Mending Jeans

Even if you’re a new visitor, you’ve probably already realized that we’re an active family. A very active family who can be quite hard on our clothes sometimes, especially jeans.

My general contractor husband and his trusty assistant, our son, were constantly walking around with holes in their jeans. Replacing their ripped jeans every three or four weeks is not an option on our budget. Besides, even if it was an option, what a waste! So, every couple of weeks, I open the “sweat shop,” a.k.a. my sewing room, and patch a stack of jeans.

If you’ve never patched a pair of jean to get more life out of them, you might benefit from this tutorial. Mending a few holes around the back pocket or a split up the middle isn’t very difficult at all. Personally, I do not like patching knees at all! Even with the case removed from the sewing machine, I struggle with getting the material far enough under the needle! Unfortunately, the knees are always the first to go! Sigh.

To begin, place a heavy-duty needle in your sewing machine. You’re sewing through a couple of layers of denim. Use a needle made for denim like a No. 16. I know the package says No. 100 but the actual size is 16/100. However, I have no idea what those numbers actually mean.

Thread your machine as usual with a cotton thread that matches the jeans you’re fixing. Make sure the bobbin matches also.

Set your sewing machine on medium width, medium length zigzag stitch. The zigzag stitch does show more stitching than a straight stitch, but it also keeps the patch in place better in the long run. Let’s face it, whatever the wearer was doing the first time he ripped those pants, he will most likely do again. We want that patch to hold!

Use a matching piece of denim as a patch. Yes, you can purchase a denim patch from any store that carries sewing supplies, or you can recycle unfixable jeans into a ready supply of patches. Cut your patch at least 2-inches bigger around than the hole you’re patching. You need something to pin to, and I’ll guarantee that if that hole is in an odd spot, you’re going to move that patch a bit as you get the area under the needle.

Pin the patch in place securely with the pointy ends of the needles facing the patch and the heads facing outward.

Sew the patch in place using a zigzag stitch about 1/4-inch from the edge of the hole. Use the reverse on your sewing machine to back up over your stitches once, and then sew forward one more time.

Trim away the excess fabric on the inside and the outside. The jeans are now wearable again without having to match your undies to the color of the jeans.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope today’s sewing lesson was helpful! Mending our clothes is a basic skill and chore that we should all be doing, whether or not we can afford to easily replace that barely worn top with the missing button. Think of it this way: if we mended more of our clothes instead of constantly replacing them, we’d be able to afford much more interesting things!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

P.S. Watching old musicals while mending is awesome! Makes the work load feel a lot lighter!

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