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Awhile ago, White Oak Cone Denim gave me a small book about an historic collection of denim clothing found in an abandoned shack near Greensboro, North Carolina. The images and information that denim historians have gathered about this clothing helped me to understand from another angle, and more deeply, an era of American history. The clothing, dating from the 1930s, tell the story of a family, living in poverty, working as tobacco sharecroppers. The clothing has been beautifully repaired and mended, by one person. Overalls have been cut into pants, newer denim has patched old, worn holes and resourceful combinations of patches and hand stitching have created an unintentional but beautiful, folkloric patchwork. Above is a scan of a pair of children's overalls. I have seen actual samples, and they are powerful, for the life that they document and also the thoughts and images they bring to mind of this homemaker, who worked to maintain the family's clothing with respect and durability.
As some of you may already know, I am writing a series of articles on mending, repairing and patching jeans with designer style. Fashion is driven by many different events or ideas, and when something is compelling, like this collection of denim clothing, it bound to have a strong influence.
The technique that I have written up for this particular post is inspired by this collection of historic clothing. With respect to this nameless family, I have tried to capture their spirit of resourcefulness and craft, and named the technique "Sharecroppers" patches. 
Above is a photo of my final jeans. Patches are put where the denim was totally worn and ripped and where it needed to be re-enforced. Stitches, thread and denim scraps were chosen for how natural, practical or beautiful they looked.
Part of the goal was to make the inside as beautiful as the outside. This would make the jeans more durable, preventing the necessity of repeated repairs. Below is a photo of the finished inside of one of the legs.
Below is a photo of overalls from Ralph Lauren's spring 2010 collection that wonderfully capture the spirit.
For the entire tutorial on the "Sharecroppers patches" click here.
For a wonderful way to re-think how you may recycle, patch, decorate or re-shape altogether your cast-off jeans, click this link which will take you to Desigual, the rebellious, streetwise Spanish clothier.
We are already deep into the autumn and the summery header needed to go. Today's rainy day turned into the perfect excuse to create something more reflective of the fall leaves and the sprays of deep red berries. The Venetian mask catches one's imagination, and mixed with the textures of handmade, fantasy worlds, deep hued shades and hand printed papers from Italy, the header grew into a mix of personal memories and thoughts about the future.
It's whimsical, romantic and also carries me to this sketch of the little Russian cape and long laced trimmed denim skirt, from my book of re-cycled denim. Wishing everyone a happy fall!
Old rugged jeans have been reinvented into these lush, hobo jeans, by a quilter with an abundance of wonderful patches ... I love what she did and wanted to share it - as it reminds one to stash away fabric scraps and even old or stained clothing if the fabric is interesting, as they soon become our "new" treasures and the latest fashion looks!
(I've discovered it is the perfect outfit for play dates in Central Park, jumping on backyard trampolines and even as a cosy blanket for a sleepy plush puppy.) It's an easy craft project for a lazy summer day. 
Along the way of hunting for a photo ... I found this image of the one of the projects in my book with a piece of embroidery made by my Baba, all sweet, taffeta and lacy ... and then I found this other photo, of a denim bag with a clear vinyl shoulder strap and all kinds of funky patches ... in a totally different style. Some days doesn't one feel rather frou-frou and on other days dreamy about black leather and a rugged style ...
...and I still am hunting for the other photo.
Every month is defined for me by the changes of nature. As I step out into my own little garden, crocuses and camellias are among the early blooms that surprise with their bright, proud colors against a backdrop of spidery bare bushes and tress. With that image of renewal and my thoughts about a lovely spring around the corner, I created the March screensaver. 
Gotta go and start sewing and hope this inspires you to search through your sewing baskets and see what you can make for yourself or to gift!
I have just returned from a simply fabulous book signing event in Seattle! A huge thank you to everyone that made it happen. I met the most marvelous people, who with a carefree and confident Seattle style just jumped into the action and painted up a new pair of jeans ... a pile of jeans to choose from was courtesy of BufEx ... they cut, stenciled, dripped, mixed and painted their new found jeans in unexpected and individual ways. It was a wonder to watch (and I only wish I could replay it all so I could sit down and participate.) I had loads of fun to watch, to share thoughts, experiences and dreams, about art, fashion, crafts, sewing and passions. Thank you to everyone, for your creativity and vibrancy. Here are just a few images, I wish I had more - enjoy!
Another glimpse of what's inside "Denim Revolution" from Darcy and Chloe of pdx49 e-zone and what you can do with your cast-off jeans!
