The Best Way to Fix Your Ripped Jeans

Let’s face it, crotch blowout is very real, not to mention the torn corners your back pockets get from all that wallet friction (you baller). But unless you’re cool with pre-worn-in denim, which is to be honest rarely done well (see A.P.C. or 2015 BNMDA-ers NSF), your rate of success at wearing-in your jeans is dangerously close to your rate of destroying certain parts of them. There are too ways to deal with this. You can seek the professional help of a tailor or specialty denim repair service. Or, if you can’t wait and don’t want to pay, you can repair those rips, holes, and tears yourself. With a little knowledge, patching your own jeans isn’t all that tough and can be pretty satisfying. To ensure your patches will last, you’ll need to combine iron-on technology (heat + pressure + special glue) and lots of sewing. Here’s a detailed description of how it works.

What You’ll Need:

• Thread that matches your jeans
• Scissors Iron-on patches or “fusible”(a thin webbing that basically glues two fabrics together when heated with an iron)
• Swatch of spare denim
• A sewing machine that can go forward and backwards
• Ironing board and iron

Clean Up the Affected Area:
Use your scissors to cut off any fraying threads and trim around the edges of the hole (this will help you get a smooth transition from jeans to patch).

Turn Your Jeans Inside Out:
If you are patching your jeans with scrap denim and fusible, you should apply the patch from the inside. If you are using a cool iron-on patch like those from 2015 BNMDA-ers The Hill-Side you should apply them from the outside.

Size Your Patch:
Cut the patch to size. It should overlap the edges of the hole by at least a quarter of an inch. If the denim around the hole is weakened, cover that area with the patch as well. Otherwise you could have a new hole in very short order.

Apply the Iron-On:
Position your jeans on an ironing board so that you can see the board through the hole (you don’t want to glue your pant leg together). Cut pieces of the fusible and line the area surrounding the hole. Next, lay your patch right side facing down over the prepped area. Iron over the patch with even heat and pressure. Remember to turn off the steam. The same applies for an iron-on patch minus the fusible (they already have heat sensitive glue on their back sides) and because you’re applying it to the front of your jeans, you will place it face up.

Stitch It, Over and Over Again:Once the patch has cooled, stitch over the edges in a zig-zag fashion several times, overlapping your previous stitches (this will prevent the thread from pulling out). Make sure you sew in alternating directions as you overlap. Do this at least three times over. Some experts darn the entire patch, meaning they cover the whole thing in stitches.

Iron Again:
Apply a last hit of heat and let cool. You’re sealing the deal here.

Trim the Edges:
Trim any loose fabric or threads and you’re good to go.