That terrible sound of fabric ripping… The panic that sets in after… It’s a moment we all fear. But it doesn’t have to spell the end for a beloved pair of jeans. There is hope!
I was out playing put-put with my family when it happened to me. I squatted down for the ball and felt the denim stick to my legs. It didn’t shift like it normally would to give me room. And then that sound… It was a sad moment.
Thankfully the hole wasn’t obvious while I was standing and I made it home fine. But then I was faced with a tough situation. I liked these overalls! They are super cute and comfy. I didn’t want to get rid of them. Plus, I kind of needed them for an upcoming trip out of state. So… I was going to have to try something new.
I had and have been following multiple groups and pages dedicated to mending clothes. One of the most highly praised methods was something called sashiko. It used lots of little, straight stitches to back and support a worn or torn piece of fabric. I hadn’t practiced this method much and was nervous about the outcome. Thankfully, this patch would be in a place most would never see. So I didn’t have to worry about it looking particularly pretty.

Prepping the Pants
I stretched the overalls over my square embroidery frame. You can see that it was kind of awkward. But I wanted to make sure I had stretched the hole as much as possible. I figured this would help make sure it didn’t rip again, since I was giving it that extra bit of room to move.
Placing and Stitching the Patch
I pinned down the patch first so it wouldn’t shift on me. I used a patch of denim from another project, you can check that one out here!
The patch was stretch denim so I tried to make sure it was arranged in a way that would help this area move with me in the future. Then I stitched a circle around the tear. Leaving a good half inch or more between where I was stitching and the edge of the fabric. After that, I drew out my straight lines and started stitching short running stitches back and forth, and then up and down till there was stitching going a good two inches beyond the raw edge and an inch beyond the finished edge.
Extra Mends!
But while mending the crotch, I also found a few other small holes around the seams of the pockets! So I also mended those with a bit of darning.
How It Looks Today
So far, the mend has held up well! And I haven’t had any other problems with it. These pictures are after multiple washes and wears.