Denim Sandbag Recycling

I was perusing the Sew Mama Sew blog this morning and I saw a post there for a contest about reusing various materials such as burlap and denim. I was trying to think if I had reinvented any of these materials lately, and then I remembered my blue jean sandbags. Yes, I said blue jean sandbags.

Not too long ago, we had some of those 60 pound tubes full of sand that had been vacationing under our carport for a few months because the plastic webbing that encased them had begun to rip after several sessions of loading and unloading in the back of our truck. I didn't want to get rid of them because the sand was still good, it was just the tubing that needed replacement. So I enlisted the assistance of my father and brother. They gladly donated 5 pairs of their old denim blue jeans that they didn't wear anymore for my grand sandbag plan.

I cut off as much of the legs as possible and then I used some of my scrap fabric to create an additional layer of sand security so that the new bags wouldn't succumb to the same fate as the old bags did. From there, I simply stitched one end of each of the new, smaller bags closed and then I filled them up using the sand from the old sandtubes. When I had the new sandlegs filled up to a comfortable level, I stitched up the open end. I used a denim sewing machine needle, some heavier gauge thread that I had lying around and I sewed at least 2 rows of stitches on each end, for added security.

In the end, they aren't the prettiest sandbags ever created. You can see some of the lining fabric sticking out and no one is ever going to confuse our acid wash denim sandbags for theirs, but they are ridiculously handy. Each bag weighs probably 12 pounds now, which has proven to be very convenient when securing smaller or odd sized items in the back of the truck. Much easier to maneuver than one of those huge 60 pound sandtubes. And it's my unconfirmed belief that the cotton layers that make up the bag can now allow the sand to breathe and dry out easier than the previous layers of plastic did.

So if you have one of these ripped sandtubes lying around, you may want to consider making your own custom acid wash denim mini sandbags.