How to upcycle your jeans, according to a professional upcycler

“Upcycling isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being playful.”

Australians buy a lot of new clothes – an average of 56 new items each year. And unfortunately, a significant portion of these garments are destined for a landfill. While there are many ways to approach the problem (like slowing your consumption and shopping pre-loved), there’s one approach we simply can’t stop thinking about: upcycling.

Upcycling is the art of taking something old and making something new. It’s turning old T-shirts into tote bags, transforming dresses into two-piece sets and embroidering flowers over ripped pockets on jeans. We’re always curious to see how the most creative minds are reimagining the clothes in their wardrobes, breathing new life into the garments they’ve loved before. Lucky for us, we have Studio Nana, a welcoming community of fashion people doing just that.

For more pre-loved fashion style, advice and stories, head to our Pre-Loved section.

Studio Nana believes in slowing down, sewing more, and loving your clothes for longer. The project is the brainchild of Leah Herszberg, a Melbourne-based creative who sells handmade, upcycled shirts through her label Nana Rodan. By teaching others to upcycle their old pieces, Studio Nana seeks to honour both fashion and the planet, keeping wardrobes fresh without contributing to the endless and mind-numbing cycle of overconsumption. Below, Leah steps us through how she upcycles a pair of jeans, turning fabric scraps into something magical. 

I have so many pairs of jeans and denim is one of my all-time favourite materials to work with. It’s sturdy, nostalgic and full of potential, even when it’s been worn to bits. 

This week, we took an old pair of jeans (broken zipper, too small, basically destined for the landfill) and turned them into a play on the skirt-over-pants trend. We love how beginner-friendly upcycling is. There is plenty of room for creative freedom and there is no better feeling than thinking, ‘I made this myself. ’ Here’s how it all came together.

We started with a deconstruction session – unpicking the seams, removing hardware and flattening the jeans into panels.

We used the front and back sides of the denim to get a nice mix of light and dark tones. A little contrast always adds personality. 

Laying out the pieces is the fun part. There’s no rigid structure here. We just trust our instincts and play around until the composition feels right. We love mixing shades and textures, sometimes adding scraps from other old pieces, too. Sometimes participants come to a session with a fully-fledged idea for their piece and sometimes the deconstruction process itself inspires the design.

From there, it’s all about joining the patches, creating a clean shape and adding the final touches: a waistband, zip and hem.

The final result: a pair of jeans that feels brand new but with all the comfort and character of pre-loved denim. I love the thrill of creating something from nothing and the excitement we feel discovering the potential brimming in our wardrobes with a little creativity and skill. That feeling is contagious and at Studio Nana, we encourage everyone to explore it. 

For us, upcycling isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being playful. It’s creative, it’s sustainable and it gives you that lovely ‘I made this’ feeling. Every piece we create tells a little story of transformation, an ode to our constantly evolving bodies and lifestyles and the intimate connection we seek with the costumes we wear daily.

If you’re curious to try it yourself, come hang out with us at a Studio Nana workshop. You’ll quickly become more attentive and creative and we’ll teach you all the technical skills you need to know to get your hands ‘thready’ to bring new life to your old clothes (no experience required).

To be kept in the loop about Studio Nana’s upcoming workshops, head here.