Tag Archives: jeans

Crochet Knees

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ScannedImageIf you have read my blog for a while you may have realized that I am a little, let’s see, what’s the word…ah yes, thrifty. So in the spirit of thirstiness, I have been attempting to get some more life out of blue jeans my children run wild in.

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One knee mended, one more to go. Crochet patches tend to have more stretch

I am not sure if something has changed in the manufacturing over time, but the knees on their pants tend to split open in a relatively short period of time. Maybe it is the tree climbing, the running, or the playing in dirt that my kids still do within our rural lifestyle, but it seems that they are hard on their clothes. So of course that means that we have “good” clothes and “play” clothes. However when the knees get bad enough that they can stick a leg threw, I find a way to mend them to get a little more time out of them.

Sure I could cut them and make them shorts, but trust me they have an abundance of those. I have used fabric patches, but they do not tend to last as long as I would like, tearing out and just becoming flaps over the open knees. So I have taken to making my own, with crochet.

I crochet a few motifs, different shapes like flowers, and different colors. My kids enjoy coming up with ideas for me to crochet into patches, and the stitches seem to allow the fabric to stretch more and thus do not wear out as quickly as the fabric patches. I then pin them in place and reluctantly sew. I say reluctantly as sewing is not my number one favorite skill, but at least this way I get to enjoy some crochet in the chore.

I keep telling them that it is a new fashion statement, who knows maybe it will be. I just really hope that they are not tearing out the knees so that they can keep up with this “new” fashion.

Denim and Crochet

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ScannedImageSometimes I just like to crochet with what is available to me at home, and fill some simple need I might have, whether it be artistic or particle. I have no pattern, just an idea and maybe some inspiration, Re-Invented Wednesdays seems like a good time to share these ideas.

My household is one where denim pants, or blue jeans, are in everyone’s wardrobe, almost to the exclusion of any other fabric. The jeans are even recognized as the “good” jeans, and the “work” jeans, so the ones to be worn out for dinner and the ones that you wear to mow the grass. They become such a part of our fashion that even when they begin falling apart, you do not put them in the trash, you find a way to repurpose them. This was even part of my household growing up. You would find a stack of denim with holes and broken seams in a stack in a pile of fabric, just waiting for a new creation.

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My latest denim rug is worked in the round, I’ll add a motif to the center when I finish. The circle so far, is created with one leg.

One easy way to let these jeans have a new life is creating rugs. I cut off the seams, pockets, zipper and waist band, and then cut the remaining fabric in long strips about an inch wide. These strips become the “yarn” that I then crochet to create my rug. Using a large crochet hook, and crocheting loosely, I chain to create the size I want and then simply single crochet until I have a finished size of desire.

Be warned that this can really give your hands and arms a work out, so don’t plan on completing this kind of project in an afternoon, it is best to take it in small bites.

I did create a pattern using this technique for the October 2012 issue of Crochet World, as the Welcome Home Denim Mat, if you want to check out some structured instructions. Hope it give you a new idea.