DIY Life

Now that summer's coming to a close, it's time to retire my floral wedges for the fall weather. (Don't worry -- they'll come back in the winter with knitted tights!). This can only mean one thing -- time to hem those jeans for flats. Not sure how? It's easier than you think!

Stylist Rachel Bagley of Cardigan Empire shows you how to hem your favorite pair of jeans in just three steps. The process couldn't be easier, and I'm so excited to try it myself (if I can find my dusty old sewing machine).

Of course, not everyone knows how to sew, and some are more talented than others in the arena (file me under the 'non-talented' section, please). Don't fret -- there's also a lovely no-sew hemming option for those of you who aren't sure whether a bobbin is a tiger or a piece of sewing paraphernalia.

So give it a shot -- hem those pants and show off your new fall flats. You can thank me later!

We all have pairs of jeans laying around the house we no longer wear. There are many ways of re-purposing them. Everything from denim purses, reusable shopping bags, messenger bags, to just about anything.

Here is another idea: an organizer made from an old pair of jeans! This organizer goes on the back of a door. It can be your bedroom, laundry room, bathroom, or any other door in your home.

All you need for this project is a pair of old jeans, scissors, glue, tape measure, thread, sewing machine, and a trouser hanger. Measure and cut pockets into the jeans depending on the size of the objects you are going to store in them.

I have some really interesting jeans I haven't been able to wear in years with all sorts of patterns, ribbons, embroidery work, and embellishments on them that I'm thinking of using. You can also jazz up a pair of plain jeans with sequins, patches, scrap fabric, paint, embroidery, ribbons.

Who knew not sewing could be so fun? I'm heading to SXSW (the interactive festival, not the film or music parts) and needed a secondary bag for notebooks and pens. My carry-on laptop bag is too bulky for just bumming around Austin, and I don't have the budget for a newer, sleeker bag. But I did buy some new jeans, which meant the ones with holes had to go. And since I have a hard time throwing things away, I made a nifty messenger bag out of those jeans, some duct tape and a handy shoulder strap from an Eagle Creek carry-on bag.

The bag itself will hold together without tape (see the gallery). So this would work in an emergency. While the shoulder strap is a bit of a cheat, I'm sure any strap would work, including one made of rope. The key is to make sure the legs wrap over the back and then close up in front so their weight provides enough strength to hold whatever is in your bag. Just to be safe, I decided to tape mine up. This makes it sturdier, more comfortable and stylish.

Read on for the how-to (it really is easy) and check out the gallery for close-ups of each step.

I do not have any problems finding jeans that fit my waistline; however, finding jeans that fit my short legs is a real pain in the hinder. I have a 27" inseam (on a good day!) and I tell ya, the jeans made for my short legs are also for kids that are about 10 years old. I am a 30 something year old adult who doesn't need to wear butterflies on my butt, no matter how cute that might be!

Kansas A has a hubby who also has a 27 inch inseam, and she has perfected the hemming of jeans. She takes us through the steps necessary to make jeans look like they were professionally hemmed. Measuring accurately and pinning evenly are key steps in getting a great looking jean hem. I know this to be true because I have measured too short, and then had to end up making shorts out of my jeans. Be super careful when measuring; capris for men are not in style!

[via: tipnut]

Before you decide to throw away your old t-shirts, skirts and pillowcases, why not think about using them to line reusable shopping bags? Families.com gives us ideas on how to sew shopping bags from linens and jeans.

Using towels, jeans, pillowcases, old belts, and whatever else you want to recycle into the shopping bags will help to save the environment, simply because you won't be throwing away the endless supply of plastic bags that you come home with from each shopping excursion. Pure genius!! With a little sewing know-how, you can create as many shopping bags as you need, and maybe make some cool reusable bags to give your loved ones as Christmas gifts.

Have you found the perfect pair of jeans? Do they hug all the right curves, and sit on your hips just perfectly? Well great, then what are you complaining about? Probably the same thing as me, right? They are just way too tight around the ankles. What an absolute bummer!

Never fear, wikiHow is here with directions on how to cut jeans to make a wider leg. Grab some of your favorite pretty fabric, open the seam of the jeans, sew in the fabric, and you now have a stylin unique new pair of jeans that all your friends will be envious of and asking you how much you paid for them.

With the right fabric, and taking your time at the sewing machine, you'll wear your favorite jeans for years to come. In the off chance that you end up ruining the jeans, never fear, turn them into a pair of shorts that you can wear next summer.

