Help with patching

[Marylizah]

Hi crafty mamas,

I am a very novice seamstress-- I've hand-pieced a quilt and that is the sum total of my sewing experience! Anyway, DS, age 3, is always blowing out the knees of his jeans, and I'm trying to be very mindful of our purchases these days. So I'd like to patch the jeans.

Can someone walk me through the steps? I have a pair of his jeans that I can cut up for patches. Do I patch over the holes, or under them? Do I hem the patches? Do I cut out the strings in the holes before patching? (Can you see how much of a novice I really am??? )

Thanks so much for any advice.

[orangefoot]

I cut a patch big enough to cover the rip plus a good 2" extra around. Then I pin this to the inside of the trousers then tack it (using a needle and thread). This stops the patch shifting around while you are trying to get the trouser leg under the needle!

Then using a sewing machine from the outside I sew a wide zig zag with a short stitch length or a stitch that looks like xxxxx over the edges of the rip so that you catch the 'good' fabric and the patch behind.

Trim the patch behind a bit smaller so it doesn't flap about and you're done. You could zigzag the edges of the patch to reduce fraying but I don't bother.

[MommyLyon]

Well, I can't add much more lol very good explanation

[sapphire_chan]

Since you can quilt, you could also get a patterned fabric with images your ds likes, cut out one of the shapes and whipstitch around the edge on the outside of the pants. Someone around here did that and made her son Totoro pants!

Also, apparently kids tend to always blow out the same knee, so you might consider putting patches on all of his pants on that side.

[Marylizah]

Originally Posted by orangefoot

I cut a patch big enough to cover the rip plus a good 2" extra around. Then I pin this to the inside of the trousers then tack it (using a needle and thread). This stops the patch shifting around while you are trying to get the trouser leg under the needle!

Then using a sewing machine from the outside I sew a wide zig zag with a short stitch length or a stitch that looks like xxxxx over the edges of the rip so that you catch the 'good' fabric and the patch behind.

Trim the patch behind a bit smaller so it doesn't flap about and you're done. You could zigzag the edges of the patch to reduce fraying but I don't bother.

Thank you so much! I don't have a machine, so I'll do it by hand, but I can picture exactly how to do it.

[Marylizah]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Since you can quilt, you could also get a patterned fabric with images your ds likes, cut out one of the shapes and whipstitch around the edge on the outside of the pants. Someone around here did that and made her son Totoro pants!

Also, apparently kids tend to always blow out the same knee, so you might consider putting patches on all of his pants on that side.

Oooh, I like this idea! I would just have to find cloth with trains on it, lol.

And yeah, he always blows out the left knee-- first. Then the right knee, in short order. I can't even believe how many pants he's gone through in the last year.

[MommyLyon]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Since you can quilt, you could also get a patterned fabric with images your ds likes, cut out one of the shapes and whipstitch around the edge on the outside of the pants. Someone around here did that and made her son Totoro pants!

Also, apparently kids tend to always blow out the same knee, so you might consider putting patches on all of his pants on that side.

That is a very cute idea!

[fek&fuzz]

You can also buy iron-on patches at the fabric store. You could iron them onto the pants when you first buy them, on the inside, to help prevent blowouts.

[punkrockmomma]

I would just like to note that I have a pair of jeans that keep on tearing above the patches I've put in. I put my patches in the same way the first reply instructed. I love these jeans so much that I've patched one knee 3 times, and I finally reinforced the whole knee area with a a large piece of denim that covers the whole knee area.I just tore the knee above the patch in the other knee, so I'm going to reinforce that knee too. I personally don't mind this look myself, I also refurbish or recycle clothes, and they always seem to have a "rough" look to them. I have a lot of great jeans that are wearing out lately and I want to fix them because we don't have the money for me to replace them.

I just thought this would be good side note to what people have already said.

[orangefoot]

I think that the tearing above the patch is because the fabric is already this all over iyswim so a full knee panel from seam to seam is probably the best option.

I have a pair of jeans that are so worn that you can see through the front of the legs if you hold them up to the light. If they tear I will recycle them into something else. Denim rag rugs are good or a skirt made from trousers too.