Mending Mondays - Patching and reinforcing tattered, broken in jeans

For my first Mending Monday post, I am focusing on patching jeans (the tattered, broken-in style to be specific.)

My husband kept commenting that he must have lost his jeans in our move (last year.) It turns out he lost them to my mending and up-cycling piles.

He has jeans are (apparently) perfectly broken in and he doesn't care what they look like. But I know that if he keeps wearing them in his usual fashion, the rips will get huge and render the jeans unfit for public display. After 3 pairs with at least 4 tears in each, I perfected the patching of the tattered style jean. 

The denim patch on these tattered, broken in jeans is barely visible.

The inside of a pair of patched jeans.

This picture shows the inside of a pair of mended jeans.

I cut large pieces of denim (from a beyond repair pair of jeans.) The denim of the patch is soft and worn in.

Detail of a denim patch.

The key to patching a broken in, tattered style jean is to have thread match the jeans. This photo is the underside, bobbin thread.

First pin the cut patch underneath the jeans. Make sure the patch is large enough to fit under all areas that are worn and fraying. This made for quite a large patch on the upper leg (below the interior pocket) of these jeans.

Next sew back and forth to secure the worn top piece of denim (the actual jeans) to the bottom.  Use the reverse feature on the machine. Also, be certain to use a denim needle.

Machine sewing a denim patch to tattered jeans.

On left, a small hole. On right, the patched hole.

Above you can see the finished repaired jeans. 

The stitching blends into the denim and reinforced the tattered jeans, which keeps them from over-ripping.

I hope this helps you tackle your mending pile!

Do you have a specific, frustrating mending project you are not quite sure how to start? Please leave a comment below and I will help you attack your mending pile. 

Mending Mondays

I never realized how much being a mom would wear out my clothing.

 Maybe I should be more specific. I never realized how having a small being hanging off me and tugging on me at least 15 hours a day would wear out my clothes.

I still haven’t figured out stain removal either. Right now my system is soak and hope. There is a bucket of clothes in by basement soaking and hoping I don’t forget about them.

My mending pile is out of control. I decided to start tackling that pile and it is far more fulfilling than shopping. In order to shop, I have to battle getting my child in the car seat at least twice. My kid screams as soon as we go inside the mall. She has been like this from the very beginning, taking after her father and grandmother’s hatred of shopping. I have to occupy her while trying on clothes, which only doubles my frustration in the dressing room. Plus I’m not really paying attention to the fit so I end up disappointed. I am frustrated just writing about shopping. I will not start on how childbearing causes one to need clothes in 4 different sizes. Online shopping always disappoints me. I spend too much money and am never as excited opening up the box as I was when placing the order.

So, I’m mending and refashioning these days. Some may think I am crazy, but I find it fulfilling. Saving money and shopping frustration is a bonus.

 I’m going to start a weekly series on mending, hoping to inspire others to fix a garment instead of tossing it. Mending is also a traditional way to live green.

 Please bear with me as I experiment with tutorial writing and sharing!  

Projects seeking perfection

I have been working on many projects lately, but they just aren't perfect yet, certainly not blog tutorial worthy.  I feel like I need to perfect a project before sharing it here.  Here is what I have been trying to get right.

Soft Soled Shoes

I made these shoes to go with her Easter dress.  I'm still tweaking the details.  The material for the soles was a liner to a waterproof fleece jacket.  It did not survive an afternoon of toddling.  I'm looking for a suede type material to use.  The elastic in the moccasin style shoe does keep the shoes on her feet.  So there is promise for this project.

 

Bonnets

Her first Easter bonnet was an epic fail.  She was fine wearing it that day, but refused to try it on during the sewing process.  As a result, the tie was not put in the correct place, which resulting in the nun-like style.  This fail has inspired me to perfect the sun bonnet.  

Her green cape, however was a success.  I'm working on a tutorial now.  It looked great, she was comfortable, and I got to use vintage from my sewing stash.

First attempt at soft soled shoes

Yes, I realize she looks like a nun.

The cape is a winner!

While there is nothing wrong with striving for perfection, I'm working on being content.  I still consider myself a seamstress and aspiring milliner, even though the Easter bonnet was an epic fail.  It is an excuse to make more hats!

Sock bunny

My goal of 4 upcycled projects this week is complete. 

This bunny is made from a worn pair of wool socks.

I basically followed this tutorial from Craft Passion. I patched a worn spot, cut around others, and left some for character.  I omitted the button eyes and used felt instead.

My mother wore out this pair of Smartwool socks.  She has a hard time parting with quality and loves Smartwool.  I suppose my fabric hoarding may come from my mother.

We decided he needed a tie for Easter, so I made one from yellow seersucker to match Daphne's Easter outfit. 

I think this guy's tie is adorable.  He still hasn't been named yet.

Hand stitching doesn't feel tedious when done enjoying a beautiful day in a rocking chair.

This was a fun project. I had some alone time (alone time? What's that? If my child napped I could have more of this!) on a beautiful day and did the hand stitching on my balcony.