Materials and Tools:

an old pair of jeans
cotton canvas or upholstery-weight fabric (approximately 12" high x the jeans circumference + 1")
a sewing-machine needle suitable for denim or heavyweight fabric
a piece of cardboard
fabric glue or hot glue
permanent marker
rotary cutter or scissors

Steps:

1. With the jeans buttoned, cut off the legs just below the zipper or pockets. Set the legs aside; you can use the fabric later. This will set the depth of the bucket.

2. Turn the jeans inside out, pin along the sides and sew a seam to make the jean tops into a cylinder shape.

Note: Most jeans will flare at the hips; you want the cylinder to be straight from top to bottom.

3. Measure the height and width of the jeans tube and cut the upholstery fabric to the same height + 1/2" at the top for a seam allowance, and the same width plus 1".

Tip: Lay the tube flat, measure side to side and double it to get the width.

4. Pin the right side of the outer (upholstery) fabric to the wrong side of the top of the jeans with a 1/2" overlap; stitch this down over the top of the existing waistband topstitching.

5. Cut a piece of the leftover legs in a circle approximately 1/2" wider all around than the opening of the jeans at the bottom; this will be the bottom of the bucket. For precision you can use the following mathematical formula:

Multiply the width of the jeans by 2 to get the circumference.

Divide this number by Pi (3.14) to get the diameter.

Divide that number by 2 for the radius to get the measurement for the compass. You can use a scrap piece of cardboard for this; remember to add the 1/2" to that measurement.

6. Flip the tube inside out (so the jeans are on the outside) and pin the denim circle to the tube through both layers (the outer fabric and the jeans). Stitch it down with a 1/2" seam allowance. When you turn it right side out again, the raw edges should be at the bottom inside of the bucket.

7. Cut a cardboard circle to fit in the bottom and glue a piece of fabric over it.

Set the fabric-covered circle into the bottom to hide the raw edges.