How very embarrassing and what a bummer!!! Literally. There are two pairs of jeans that I really like, but since last year holes have started to appear in the inner thighs. I wore them during winter with leggings underneath but that only made things worse to the point that the holes were getting bigger and I now can't wear them anymore. When I googled it, fortunately, it wasn't my problem, I mean it was, but I'm not the only person with this problem. Seems like it's quite a common thing.
As much as I love my jeans, it was time to part with them. I took them to the fabric recycling bin the other week and was about to throw them in when I saw the sign saying all donations must be put inside a plastic bag. That's annoying, I didn't have one with me. Maybe fate means their time with me isn't up yet.
I remember during my google search, some people suggested to patch up the holes and upcycle them. Now that's a thought!!! With the hot summer this year, I realised I don't have enough shorts to wear. If I cut off the legs, I can use the spare fabric to patch up the holes and make two new pairs of denim shorts. That means I can keep my jeans! I've never done any needlework before and I love a challenge.
And it didn't seem too difficult. Here's my first patch...... 😟😅
Then I thought I can make it neater by sewing the patch along the seams. It makes it stronger as well. I made sure the grain aligned on both pieces of fabric and I chose a similar shade, not that it would matter a lot. But anyway. I think it looks a lot better like this.
It was a bit fiddly, but I got there in the end, and you can see a big difference between the first patch (top left) and the last one (bottom right). I was really chuffed with myself 😀
Next, I had to sew the hem to stop the edges from fraying. This was a lot easier than sewing the patches. The edges were a bit wobbly, but that's ok, demin shorts are very casual, they don't have to be perfect.
Here's the finished product. You can see the patches from this angle, but when you wear them, they're not visible unless someone looks very hard.... that would be very rude!!!!!
And just to be sure, I had to check myself, it looks just like a normal pair of perfect denim shorts!!
Compared to all the amazing sewists I see on Hive, I know this is simple kindergarten stuff. However, I'm glad I took up this little upcycling project. It helped to save the environment, saved me a few pennies in not having to buy new shorts, and I get to keep my favourite jeans.
And this isn't the end of the story. I still have some fabric left from the cut off legs, and I have another project in mind. I've started to work on it and hopefully it will be finished in the next couple of weeks.
