I have been seeing this cute bow jeans hack everywhere lately and I’m obsessed. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s basically just adding bows to the pant legs of your jeans using ribbon. So I thought why not try to put my own twist on this trend by crocheting the bow instead!
This is a super quick and easy crochet clothing hack with an adorable result and I think you’re really going to like it. I have also seen this cute bow hack done on the side seams of a sweater, so there’s another idea if you don’t want to do jeans.
A lot of the bow jeans I have seen use pink ribbon but I am really just not a big fan of pink, so I’m going to use black yarn instead. One of my favorite sewists on IG, BringingSewingBack did a black ribbon version that is just *chef’s kiss*
Oh, one more thing, I also have a quick Tiktok video for this idea, if you want to check it out. My 2 cats make an appearance, so it’s definitely worth it to watch just for that lol.
Materials for the Bow Jeans
DK or Worsted Weight yarn in the color of your choice (I used Lion Brand Basic Stitch in black)
4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, or 5.5 mm hook (I used 5.5 mm but any of these sizes would be totally fine)
Seam ripper and/or scissors
Stitch marker or a small piece of a contrasting color of yarn
Sewing Pins (optional but super helpful)
For hand sewing: a metal embroidery needle (you need something sturdy to get through the denim)
Or you can use a sewing machine and matching thread color
A pair of jeans or a sweater
Instructions
Step 1: Figure out how high you want the slit to go on your pant leg. Starting from that point and working your way down to the bottom edge, use a seam ripper or a pair of scissors to open the sides.
Step 2: Cut off the hem of the pants legs as shown.
Step 3: (Optional) Unfold the seam of the pant leg and cut off the folded part. Do this on both sides of the opening. This allows you to gently rough up the edges of the opening to distress the denim a bit.
Step 4: Crochet enough chains to reach from the bottom of your pant leg to the top of the opening. (I did 20 chains) Mark the last chain.
Step 5: Crochet enough chains to make the loop size of your choice. (I did 35 chains) Slip stitch to the marked chain to make your first loop.
Note: I’m showing my work against the pant leg here but I haven’t attached anything yet, it’s just for size reference!
Step 6: Crochet the same number of chains as step 5 to make a second loop of the same size. Slip stitch back into the marked stitch to complete your second loop.
Step 7: Crochet the same number of chains as step 4 to make the second leg of the bow. Fasten off. You can leave a long tail for sewing if you are hand sewing.
Step 8: (Optional) Use sewing pins to attach the bow to the pants leg. This is particularly helpful to define the shape of the bow and to make sure the two sides match ok before sewing.
Step 9: Sew the bow to the pants.
-If hand sewing, use a metal embroidery needle and the long yarn tail to go through each chain to secure the bow to the jeans. Start on the bow leg where the long tail is, then work your way up and around the two loops, then sew back down the other bow leg.
-If machine sewing, go very slowly and carefully! Start on the edge of the pants leg and go up one bow leg, then do one loop of the bow, then the other loop of the bow, and finally sew back down the other bow leg.
Now your new bow jeans are ready to rock! Do you like adding cute crochet twists to your wardrobe? If so, you may like my post about lengthening sweater sleeves with a granny stitch insert! Another fun idea is to crochet an applique (like this adorable storm cloud) and sew it onto a shirt or a sweater. I crocheted a poison apple applique for a snow white costume before and it turned out super cute!
I actually have a small Pinterest board for crochet upcycles if you have caught the upcycling/ personalizing bug and want some more inspiration! Have you customized your clothes with crochet before? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below.