Cut up old jeans & create chic decor you'll admire over and over

One of the easiest ways to dress up a bare wall is with a wall hanging. Instead of shelling out tons of money for a store-bought one, grab a couple of pairs of jeans to create your own custom wall art with a pattern of your own design.

We chose to design a pattern that turned out like a scenic mountain vista. You can easily recreate this look or make your own pattern. Get creative and express yourself however you choose. Follow a few basic steps, and you’ll have a fresh new wall hanging in no time.

Materials
- 2 pairs of denim jeans
- Fabric scissors
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter
- Ruler
- Fabric marker
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Serger (optional)
- Wooden dowel

Instructions
1. Lay out your first pair of denim jeans, and use fabric scissors to cut the legs off.

2. Cut up the side of each leg to open them flat.

3. Follow the same process on your second pair of jeans, cutting off both legs, then cutting up the sides to open them flat.

4. Cut out a section the size you want for your wall hanging using a cutting mat, grid ruler and rotary cutter.

5. Fold the cut section in half. To create a pattern, you will use your ruler and a fabric marker to make the outline.

6. Copy this pattern on the other half of the cut section to match.

7. Cut pieces that reasonably match, and pin them to the different outline sections using your other color of denim.

8. Pin the two pieces together, and use fabric scissors to trim the top piece as close to the outline as possible. Repeat this step until all sections of the outline have top pieces.

9. Topstitch around the edge of each piece you pinned on the larger under-piece.

10. Serge around the edge of the entire piece. If you don’t have access to a serger, you can also use a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine.

11. Flip your piece over, so the wrong side of the fabric is facing up. Place the wooden dowel at the top of the piece, and fold the fabric over it. Pin the flap down, and remove the dowel.

12. Sew along the very edge of the flap, leaving enough room to be able to slide your dowel in the remaining space.

13. Trim any loose threads, insert the dowel, and find a new home for your wall hanging.