Upcycled Denim Knot Cutlery Holders

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Decorate your dining room table for upcoming family dinners with these cute cutlery holders. A fresh pattern from Rebecca George, this kitchen sewing project is made from upcycled denim and is an easy sewing project that allows beginner sewists to work with heavier fabrics. Empty out your closet or shop at your local thrift store and turn torn, old jeans into something brand new with this smart upcycling pattern.

Designer Notes:

All measurements are in inches.
For this tutorial, two pairs of jeans were used with different denim washes for contrast, but these can be made beautifully from one fabric.

Materials:

Note: Materials listed below are for one pair of cutlery holders.

Jeans or denim fabric
Dark blue all-purpose thread
Fabric scissors (or rotary cutter and mat)
Pins or fabric clips
Ruler or measuring tape
Sewing machine
Iron and ironing board

Sewing Instructions:

Find an old pair of jeans that you’d like to upcycle and place them flat on your workspace. Cut off from just below the seat part of the pants and set the top aside.
1. Trim off the seams along a leg so there are now two long pieces of denim remaining. Iron these panels if needed.
Cut the flat denim into four pieces (in two different shapes):
1. 2 long pieces that are 2” X 26”
2. 2 shorter pieces that are 6” X 13”
Fold the edges of the smaller rectangles in on the shorter sides. Pin or clip them to hold. They will be slightly different measurements- one end’s fold should measure 5/8” wide and the other 1 1/4” wide.
With a sewing machine, stitch a line on each of these pinned sides to secure the folds. Use a straight stitch (with a length of 3; this will be the setting for all steps) with the needle position in the center. Sew the line at about half of the presser foot inward from the edges (approximately 5/16”). Backstitch at the beginning and end. Clip any loose threads.
Place the fabric panel with the wrong side up on the work table with the wider folded edge on top. Fold the bottom edge up and pin. It should be placed high enough so that it covers the stitch line of the top fold.
1. Here it measures about 3/4” down from the top. The holder should be approximately 6” tall when folded and pinned.
Stitch the two sides closed the entire length of the holder, backstitching at the beginning and end of each side. The top should still be open. The stitches should be approximately 5/16” in from the edges (half of the sewing machine’s foot width).
Insert three utensils of your choosing into the denim pocket to determine the correct spacing.
1. Carefully place pins in two lines between the utensils. Here the lines are about 2” in from each side and from each other.
2. Remove the utensils from the holder and set aside.
Use the sewing machine to stitch two straight lines where you have pinned. Be sure not to extend the lines above the folded opening or all the way to the bottom. These stitches should blend in and will be virtually invisible when finished. Backstitch and clip any loose threads.
Now that the inner part is complete, create the knot. Place the long strip with the right side facing down, position the holder centered in the strip with the front facing up.
1. Tie the strip once around itself while squeezing the holder inward slightly for a dramatic effect. Tie it a second time to finish the knot.
Diagonally clip just the ends of the knot with fabric scissors.
1. Arrange the ends so they are on opposite sides of the holders.
2. These cutlery holders can be hand- or machine-washed on gentle, then air- or tumble-dried on low. As some edges are unfinished, there will be eventual fraying that adds to the look (though this can also be cleaned up with fabric scissors).