Maternity clothes have come a long way. I'm sure our mothers would say that we have nothing to complain about considering the huge selection of styles that we have available to us now. Still, despite all the cute tops and smart pant suits, maternity jeans haven't evolved as well. For the jeans that do pass your standards of style and fit they are going to cost a fortune and only be useful for a few months. Necessity is the mother of invention here as the patchwork princess takes us through a tutorial on DIY maternity jeans.

If you're a savvy thrift store shopper and have 30 min at a sewing machine, you'll have a trendy new pair of maternity pants in no time. All you need is a pair of jeans the fit everywhere except the belly, a funky print T-shirt, scissors, thread and a sewing machine. The full tutorial and pictures make this project foolproof (or should I say "baby brain" proof). Maternity couture is all the rage, you just never thought you could get it for $6.

As I was driving along our country roads today on my way into town, I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road. Our leaves are such beautiful vibrant colors of red and orange that the beauty of the trees literally took my breath away. I started thinking about all the falling leaves and how much fun it would be to rake them up and then tumble into them with my little girl. It used to be such fun as a kid, and I must confess, it is still a blast.

Since the calendar says it is now fall, it is time to start thinking about making all the Halloween decorations and putting them out in the yard. Such a decoration would be a scarecrow. Scarecrows are so easy to make and can be put out now and left up until the first day of winter. Join me after the break to make your own sitting scarecrow.

If you have older denim or blue jeans lying around, why not put them to good use instead of donating them or selling to a thrift store? Instead of hopping over to a local Kohl's or Pottery Barn for Kids outlet, you can make your own denim come alive again in several ways.

Some of the denim transformations will take a little skill, but think of how cool some of these items would be after turning that old pair of Levis into:

Come on, come clean. Ya know you have an old pair of jeans that you just can't seem to peel off your body, is beyond tattered at the knees, falling apart at the seams, and frayed beyond recognition. The only thing that even looks decent is the seat, right? Well, come on now, throw them away already!

Or really, being the great frugal re-user of all things, why not turn them into a denim purse? wikiHow has great step by step instructions on how to turn your denim jeans into a purse, complete with pictures. You will want a pair of jeans that is worthy of doing this awesome project and that you can accessorize to fit your personal style. Pick out a pair of jeans that isn't torn to bits and that will hold up to the many items that you carry with you on a daily basis. Adding beads, buttons, glitter, fringe, paint, or appliques will ensure you have a one of a kind purse that everyone will be asking about.

Hand me down clothing was a part of my family growing up. I didn't really have to wear my sisters clothes, simply because I am kid number 8 and they are kids number 3 and 4. I still had to wear hand me downs though because our friendly neighbors were always giving away their girl clothes and I just happened to be a lucky recipient.

I wasn't really given a choice on the matter of whether or not I wanted to wear these clothes, simply because new clothing purchases in our household rarely ever happened. You can help your child realize that wearing their big brother or sisters clothes can be cool and unique, and the finished product will look totally different than what their sibling had. Please join me after the break for some neat ideas.

Got an old pair of jeans just lying around? Why not turn them into a new stylish pair of shorts? It's really simple. Dig out those jeans you've been holding onto and increase your summer wardrobe with these easy instructions:

1. First, take out your old jeans (designer ones and all), lay them out flat on the table and measure the length you'd like your shorts to be. The inseam should be no shorter than 3" and no longer than just above the knees ... any lower and we wouldn't be making shorts!
   
2. It's time to cut them. Make sure you cut as straight as possible ... try to use scissors that are sharp or you'll be struggling through the material.
   
3. It's easy, but not that easy. At this stage they look, well, cut ... so you still have more to do. The idea is to make people think you bought these cool new shorts, so you're going to want to throw them in the washer and the dryer. This will give them that frayed looked -- and lucky for you -- that's what's in style this summer.
   
4. Now take them out of the dryer ... not what you were expecting? I know it looks like one tangled mess. But it's not, so just cut off all the white pieces of thread and leave the frayed part of the jeans.
   
5. That's it! Now you have a brand new pair of very cool shorts. And, now that you've saved all that money ... you'll be able to buy a shirt that goes with them.

DIY Tip: This works for the kids as well. In fact, most boys and girls grow faster in length than they do in width, so if you've got growing children, I highly recommend this. I think I turned at least 10 pair of last years jeans into wearable shorts for my kids this year.