Denim on denim

Have you heard of Jake & Maya's The upcycled denim challenge ?

"The Upcycled Denim Challenge is the first in a monthly series of challenges that will run each month for the next twelve months. Every month, a winner will be selected to go through to the shortlist. At the end of the twelve months, an overall winner will be selected and receive a gift voucher of £500 and the potential to become one of Jake & Maya’s collaborators! Monthly winners will receive a £50 gift voucher. More than one entry per person is permitted provided the content / idea provided is not a duplicate of previous entries. Sound good?"

Oh yeah! But even though it did sound good, I didn't really think of participating, due to the lack of time. But then, one afternoon on my way home in the train I started sketching some denim ideas just for fun. 

First I listed all the good qualities of denim: it's durable, it's thick, it has a nice texture, etc. And then the downsides: when upcycling denim, you can mostly find jeans. This means that your pieces of fabric are not too wide. When sketching, I decided to combine these things: I wanted to design something that could be assembled from narrow pieces of denim, and that would need the durability. I also wanted to make everyday objects, something that I would need myself, and I came up with these three ideas: a sailors bag, an apron, and planting pots for springtime. 

The sailors bag is made out of two pairs of my old jeans, they were all worn out and the zippers didn't work anymore. There are 8 side panels made out of front and back panels of the jeans. It can also be used as a hanging storage bin.

 

Here are some details. Outside there's a zipper pocket and inside there's a small pocket made out of the back pockets of jeans. All the materials, including lining, are recycled materials. I also used old army belts for straps and metal parts.

  

The planting pots are similar to the ones I created in this post. They're made out of old coffee bags and jeans, and because of the materials they're also completely waterproof. Of course, these could be used as any kind of storage bins. More detailed... I really like silver & denim together. Again, these can be made out of quite thin stripes of fabric.

For a long time now I've needed a new crafter's apron. So I decided to make one inspired from this challenge. 

I can store all my pens, scissors, notes, etc. It also has a removable hand towel (made out of a thinner denim fabric I found, of course!). Again, the strap and the metal parts are from used army belts.

I have so many more ideas, like making a camera bag and a matching camera strap out of denim. I'm already considering making an improved version of the sailors bag, because I like the way it looks so much. It also feels really sturdy and durable. I'm grateful for this kind of challenges that make me strecth out for new ideas. Denim is a material I've always liked, and now I like it even more, thanks to Jake and Maya collective! I'm already waiting for their upcoming challenges.

How about you, do you feel that challenges sometimes help you to get creative? Or do you have other ways to make you step out of your comfort zone?

Love, Vivi