Inspired by the comfort of denim clothing, you can transform the sturdy fabric in several ways. Read our basic denim how-to tips below. Then try all of our craft ideas on the following pages.

Denim How-Tos
1. Ripping Denim Strips: By tearing denim rather than cutting it, you create a fringe that's wonderful to work with. Use this technique for all the projects shown here. Place denim on a flat surface. Measure to desired width, cut a 1/2-inch slit in the cloth, and rip in one fast motion. Tear jeans vertically to avoid seams.

2. Adorning Pillows: Cut denim to make a 22-by-12-inch knife-edge pillow cover. Using denim (or other fabric, like that cut from a dress shirt), tear five to nine 1 1/4-by-14-inch strips. With tailor's chalk, mark where you want to attach the strips. For a gathered design, as shown, sew down the center of each strip with a denim needle, using an awl to push the fabric toward the machine in pleats. For flat strips, sew two rows of stitches down the sides of each, with a 1/8-inch seam allowance.

3. Fringe Rug: Cut a 30-by-54-inch piece of burlap. Tear about 200 strips from jeans (you'll need about 12 pairs); make each 1 1/4 inches wide and the length of a pant leg. Align first strip 1 inch from burlap's edge; with the zipper foot attachment on a sewing machine and a denim needle, stitch down center. Snip any remainder from the end, and use it to start the next row. Sew strips 1/8 inch apart, until 1 inch of burlap remains. Fold burlap edges under, and hand-stitch.

4. Floral Brooches: Rip a denim strip (1 1/2 inches wide and the length of a pair of jeans). Beginning 1/8 inch from edge, sew two rows of running stitches 1/8 inch apart. Pull on the ends of the threads to gather. (On a sewing machine, use a denim needle and a wide stitch length; tug on the two bobbin threads.) Hand-sew gathered edge in a spiral shape as shown. Attach a safety pin to the back.