Finally finished the sashiko mending on one pair of jeans!
The problem with fixing a hole in jeans due to wear, is that it's not long before the next hole appears, because most of the jeans are wearing thin. This has been happening with all the jeans I've been repairing and I'm discovering that the sashiko method of repairing is working out the best, because it's easy enough to extend the patterning, unlike with individual patching.
I've finally finished embroidering over the most worn areas of the jeans that I started with the circle sashiko pattern. I started extending on this pattern about 3.5 months ago, when new holes began to appear, so it's been slow and time consuming. I usually sew in the evenings when I watching tv with the family.
As most of my embroidery thread is salvaged from various other places, I rarely have enough of one colour to do a large area, so I decided to graduate it from yellow to red, extending up the front of the jeans, where there's the most wear.
I usually divide the embroidery thread into sets of three (most seem to come in 6s) and in order to make the change of colour gradual, I exchanged one thread at a time, easing a bit more of the new colour into each row, approximately. I wasn't too strict on the rows and generally finished and added in the next colour when I'd made the best use of what I was currently on, in order to waste as little as possible. I rather like the effect of this, because it makes for a more natural blend, rather than looking striped.
Because I was only marking out the outer circles and doing the rest freehand, I didn't realise until I reached the original stitching on the other leg that my stitches had been getting larger over time, as had the gaps between the circles.
Oops!
It doesn't look too bad, though, so I see this as a lesson. The idea with sashiko is for it to be a faster way of mending large areas in a decorative manner. So really the fact that I'd adjusted my sewing in this way makes more sense than the tiny stiches I started with. Small stiching has its place, just not here so much. This way uses less thread, less time and achieves what it's meant to.
Nearly there.
In case you were wondering, the reason that embroidery keeps the jeans together is via the patching it holds on the back of the fabric.
You can use just about anything you want, whatever you have on hand. I like a sturdy fabric for jeans and I've plenty of old denim anyway. It makes for double thickness, especially with the patches overlapping, so they are heavier weight jeans now. Great for winter, so naturally I finished them just in time for shorts weather!
I used a biro to draw out the circles, because it doesn't rub off while I'm working, like fabric pencil tends to do (although I also don't have a fabric pencil), but it does still wash out after a couple of washes.
Pen marks mostly faded after the first wash
When the cold weather returns I'll have have another pair of jeans back.
Hey, those jeans are really cool I wish I possessed those sorts of arts and crafts skills.
I used to see patterns like that on regular jeans when I was tripping so they kind of bring back fond memories lol.
Lol! It seems somewhere in your mind you possess the creative abilities at least. 😁 Maybe you can send some of those creative ideas my way for the next pair of jeans. 😉
Oh wow - never seen this style of creative mending before - very nice!! And actually super practical in that it's supporting the delicate fibers around it and preventing (delaying?) the next tear. The back patching is really clever!!
Yes, it definitely adds enough structural support to prevent the next tear, although it is probably more like delaying, as you say. I'll have to get more wear from them to find out. I feel like the stitching might be the thing to wear next.
I only recently discovered the sashiko style of embroidery mending myself. I wish I'd come across it sooner.
Nice! I might try this on one of my tattered jeans. The hole is too high. Haha
High holes reminds me I forgot to take a photo of the rear, where there are a couple of circles trying to prevent a hole there! 😆
Fascinating! I usually make appliqué for my daughter's pant but I must try Sashiko :)
I like that approach too, but could end up with a LOT of appliqués after a while. 😆 I'm just working on some that had external patches, but are getting new holes around them now, so I'm trying to make it look like the sashiko embroidery is in the background.
Very cool! Loved watching the progression on these jeans over time.
I love to see progression pictures too. Unfortunately, I'm not always good at remembering to take them.
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I am speechless! The work you put into that is invaluable. I love the color changes and how you made that in gradients. The swirls lend an playful air to the practical jeans, combined with the colors it makes this unique. Truly designer fashion, because you designd it :)
When strengthening thin parts of jeans, I used fabric from old t-shirts. I like the elasticity of it.
Thank you. I rather like jeans with a bit of an interesting design to them, but hadn't thought of adding it myself until recently.
I have thought of using t-shirt fabric, but hadn't considered the comfort of it. You've got me thinking now...
That really looks great! That's what I call creativity, really nice .. never thought of doing something like this, will remember that though when the next hole appears in a jeans :)
Be warned, you might be sewing them up for longer than you expected...😅
I kind of already noticed that last weeks when sewing up some felt for Christmas decoration. I thought, it's done in a heartbeat, how long can it take to sew a small thing like that. Well, pretty long sometimes. So I think if I ever get to that point that I'm sewing a jeans, I will have to reserve a daily time frame for it for a month or so :D haha
Haha! You've reminded me of when I'd made some scrunchies for the gymnastics club to sell as a fundraiser, and some woman snarkily commented on the price, saying that it would only take 5 minutes to make one. Grrrrrr... I know I take longer than most to do things, but no-one's going to be that quick to make one.
