Mending Old Jeans 1

 Hello Readers. When I find a bargain, I can't resist taking it home. These jeans were only 25 cents because they were so worn and damaged. I have been thinking about how much we throw away and how wasteful we can be with clothing but also all sorts of things. I want to take the time to mend and repair the things I own and love so... I bought the jeans and decided to try and rescue them.

Before and after. 

These jeans were really worn in and the denim was so soft. It takes so long to break denim in like this. When I saw these for such a low price, I saw a lot of potential. But there were a lot of problems. These were men's jeans. They didn't fit me well. There was also some wear and small holes in embarrassing places.  

You can see the hole right next to the zipper. That is not going to work for me. That is an area I really want covered. I started unpicking the crotch below the zipper. 

 

I unpicked several inches of the seam. I didn't un-do the zipper itself. Just the crotch seam.

 

With the seam un-done I could pull the right side of the pants over to the left and cover that hole. These jeans Had plenty of room so this will actually improve the fit for me. 

 

I wanted to sew the jeans back together like this. That hole will be covered up. 

 

Let's zoom in. I stitched the jeans back together in the new position. I sewed slow and used a new needle because multiple layers denim can be tough to sew through. A denim needle will work best. 

 

There was a similar hole on the back of the jeans. It was right next to the pocket. I do not want a hole in the bum of my jeans. That is another area I really want my jeans to cover is my bum. Let's mend that hole.

 

I found a scrap of denim to use as a patch. I wanted it to be much bigger than the hole. It is going inside the jeans and it will be right over the hole. 

 

I sewed back and forth over the hole and patch to re-enforce the fabric. My stitches are extending about 2 inches beyond the hole to add strength to the whole area. 

 

You can see my stitches here. I sewed forward and backward over the area in both directions. That will make the patch stronger too. The pocket was a more complicated spot to fix but it wasn't too difficult. I stitched vertically next to the pocket and then horizontally above the pocket because I had to work around the corner of that pocket. 

 

I wanted to narrow the legs of the jeans a bit so I sewed along the inner seam to make a new seam that was a little smaller. I turned the jeans inside out and made sure the leg of the jeans was flat and smooth before I sewed my new seam. 

 

I also cut the jeans a bit shorter. I cut at an angle so the front of the pant leg was a bit shorter than the back of the pant leg. 

 

My new/old jeans were great now. They fit so much better. The holes are patched, filled in, and covered. Thanks for reading along, now go repair something fun for yourself.