Two Totes From One Pair of Jeans

Click HERE for a pdf of this tutorial.

When selecting jeans for this process, look for jeans with boot cut or straight legs. This won’t work as well with skinny jeans because there is not enough width in each pants leg to make a good-sized tote.

You will need -

• 1 pair of adult-sized jeans
• Fabric scissors - 
• Rotary cutter with mat
• Ruler

These are just the supplies you need to cut out the tote panels; additional supplies are needed to actually construct the bags. Step 1: Lay the jeans flat. (a) Starting at the bottom of the leg, use your scissors to cut up the inseam on one of the legs. (b) When you reach the top of the inseam, cut around the zipper in the front. (c) Cut the back about as far up as the back pocket.

Step 2: Lay the jeans right side down and fold the bottom of the pants leg up to meet the top. The width of the bottom of the pants leg will determine the width of the tote.

Step 3: Using your rotary cutter, even out the side seams, top, and bottom of the pants leg where the top and bottom meet. Leaving you with a front panel and a back panel that can be sewn together into one tote.

Step 4: Repeat the process with the other pants leg. You now have two front panels and two back panels that can be sewn into two tote bags

I also cut out and save the pockets for other projects