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How to Make an Eco-Friendly Blue Jean Bean Bag Chair

© Lili Pintea-Reed

Here are the plans for a comfortable bean bag chair made out of recycled blue jeans.

Materials:

• old denim jeans
• thread
• recycled packing material

Over time, save the foam beads from various ordered gifts (which seem to be notoriously over-packaged), mailed Christmas packages and the like, or ask a store owner if you can recycle their week's worth of foam packing bead waste. Accumulate a large yard-size garbage bag full.

Take two pairs of old jeans and cut the legs off at the crotch. On each of the four pant legs, pick the least sturdy seam of the two and cut up the length. Open each up the leg. Sew the four legs together using the cut side seams. If there is a taper, alternate wide and narrow. This should make one long width of cloth.

Seam up the two free ends. Now you should have a cylinder. Fold flat and seam bottom. Then starting at the middle seam the top to the side. Then, leaving a space to stuff in the foam beads, seam to the other side.

Now stuff the garbage bag–full of foam beads into the newly created bean bag. Whip stitch opening shut with heavy thread.

You now have a lovely sturdy bean bag chair, which is not only free, but eco-friendly! As it packs down, you can add more foam beads as needed.