As the only girl in a household of 4, few things amaze me more than how quickly my boys can burn through a pair of jeans. My five year old comes home with holes in the knees, my husband manages to literally tear off pockets, and I HATE throwing away jeans that are still in pretty good condition.

So for years I have collected all of our household’s ripped jeans, with the promise that some day I would use them for something worthwhile. With the Fourth of July fast approaching, I decided there was no time like the present for a upcycled Jean project or two.

*This post may contain affiliate links which may allow us to receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) for purchases you make after clicking on product links on our posts , to view our full affiliate disclosure click here.

But rest assured we fully believe in every product we endorse.

Time: 2.5 hours
Materials

• Wreath Form
• A few pairs of jeans in different shades
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Self-Healing Cutting Mat
• Rotary Cutter
• Quilters Ruler
• Iron
• X-ACTO Knife
• 2 White Silk flowers
• 1 Silk Red Rose
• Thompson’s Waterseal Fabric Seal, Scotchgard Heavy Duty Water Shield, or other waterproofing spray

Cut off the pant legs of the jeans approximately 14-15 inches above the hemline.

Cut along one of the side seams of the jeans so that you have a flat piece of jean material. Then cut into strips between 2 inches and 4 inches wide. If you want all the pieces uniform than only cut one width (I used  varied widths because I didn’t want all my “stripes” to be the same width).

Cut these long pieces into strips 6 and 3/4 inches long, discarding the hemline fabric. If you are using a wreath from with a wider circumference you may need to cut them a bit bigger to accommodate.

Fold the edge of one long side so that you form a half an inch lip and press using a flat iron.

Glue along the inside of the lip.

At this point I would highly recommend laying out your strips so you can create a pattern or just to make sure there is an even distribution of light and dark.

Glue one end of the fabric and secure it about half way up the back of the wreath. Flip the wreath so the front is now facing you and place several lines of hot glue on the fabric near the attachment site, press against the wreath from and smooth. Place a few more lines of glue on the fabric, press against wreath form and smooth. Continue doing this until the fabric is completely glued to the form. Repeat with each strip of fabric, slightly overlapping the non folded end of the previous strip with the folded lip of the second strip.

Hint: It may seem easier to just glue it all at once, but moving slowly and progressively along the length of the fabric gives you greater control ( preventing wrinkles and pockets from forming).

Once you are finished “tuck” the final strip’s end under the lip of the first piece you glued on to the best of your ability. It may not look perfect but don’t worry because this is where you can add your flowers!

To prevent fraying, glue along the back seam with hot glue to “lock in” any random strands of material and keep this wreath looking good for many years to come!

Figure out where you want the flowers, play around with placement, and identify any “oopsie” spots you may want to camouflage on the wreath. Personally, I picked the point where my initial and final strip met seeing as it was the least “neat” area.

Once you have determined where you want your flowers, trim all except about 2 inches of the flower stems off. From those remaining two inches strip the plastic so only the metal is showing. Use the tip of an X-ACTO Knife to cut a very small hole through the jean material where you want your flower to go. Insert the metal pole from the flower at an angle through the hole and into the form. Do this for each flower then once you are happy with where they are, secure with hot glue.

Hint: If you are using flowers that do not have a metal stem attached, glue the flowers directly to the jean material.

Spray with Thompson’s Waterseal Fabric Seal, Scotchgard Heavy Duty Water Shield, or other water-reppelant fabric spray to protect your new masterpiece from those summer thunderstorms! You now have a few less pairs of unwearable jeans and a  perfect wreath for July 4th, Memorial Day, Veteran’s day, or really any other time of the year!