Plant-pot Jeanies
A recycling project you can do at home.
These plant pot Jeanies are a quick and easy make from an old pair of jeans. Perfect to jazz up your houseplants, or be used as storage baskets.
This fun project can be done with minimal tools, and only takes an hour. It’s true recycling: the pair I used were torn, worn and badly marked, but this pattern cuts around unusable areas.
You could alternatively use any fabric or garment you want to recycle, and for a contrasting roll-top, just use a different lining fabric. The finished pots, including the small rollover, are approx 7.5”wide x 6”high and 4” x 4”
You will need: A pair of jeans or other fabric, good scissors, a ruler and pen, A4 scrap paper, pins, general purpose thread and an iron. The instructions use a sewing machine, but can also be completed by hand sewing.
Cut the legs open.
1
Start by cutting along the inner leg seams of both legs, start at the hem, and go all the way to the top, and back down the other leg.
2
Draw an 8.5” diameter circle onto a piece of scrap paper. (This fits onto an A4 sheet) Cut it out and place it at the top of the jeans, just below the front pockets. Pin and cut out. You need 2 circles, so repeat this step on the opposite side.
(No one will see the bases, so it doesnt matter if the fabric is marked.)
Mark out and cut out the bases.
3
Using the lower legs from the back of the jeans, mark out a panel 8” x 23”. Cut out, and repeat on the other side, so that you have 2 strips.
(You can see that this pair of jeans has bitten the dust- Im using the back side of the legs to cut around the rip)
Mark out and cut out the side pieces.
Mark the 4 points of your bases.
4
Fold the circles in half and make a small mark at both ends of the crease. Then match up the marks you just made, making a new crease, and marking these edges.
You will have 4 marked points opposite each other around the circle.
These marks are essential to get a good fit when sewing the bases in later.
Make your sides.
5
Now take one of your side pieces and fold it in half, so that the shortest sides come together, with the ‘right’ sides of the fabric not on show. Pin along the shortest edge and sew a 1/4” seam, forming a ‘tube’.(Always backtack a few stitches at the start and finish, so the seam wont split open)
Repeat with the other side piece, but leave a 3” hole in the middle of the seam.
Iron the seams open and flat.
Mark your halfway points.
6
With the seam at one end, use a pin to mark the point directly opposite. (This is the halfway point.) Find the halway points between the pin and seam on both edges and mark these also. Repeat on both side pieces.
These marks will line up with those on the circle bases, making sewing them together much easier.
Match your marks.
7
Pin your base into your side ‘tube’. Matching up your marked points. Pin them looking at the circle base side. Repeat for both bags.
Sew in the bases.
8
Put extra pins around the circle, spreading the fabric out evenly. Sew a 1/4” seam with the circle base on top. Take your time and ease the circle in as you go, keeping the edges flush.
Pro-tip! Place your pins so they are in the right direction for you to remove easily when you sew.
Begin assembling the bag.
9
You will now have 2 seperate bags. Turn one of them right side out, and place this inside the other one, so that the ‘right’ sides of the fabrics are not on show.
Sew the bags together.
10
Match the seams together and pin the two bags together around the top, making sure the fabric is spread evenly. Sew a 1/4” seam around the top.
Turn your bag out.
11
Find the gap you left earlier in one side seam. Reach in and pull the whole bag out through the gap, so that everything is the right way out.
(If you forgot to leave a gap, just open up a small one now by unpicking a few stitches in one side seam.)
Stitch the gap closed.
12
At the gap, turn the raw edges in and sew the hole closed, sewing very close to the edge. (If you’re feeling fancy you could hand sew this so it is invisible.)
Iron for a nice finish.
13
Where you have sewn the gap closed is the lining part of your bag. Push this inside the other half, creating your finished Jeanie. Use the iron to press the edge around the top.
Roll the top down.
14
Put your plant saucer inside first, then your plant.
Roll down the top of your bag to suit your pot height.
Plant pot Jeanies.
15
The small version can be made using the leftovers from the same pair of jeans, with a 5.5” diameter circle base and side panels 6” x 15.5”.
I hope you enjoyed making these plant pot jeanies! If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.