#but random spool of thread you found in a drawer is a time tested and honorable thread for patching things

[itstimeforstarwars]

Okay @katharkness here are a couple of tutorials and refs.

The first two are the ones that @phoenixyfriend dropped in the replies, thank you so much for that! The second link here is definitely my favorite ref of the bunch, so I'm glad you had it!!

This one is a post with a book rec on visible mending and a youtube video of a guy doing a type of visible mending called sashiko. If you were interested in the white crosses on patches I mentioned in the tags, this would be that. I know my library carries Mending Matters, so you might check and see if it's at yours!

This post is a short visual guide to several common repair techniques. It talks about it in the context of holes in the knees, but they will work just as well for thigh holes (just don't use the ladder stitch). The "patch on the inside of the jeans" technique is what I recommend most, because it's stronger and lasts longer and it's easier for beginners. The "darning" technique is what I personally usually use, because I'm lazy and also because most of my fabric is packed but my thread is not. If you do the patch, you will automatically have a border from sewing the patch to the pants, but if you do the darning, sew a border around the hole first to strengthen the edges and make it less likely that the hole grows.

The next two are a couple references that I dug up.

This post is the DIY clothing repair guide pdf from the university of kentucky. It's been a while since I've read it so I don't remember if there's something immediately useful in it but it's a neat little general resource.

This post is a step by step guide with pictures on how to specifically patch an inner thigh hole. The holes of the pictured jeans are gigantic, so it's a pretty clear tutorial. It is machine based but the steps are basically the same if you hand sew it. I recommend reading the two links from Phoenix first, and then this one, and that should give you a pretty good idea on where to go with your jeans.

Bonus tips:

The fabric you patch with matters, mostly because of stretch. If your jeans are 100% cotton, use a fat quarter or some regular woven cotten to patch. If they are stretch jeans (5-15% nylon or spandex or whatever) go with jersey cotton (like an old t-shirt) or something with the same fabric content cuz that will stretch a bit also. If they're jeggings...idk. Patch with an old pair of leggings, probably? You could also use like, actual jean patches for patching jeans like what they sell at walmart, if you want, but I don't like them and I have one billion fat quarters laying around so. Up to you.

If you don't have an exact match for thread because all you have is like a dollar store sewing kit, use white thread for tan or blue jeans and black thread for black jeans. If you have weird colored jeans and a dollar store sewing kit, use whatever color is closest in the kit. It's on the thighs so no one will likely notice anyway.

Put on an audio that you like when you are sewing. It is best to put on something you already know you like because mending thigh holes can get very annoying when it is not going well and if you are ambivalent toward your audio things are double worse.

Do NOT sew on your bed. If you lose your needle you don't want to lose it on your bed!!! Also have a magnet and a flashlight nearby :) Trust me on this one :)))

If you get some thread on a spool from like walmart or some shit or if you used the thread out of your dollar store sewing kit it will almost certainly be polyester. If you do not want polyester thread, go to the embroidery section of walmart or a craft supply store and you will almost certainly find cotton embroidery thread. Personally I do not find that the type of thread matters.

I hate knowing how to sew. I hate that knowing how to sew compels me to fix my own clothes when their shoddy construction destroys them cuz I don't wanna spend another fuckin thirty dollars to replace it when I have $1 of thread. Mending is the worst and it's 90% of the sewing I do these days.