Searching for a quick project you can make ahead of the holidays? Then you’ll love these recycled denim cookie cutter ornaments. A fantastic way to upcycle old jeans, this holiday sewing project can be completed in practically no time at all, meaning you can whip up a batch of DIY Christmas ornaments in just a few hours. Complete your upcycled Christmas ornaments with lace, burlap or pom pom trim.
Materials:
- Old denim jeans
- Twine
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Pinking shears
- Scissors
- Frixion pen
- Iron
- Hot glue gun
- PDF Patterns – These are located at the bottom of this page. See printing instructions below.
Additional Materials:
- Lace
- Ribbon
- Ric rac
- Buttons
- Tiny pom poms
- Burlap
- Beads
PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS:
To download the PDF templates, click on the download button at the bottom of the page. We recommend opening your download using Adobe Acrobat.
Instructions:
- Begin by printing out the cookie cutter shapes printable page. Print it on cardstock for stability. (Note: You can trace your own cookie cutters if you’d like!)
- Cut out one of the cardstock shapes. Using a Frixion pen, trace the pattern onto the leg of an old pair of jeans.
- Cut around the shape through both layers of the pant leg, leaving at least a half inch on all sides. Note: For a different look, use the inside of the jeans on the outside of the ornament. If you’d like to try this, cut a piece of denim off the pants and adjust the layers so the inner side of the jeans is on the outside. Then trace.
- Cut a 7 inch piece of twine. Insert both ends of the twine between the layers of the denim at the top of the ornament. This is used to hang the ornament.
- Next, sew along the traced line, starting with the top to capture the twine. Sew slowly and carefully. Tip: As you navigate the sharp corners, make sure your needle is down in the fabric, lift the presser foot and adjust the fabric in the desired direction.
- Trim 1/8 inch from the sewn line using pinking shears. Be careful not to cut the twine as you cut the denim.
- Press the ornament with a hot iron to remove the Frixion pen. Repeat with the different shapes until you have as many ornaments as you’d like.
- Now the fun part! Embellishing the ornaments. Dig through your stash and see what you can find to dress up your ornaments.
- The embellishments are added using hot glue.
EMBELLISHMENTS:
- The stocking features lace trim atop a braided twine ribbon.
- The gingerbread man has ric rac on his arms and legs and pom poms down the middle.
- The snowman sports a ribbon scarf.
- The star is outlined with a lace-y ribbon.
- The bell features a simple bow.
- And the Christmas tree has heart-shaped buttons as ornaments.
