own a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use one) and started to work. I turned the leg inside-out, sewed the bottom of the leg together, then turned it right-side out.

I then rolled down the cut end of the leg, rolling the front down more so it would be easy access for us to insert our hands to get out the clothespins.

I sewed the rolled section together so it would stay in place. I then cut a hole at the top to insert an s-hook, used pliers to clamp the hook to close, and voila! We now have a clothespin bag, AND Gerry has his denim shorts, and I feel like I am one crafty bish!

It may not be the cutest thing ever. I surely am not going to make a mint selling them on Etsy, but hey, for now, it is one less thing in the landfill, and it makes me feel super that I was able to upcycle some denim and give Ger a pair of shorts that he wanted, using items we already had, and not spending a dime.

I’d call that being frugal, minimal, having zero waste, and just f’ing awesome.

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