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Patching Jeans – My No-Sew Method

19 February 2010 2,553 views 11 Comments

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I have two boys.  They are so very precious to me.  AND, they run through their clothes like it is nobody’s business. We have now reached the stage (4T) where Cole is unable to use any of Grant’s hand-me-down pants because Grant put so many holes in his pants that they are uninhabitable.  My little animals.

However, I have found a solution!  I can patch them up!  NO, not THAT kind of patch.  Not the embarassing, darker-colored iron-on “look at the place where there once was a hole ’cause my momma’s too cheap to buy me new pants” kinda patch.

We’re talking subtle, here.  We’re talking . . . cool.  And, please remember that I am referring to patching boys pants.  It is SO not cool to cover the hole with a butterfly patch.  That may work for girls, but not mini-Mitch’s (my DH).  Girls can get away with “embellishing” their pants with pretty fabric.  Boys can not.

Yes, I do have a sewing machine, however I don’t like to lug it out and clear off my always-messy desk and find the thread, JUST to fix a hole.  Instead, I use GLUE.  Want to see what I do?

First, the offender.

This pair of jeans was perfectly fine yesterday morning.  They were even LONG enough (which is kind of rare on my ever-growing boys).  I loved these jeans!

Imagine my shock-and-chagrin when I went to pick Cole up from Bible Study childcare and he was sporting a fresh hole in the knee.  Grr.


The first thing I did was cut the longer strings. A little bit of fraying is kinda cool, but longer strings just BEG a three-year-old to pull them.

Next, I grabbed a pair of old jeans that had some unfortunately placed holes.  These jeans are not salvagable, but they make great patches!

I cut a patch out of the old, unsalvagable jeans.  The patch is significantly larger than the hole.  I just want to be safe.  I also rounded the edges of the patch so that it wouldn’t get caught on something and tear off in the future.

Then, I grabbed the glue.  I used Aleene’s OK To Wash-It, which I had originally purchased to “sew” patches onto my son’s Cubbies vest. (Long time blog readers, do you remember that ill-fated venture?  I won’t link you up.  Oy!)

I applied a bunch of glue to the FRONT of the patch and smeared it around with my finger, covering the entire patch.

Then, I turned the jeans inside out so that I could apply the patch to the back of the hole. I shoved a piece of plastic inside the leg of the jeans so that the glue wouldn’t seep through.  Then, I applied the patch and smoothed it out.  At this point, you just let it dry.  I typically let the patches dry overnight.

And, this is how the hole looks now!

Kinda “cool” and yet all patched up!  These jeans should last a bit longer, don’t you think?  I’ve patched up MUCH larger holes than this, and the end result is always ultra cool.

So, what do you think?  Is this something you could do?

Linking to:

Frugal Friday @ Life As Mom

DIY Day @ A Soft Place To Land

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11 Comments »

  1. Jen Graham said:

    Very cool. Alton has not yet reached the stage ripped holes in knees, but I remember both of my brothers going through it. Totally saving this idea for later.

    [Reply]

    # 19 February 2010 at 6:23 pm
  2. Jude said:

    I’ve got the same problem with girls’ clothes and I’m not girly enough to ‘embellish’ :-) . Maybe I’ll even sort them out, don’t have any fabric glue though. Could be a dangerous trip, I’ll come back with all sorts of fun stuff!

    I remember purposefully rubbing the knees of my jeans with a wire wool cleaning pad to get rips back in the 80s… And if the hole got too big, or was in the bum area I’d get Mum to put a patch underneath it in some lurid material.

    Why do people think the 80s were cool?!

    [Reply]

    # 20 February 2010 at 1:16 am
  3. Melissa said:

    Love this idea! :)

    [Reply]

    # 20 February 2010 at 2:02 am
  4. Jeanne said:

    Great idea, Kelleigh and one I may have to use with my not so feminine girlies! Since mine are in Brownies and Daisies, I might have to try that idea for their patches. I’ve got a pile here that need to get put on their vests and I keep putting it off because I’d have to go out into the craftroom (in the cold garage) to get to the sewing machine.

    Thanks for sharing!

    [Reply]

    # 20 February 2010 at 7:17 am
  5. Charity said:

    Love it! My fav. jeans got a hole in the knee a week or two ago. As a mommy of 4 I don’t have the time or money to replace them :) . This is a great way to patch – I’m all for the no sew method (I too have had unfortunate Cubbie vest experiences).

    [Reply]

    # 23 February 2010 at 8:34 am
  6. Heather said:

    I am So borrowing this idea. I have the two man wrecking crew and specifically a 7 year old who goes through pants like no one else I know.

    [Reply]

    # 23 February 2010 at 3:01 pm
  7. Jill said:

    I LOVE this idea, I have a pile of “holey” jeans that need help. Thanks for the tip I will have to get some glue tomorrow and try it out!

    [Reply]

    # 26 February 2010 at 10:33 pm
  8. Lenetta @ Nettacow said:

    My problem is my hubs! I usually send his jeans over to his mother, but I may be able to wing this. I linked on my weekly roundup (post is under my name) – thanks for sharing!

    [Reply]

    # 7 March 2010 at 10:25 am
  9. Rose said:

    Yahoo! Thanks for posting this i’ve been wanting to patch up my son’s jeans for the longest time but never wanted to sew cause i’m too lazy :) This is pretty smile and the final finish looks great!

    Thanks again!
    Rose

    [Reply]

    # 22 April 2010 at 8:11 am
  10. Heather T. said:

    Well that’s a fabulous idea! Right at the moment Allen’s legs are growing about 14 inches per hour, so the pants get shorter more rapidly than they get torn, but I can see this coming in real handy in the future! Thanks for the tip.

    [Reply]

    # 27 May 2010 at 3:56 pm
  11. The Friday Haul! | Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs said:

    [...] Wahooooo!  Seriously.  This is a major score.  And, they are THICK, too!  I won’t have to patch them up for quite a [...]

    # 9 July 2010 at 5:09 pm

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