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technique 3

mending and patching jeanswith designer style

“Soho

Hobo” patches

by nancy minsky

author of “denim revolution: dozens of ways

to turn denim cast-offs into fashion must-haves

”

http://21centurydressmakers.blogspot.com

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Soho-Hobo

a technique to patch jeans with hip, individuality

When you mend jeans for others you discover the personal connection the wearer feels to denim.People link many memories to their jeans so when they entrust you to mend them, it is much more than just making a repair. In the true spirit of denim, your mending is successful when you understand theindividualism of the wearer and integrate it into the repair. When this comes together, the jeans takeon a second life, which can be even more wonderful for the wearer than the first time around.Welcome to chapter three and the story of the

“Soho

Hobo”

patches.

the jean dilemma

The jeans for this project belong to an active guy, a young rebel, who could no longer wear thembecause of the multitude of holes and rips. He asked if I could

“fix them, naturally, without any “designer”

looks

.”

The patches needed to be durable to withstand a lot more heavy wear, and maintainthe rugged, tough, and worn characteristics

and … not look like it was s

ewn by a designer.

the cure

Use a variety of different denim scraps, in an unplanned pattern, very roughly but securely stitched.

sewing materials



for the patches - gather together a variety of denim scraps



½ yard, medium weight, iron-on interfacing



cotton thread in denim blue, cream, brown, ochre



general sewing materials including: scissors, straight pins, hand sewing needle, sewing machine with

a “denim sewing needle”, iron, ironing board, ruler or tape measure, seam ripper.

how to do it:

prepare the jeans:

With a seam ripper, open the side seams (generally only a single row of stitching,) startingabove the hem, until just before the pocket join point. This will give you a nice, wide area tomaneuver easily around the sewing machine arm to stitch the patches.Press your jeans.

reinforce holes with interfacing:

Lay your jeans on the ironing board with the back side facing up.Neatly arrange the loose denim threads of a hole and press flat. Cut your interfacing so that it willprotect the area of the rip as well as the broader, surrounding, worn area. Steam the interfacing well inplace. Repeat for every hole.

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(above photo) The interfacing fuses the denim threads and reinforces the worn material.Turn you jeans over to the right side and press the fused interfacing again.

choose the patches:

Lay your jeans flat on the floor.Arrange the various scraps you have gathered for the patches until you like the look. The patchesshould cover the torn and ripped sections and also the worn area surrounding the rips. You can useboth sides of your denim scraps for fabric and texture variety.

note: When jeans are very

worn it’s more efficient to patch the entire

worn area. This way you avoid having to frequently add additional patches.

sewing patches:

Hand baste all the patches in place.

note:

don’t skip this step as it will

actually make the sewing go faster by preventing you from dealingwith a bungle of bothersome straight pins when you are stitching on the machine, and will keep the patches smooth and flat.

Thread the bobbin with the cream color. And sew with the right side of the fabric up, alternating thecolors in the needle however you wish.Stitch your patches on securely, with a zigzag or straight stitch. On the following page are some closeups photos of some variations.

finishing:

Pull all the thread ends to the back and knot well. Re-stitch the side seams closed. Machine wash anddry. All the edges of the patches will gently fray.Finished!