technique 3

mending and patching jeans

with 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 the
individualism of the wearer and integrate it into the repair. When this comes together, the jeans take
on 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 them
because 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 maintain
the rugged, tough, and worn characteristics and … not look like it was sewn 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,) starting
above the hem, until just before the pocket join point. This will give you a nice, wide area to
maneuver 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 will
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protect the area of the rip as well as the broader, surrounding, worn area. Steam the interfacing well in
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place. Repeat for every hole.

(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 patches
should cover the torn and ripped sections and also the worn area surrounding the rips. You can use
both 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 dealing
with 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 the
colors in the needle however you wish.

Stitch your patches on securely, with a zigzag or straight stitch. On the following page are some close
ups photos of some variations.

finishing:
Pull all the thread ends to the back and knot well. Re-stitch the side seams closed. Machine wash and
dry. All the edges of the patches will gently fray.
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Finished!
(top left) Patch is zigzag stitched with the
ochre thread around the perimeter, and
then stitched vertically back and forth.
Using chocolate thread, it is diagonally
straight stitched back and forth.

(top) A row is stitched all around the

perimeter of black denim patch, reinforcing
the fused interfacing. Then it is stitched on
the knee with a zigzag stitch with white
thread, continuing above and below the
patch.

(bottom left)Three different patches are

stacked, one above the other. The top is in
a contrasting denim, in the middle is the
back side of another denim, stitched with
the chocolate thread, and underneath is the
zigzag stitch, re-enforcing the fused
interfacing.

These patches create interesting textures

and also re-build the worn denim, adding
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durability.
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