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Rips in the thighs of jeans are a potential threat to anyone who has thighs.
That’s everyone.
However, some people experience this issue more than others.
The best way to deal with this problem is to reinforce your jeans from the inside. It is quite tempting simply to discard your jeans for a pair of new ones. You could always buy yourself new jeans. After all, a rip on the knee or almost anywhere else on the jeans does not look so bad, but one on your inner thigh might just be slightly embarrassing.
Thankfully, there is a simple way to reinforce your jeans so that you can prevent such rips and tears from occurring.
Before we start, we have to get the jeans ready for sewing. Let us start with that.
Make sure you wash the jeans before you sew them. Ideally, you should turn the jeans inside out and let them have a proper wash.
Once they are dry, iron them while still keeping them inside out to remove any folds or creases on the jeans.
You are now ready to stitch on your jeans.
Make sure you have all your materials ready. You will need the materials mentioned in Chapter 1 for the most part. For the patch, you do not have to worry about choosing a specific color. If you can find other, similar jeans in your home, then cut out a small patch from those jeans. Regarding the measurements of the patch, I would recommend getting one that is 5 inches by 5 inches.
PRO TIP: If you would like to strengthen the reinforcement, then you can take two patches, both of which are 5 inches by 5 inches, and place them together.
If you would like to see how the size fits on your jeans, then simply take a chalk, measure 5 inches by 5 inches, and draw the shape on your jeans. See if the size is ideal for you. If you prefer a bigger size, then draw that shape on your jeans and check if it satisfies your preference.
Once you have confirmed the size, you can then go about getting the patch from another pair of jeans. If you do not have jeans, you can also use cotton from any piece of clothing you have in your house (preferably one no one is using)!
Now you are ready to start stitching the patch into the inner thigh.
Now that your pants are inside out, you need to place an object (preferably a small book or a box) on the other side of the surface on which you are going to perform the stitching. This is to ensure that when you use your pins, you do not accidentally pin the legs of your jeans shut.
Since you are only reinforcing your jeans, find a thread color that has a darker shade than the jeans. This will help you hide it well. The best kind of thread is one that matches the color of the jeans. Such a thread would completely blend into the jeans.
Now place your patch where you would like it to be. Use pins to secure the patch to the jeans.
PRO TIP:
If you like, you can use the tip above where you can draw the outline of the patch on your jeans to see exactly where you would like the patch to be. Once you have the outline, you can place your patch on it.
Thread your needle. You can use the sashiko needle and thread for this stitching, or you could use any other needle and thread, the choice is yours.
Since the pattern of your stitching won’t be visible to anyone, you do not need to draw lines to create a stitch pattern. However, you can use it to make sure you are stitching in a particular direction and don’t suddenly find yourself stitching outside the patch area.
Step 5:
As always, run your needle from the inner side of the jeans. This means that you will pierce from the side that is facing you. Typically, I would say that you should start piercing from the inner side, by which the needle would pierce out. This time, the needle will pierce in. The reason we are doing this is because once we complete the stitch, we will be tying the knot on the inside of the jeans, which is the side you are currently looking at. If the jeans were the right side out, then you would be piercing from the inside.
Use a running stitch method and continue stitching all the way around until you reach back to the starting point.
Upon reaching the starting point, create a knot to secure the patch to the jeans. The knot should be visible to you (unlike the previous cases where the knot was on the other side of the material). When you turn the jeans around, you will notice that the knot itself is not visible.
Now you are ready to wear your jeans. If you would like to perform the same technique on the inner thigh of the other leg, then you simply have to follow the same steps mentioned here.
You have now successfully reinforced your jeans!
