How to Make Simple Denim Hanging Pockets

3 Materials
$3
30 Minutes
Easy

I love to upcycle my families old jeans and I'm always looking for new ideas. I've made wonderful denim rugs out of them and pillows too. But one of my favorite things to use old denim for is to make handy storage with them. This time I used the legs to make some handy denim buckets.

What you need for this upcycle is the leg of an old pair of jeans an embroidery hoop and some scrap fabric of your choice for a liner.


Straight legged jeans are best and stretchy are good too. You don't really want to use skinny jeans for this project.

Turn the leg inside out and then cut off the bottom.

You want to make sure the jeans leg will fit around the embroidery hoop. This is were stretchy jeans come in handy as they have more give in them. I find with a standard pair of straight legged jeans a 6" embroidery hoop is the right size.

Cut the lining fabric so that it would be the same size as the cut jeans leg (if it was opened out). Hem the long side of the fabric.

Fold the fabric right sides together and stitch up the side and bottom leaving the top open. This can be done either by hand or on a machine.

Stitch up the top of the denim leg where you cut it with the scissors.

Turn the jeans leg right side out and place the fabric liner inside.

Tuck both the denim and lining fabric around the inner hoop of the embroidery hoop.

Then place the outer hoop over the top and tighten the screw.

The hoop gives you something to hang the denim bucket from and keeps the top open.

I find these denim buckets really handy for storage and have made a few for my craft room. When my son was younger he had a few in his bedroom for toy storage.


The contrasting fabric works really well with the denim. See the bog for more details. If you are looking for more denim storage ideas I have loads of them on the blog.

Resources for this project:
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Claire at Pillarboxblue
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Linda W Linda W on Mar 08, 2020

    That’s really cute but I’m just wondering why you didn’t see the lining and denim together? Or did I miss that somehow?

    Thanks for a great idea though!

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  • Gro21448040 Gro21448040 on Oct 31, 2020

    joyce mae

    i like that idea, i'm going to try that, thanks,

  • Joan Stanley Joan Stanley on Feb 18, 2024

    This is similar to a car waste-bag I found years ago. You could just use a smaller hoop or even a plastic zip tie at the top and add a loop to hook over the gear-shift of your car. Also, close the bottom with velcro for easy emptying.

    I've never found another one like it and it's so handy. Takes up no room in the car and stays put.

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