Reclaim your jeans!

Whilst spending an hour (or three) browsing the web, I found this fascinating website on craftgawker.  I want to share this with you, so when you've finished here, pop over to http://meijosjoy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/how-to-stretch-jeans-at-waist-easy-n.html and have a look at the original.

I've had this particular pair of jeans for many, many years, and every summer they come out again - they are beautifully soft after repeated washings, faded to a lovely pale blue, and quite flared with boho-style unfinished hems.  Sadly, they have aged better than I have, so when I saw how to reclaim 1" - 2" on the waistband, I was hooked.

Basically, you just remove the too-tight original waistband, and replace it with a folded fabric tie-belt.

I had saved an old king-sized duvet cover from one of my many colour scheme changes, so I just cut a length off one of the long sides.  This craftily included the side seam which acted as the top edge, saving me a bit of sewing (you could cut a wider piece of fabric and just fold it, that will work too).

I'm delighted with how this turned out - and it only took about 45 minutes to do from start to finish.  So thanks to MeiJo's Joy, I  have reclaimed a pair of jeans, just in time for summer.