#Patching

[hidefdoritos]

My infamous solarpunk shorts have always had a defect: The belt loops were too small for my belt.

Yesterday I unpicked all five belt loops and cut out seven new ones. I then realized the fabric wasn't very stable, even on the straight grain, so I backed them with my landlady's fusible interfacing. Then I used my machine's diamond stitch to cover the raw edge.

And here's the final product! Cheers to a more wearable, usable garment.

[thejabber-talkey]

My terrible H&M jeans live to see another day! This fix: the inexplicably worn out outer seam on the right leg!

And my sketch, which better demonstrates how shredded that section of the pants seam really was.

[heavymead0w]

Reinforcement and a star patch on some ripped cords for Rory

[dognonsense]

patched up this tooth paste stained sweatshirt my gf no longer wore :3 now the patches cover that stain and looks so cool. I used embroidery floss in different colors to add some more pops of color.

the patches came from patch trades with friends and 'god is trans' is from threeracoonsstudio the patch seller.

[goodnight-ensign]

better than I expected :)

[swallowsummer]

If you squint at the picture below you may be able to see three tiny holes in this mini t-shirt. I may have gone a tad overboard, but once I remembered the little embroidered bees salvaged from a stained-beyond-redemption baby top, there was only one route open to me…

[strzyggus]

Added soles to my old slippers, fixed my mom's socks and one sleeve of my pajama shirt.

Basically I did anything but that one undershirt I posted last time.

Yes, another hole. I don't know how. I'm very close to just cutting Hubert (or whole already fixed part) out of and use it as a patch, but I'm also very stubborn lol.

[louche-douche-deaux]

Visible mending is a satisfying, attractive pursuit that makes for interesting garments, IMO. This podcast is a brief primer on mending techniques and traditions. Excellent listen for anyone wanting to dip their toe in the practice.

[gourmetdumpster]

Just your daily reminder that mending doesn’t always have to be pretty; it just has to work

[charliecraftsthings]

My partner (being 6'5") has a hard time finding clothes that fit him, so he often gets stuff that doesn't quite fit and it breaks. This happens a lot with the crotch area of pants.

I had a pile of PJ pants to mend for him, and finally got around to it. Since he only wears this around the home, the repair doesn't need to be pretty, just functional.

I found a scrap of similar fabric larger than the hole, and pinned it inside the pants. At the sewing machine, I used a zigzag stitch around the perimeter of the patch to both secure the raw edges of the scrap, and allow for a bit of stretch and movement in this area of the garment.

Then I flipped the pants right-side out and zigzagged around the edges of the hole. I made at least two rounds to make sure the patch and pants would be well bonded. I also stitched over areas that looked like they'd benefit from extra reinforcing. On one pair, I found another smaller hole so I did that one as well.

For thread--again, these are pants that nobody but us us will probably see (in person, I mean). So I picked a strong thread in a colour I was least likely to use. That ended up being Glide trilobal polyester in "Vegas Gold".

Only later did I realise ... this maybe wasn't a great look.

But at least they're functional pants again!

[hidefdoritos]

Crotch Mending

Hello everyone! We all know the answer to this one. Where do your pants wear out the fastest?

[Audience yelling: THE CROTCH!!!]

Exactly! I've already done DIY ripstop on (almost) all the pants I own. This pair of shorts tore out above the ripstop earlier in the summer, but I replaced them with secondhand basketball shorts and forgot about them in the Tote of Doom.

Anyway, I desperately needed an easy W in the books tonight, so I pulled out whatever odd-shaped scraps of black canvas came to hand, and I patched the crotch.

I started out by sewing a box all around this rip to stabilize it. My machine has a cool diamond stitch that I use as a serger dupe, but you can do the exact same thing with a little straight stitch grid. It's just enough to lock all the OG threads in place, with enough patch showing through to relieve tension on the rip.

Also, as I've learned the hard way, I have to use polyester thread for this. I'm always a slut for cotton, but it just can't stand up to my tactical thighs. Also, long-leg boxer briefs are the key to negating the sensory input from the mends.

I proceeded to stitch this semi-geometric sorta-concentric pattern all over the patch to hold it down. The easy W was complete! But I'm a creature of momentum. My favorite words are "While I'm at it," so I did the other side too.

Final product:

I'm so pleased! I'll have to see how well they wear. Using dark grey thread rather than black was a good choice.

I hope this inspires you to try saving or reinforcing some pants. While I'm not posting a photo of proof for obvious reasons, you truly can't see crotch mending, especially when the thread matches because it's all up in your undercarriage and shadowed. Nobody's looking that closely, and if they are, kick them.

Go forth and make stuff. As @dog-of-ulthar said in his pants-mending tutorial, "The revolution starts with your ass."

[thejabber-talkey]

New addition on my ever-evolving patchwork jeans! Topography-inspired pseudo-sashiko, yippee!

[the-werido]

I don't care if my pants look "patchy" they've been with me since I was 15 and they'll be with until I'm 115 if I have anything to say about it.

[goodnight-ensign]

Mending my shirt today :)

[swallowsummer]

I recently overheard a conversation about how to get kids mending and wanting to mend. I had to try soooo hard not to jump into that conversation. Still, glad people are thinking about mending and that it is a topic of conversation!

My kids now bring me their clothes to be mended. These are not my eldest’s favourite trousers, simply because, “They haven’t been mended enough yet.” But we’ve made a good start.

There are actually two patches here: one quick, strong one made of old cargo shorts underneath the worn area, and this cotton batik mouse print that my mum gave me once on top. I was worried it wouldn’t be strong enough on its own. I hemmed it with blanket stitch and used sesame seed stitch (i think?) to add texture and longevity.