technique 4

mending and patching jeans

with designer style
Sharecropper patches
by Nancy Minsky
for more jean ideas see Nancy’s book:
Denim Revolution: Dozens of Ways to to Turn Denim Cast-Offs into Fashion Must-Haves
http://21centurydressmakers.blogspot.com

Found in an abandoned shack near the Dan River, north of

Greensboro, North Carolina, is a collection of denim clothing that
belonged to a family of tobacco sharecroppers. The clothing,
from the 1930s to the ‘60s, tells the story of a family who lived
in dire poverty. Overalls have been cut into pants, newer
denim has patched old, worn holes, and resourceful
combinations of patches and hand stitching have created
an unintentional but beautiful, folkloric patchwork.
Historians have concluded that all the handwork has
been sewn by one person. The clothing brings to life
the motivation of a homemaker, who worked to
maintain the family’s clothing with respect and
durability, with no means other than a needle and
thread.

When mending is done with sincere purpose,

with a will to survive another season in the fields,
it has a unique integrity and beauty all its own. With great CHILDREN’S OVERALL CIRCA 1940
(image –“FOUND: A True Story”)
respect for this nameless family, I have tried to capture their
spirit of resourcefulness and handcraft, and named this
technique of mending denim: "Sharecroppers" patches.
sharecropper patches
a technique to patch jeans with integrity

The jeans below demonstrate the variety of sharecropper patches: hand stitched, machine stitched, re-
enforced, patched on top and underneath – which creates a patchwork of textures, shapes and colors.
 the sewing materials
denim scraps for patches
DCM embroidery thread – match thread to a medium shade of your denim
sewing thread – white and denim
note: choose a shade that blends with the worn area you will be mending. Jeans vary broadly in
colors and shades, and well matched thread is important for the look.
general sewing materials including: embroidery scissors; shears; straight pins; iron and ironing board;
sewing machine; denim sewing machine needle; hand sewing needle.
+ your badly damaged, clean and pressed jeans
a few mending hints
 For the patches, choose a denim scrap in a weight similar to your jeans. (It will feel much more
comfortable when you wear them.)

 Soft, worn denim is very pliable so be careful not to stretch it out of shape when you sew.

 Baste all the patches and then sew. In this way you won’t be fighting a bundle of straight pins
and your stitches will be much, more lovely.

 Work with clean and pressed jeans and patches.

 Patch the whole, extended, worn area otherwise you will soon be mending again.

 Make the inside as neat and tidy as the outside. This will make your repair more durable.

 For added durability, make lots of back stitches.

 Knot the thread ends between the patch and the jean to avoid the knot rubbing open.

 Denim comes in many different shades, so choose your thread colors carefully. The thread color
can make or break a look. Sew a test, sewing just a small area, to check if you like the way the
thread color matches or contrasts.

 Look at your jeans, and how they have worn. Patch them accordingly. That is the beauty of
denim.

 Sew your stitches, neatly, firmly and evenly to create stitches as beautiful as possible.

step-by-step tutorial –
for three patch
techniques

patching from the inside:

Open the side seams, from above the
cuff to just below the pocket join point.

Press your jeans.

Lay them flat on the table and decide

which gaping holes you want to patch.

Cut the shapes of the holes with a soft

curve, as even and neat as possible.
Select denim patches and lay them underneath the various holes to choose which one will go where.

Pin a patch in place, on the inside. You want your patch to extend much beyond the worn area. Baste
around the cutout, ¾” from the edge, and ½” all around the perimeter of the patch. Remove the pins.
(photo below)

Turn the cut edge of the hole under about 3/8”. By hand, back stitch, all around the hole, with 3 strands
of DCM thread. Turn the leg inside out, and back stitch, all around the perimeter of the patch.

Repeat on your other patches.

In above photo of backside of jean leg, note the basting, the stitching around the hole, the different
sizes and kinds of patches.

In the below photo, note the completed patching from the backside.
patching on the outside
If you have a small hole, then cut a piece of
denim, pin it on top of the jeans or underneath
the jeans, baste and backstitch all around the
perimeter and on top of the worn part.
(examples in photo)

re-enforcing white weft threads

For areas that the white denim threads are still
intact, you can preserve the look. Press and
baste the threads neatly in place. With the
denim patch in back, enforce the area, with
several rows of stitching. (examples in photo)

For more detailed instructions on preserving the

weft threads, read the “cat and mouse”
mending document.

Sew the side seams closed.

Knot and trim all thread ends.