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It starts with a light patch that becomes white, and then looks threadbare. When that hole in your favorite jeans finally takes hold, you know it's time to retire them. But even though your jeans can't be worn, they still have plenty of life left in them. You could make a car organizer, a gadget cozy, or you can recycle them so they can be used to make denim insulation for homes. But save the waistband to make a little bedside rug, like this one at Instructables.com.
Okay, you need a lot more than one waistband -- more like 10 to 15 -- to make even a small rug. But that's what friends and family are for! Ask around and take donations of denim waistbands. You'd be surprised how quickly people wear out their fave blues. Ask donors to cut below the waistband to keep the seam in tact.
Once you have enough waistbands, trim any excess fabric below the bottom edge of the seam. Lay the waistbands side by side, lining up the ends along one side. Sew the first two waistbands together, then add the third, then the fourth, and so on.
Since your friends and family don't all wear the same size of jeans, you'll need to trim along the right edge to even things out. You can trim the entire rug with binding, or simply use the zig-zag stitch to sew along each of the raw edges about one-half to one inch in from the edge to limit fraying.
With a few simple cuts and sewing straight lines, you can have an awesome denim waistband rug perfect for a bedroom or home office.