!ENGAGE 25
Oh, these type of women, ugh.. If only they ever tried creating one themselves, ay? They probably never tried.. so time-consuming. I used to create children's hair accessories and spent a lot of time designing them, some people honestly thought it was 30 sec work. Come on, a lot of love went in there and these weren't just there without any thought or effort. I was very picky and detail oriented. So I never took these comments lightely :)
I guess it's like most things. You see the finished product and don't necessarily think that the whole process doesn't just start with putting it together. You must have been incredibly patient to do children's hair accessories. Occasionally I got creative with the scrunchies and made something I knew the younger kids would love, but it ended up getting so fiddly and long winded, I'd decide I just don't have the time to go through it again.
I often get angry when I'm at christmas basaars and see people complaining about having to pay 20 Euros for a hand knitted pair of socks. If you subtract the costs for material, there's about 1€/h left.
That's why I don't craft for others "on demand" - I make gifts, I often ask what kind of patterns/yarns they like. But what I make is my decision.
I guess we're just so used to cheap imports, we've lost track of how much things actually cost when they're not produced from start to finish on unlivable wages.
yeah so true!
I wonder if you have typical "male jobs" like someone repairing your car or fixing your sink privately and you offer him money - do people offer the same pittance? Is it because these crafts are stereotypical female? Or is it the "you did knit the socks because you enjoy it"?
Anyway, I'm quite happy I won't have these discussions this year. Though the cake is always brilliant at these bazaars ;)
Oh gosh, that could open a can of worms! 😅 I'm not particularly keen on how feminism and the inequality discussion is being pushed harder than ever, despite the huge advances made in just my lifetime alone, but you have a point there. Having said that, it could also be the cost benefit factor. If an expensive item is being repaired, then the cost to repair will still save a lot on the cost of replacement. However, if you repair a friend's top, the cost to repair may be more than a replacement.
This wasn't always the case, of course. Clothing used to be expensive and in some circles still is.
agree! people should appreciate craftmanship more!
ENGAGEtokens.I think such sewing/mending tasks are longterm projects but you often can do them as "tv accompanying tasks". My sister sometimes hand quilts her patchwork projects - doing that on your sofa in the evening means you can use the quilt to keep warm and comfy while doing the needlework ;)
After the whole process now I think it's reusable. this is very good work and explanation to make it usable again after torn. nice share dear friend
Thank you for saying so. I'm glad the process was clear enough to understand.
I had no idea about this sashiko method. I came to know about this post. and after repairing the jeans is looking very good and colourful. Thanks for sharing with us your effort. It is a nice thing that we can we wear a jeans by this way and reuse it. It is also economically efficient process as I believe.
Thank you.
Economically and ecologically efficient, maybe, but probably not time efficient! 😆
Yeah, I can guess it looking at the design. May not energy efficient also :)
I didn't know this technique. It's useful and decorative at the same time.
It's a technique I only recently came across myself. Maybe soon it will become more widely known.
Very creative in mending the old ripped jeans. The technique is very new to me. And the overall effect of embroidery transforms the old jeans into something different with a touch of creativity and style. Keep up the good work and God bless.
I think it's only recently been brought into the spotlight as we look more into repairing instead of throwing away older clothes. It cod be nibs to see it become popular.
Very useful technique. Especially for these times, where the jeans are super thin and with a simple scrape they break. Good vibes!
How true! They used to be some of the hardest wearing clothes, but now not so much. Well maybe still for really expensive jeans. Have you ever heard of Indigo Proof? They repair and alter denim and they are incredible! I can't imagine it would be cheap, though, but maybe worth it for top end denim.
Do you just hold the needle with your fingertips? You'd have some mad callouses built up.
Yes, but I don't think I have callouses. Maybe I'm not working hard enough. 🤔
Mind you, my hands are probably rough from gardening anyway and I'm getting some callouses on my palms since I've started climbing again.
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I glanced at your post earlier but didn’t have the time to read through it just yet. Now I see why so much conversation is going on here lol! This technique is just FAB!!
This is new to me as well. Like I want to go and grab a pair of my jeans (they don’t even have holes in them) and do this technique for the style and decoration of it! It really transformed the jeans into a needlework art statement!
So, you added the extra jean material to the inside of the jeans (behind the hole) and embroidered that material to the jeans to cover the hole right?
Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I’m sure we’ll be seeing this technique more from other needleworkers now! 😄
Awesome work my friend!! Wow! 🤩
Thank you. 😊
I'm really pleased with the result, but never envisioned it taking so long! Doesn't help that I'm slow at just about everything; I'm sure some would it in much quicker time. 😆
Yes, the patch goes at the back in this situation. I have also seen it done with the patching at the front, but I didn't find it as appealing, so I guess it's down to personal taste.
Haha! Well slow and steady, neat and precise...that's a saying. The results may took a long time but patience definitely paid off!
Okay thanks for confirming! I will definitely consider doing this. I really like it on the light pair of jeans. If I did it on a dark pair I need to be sure I have thread colors that would be bright and easily seen.
Amazing! You did not just extend the life of that pair of jeans, you gave it an entirely new identity. The outcome was so cool! I'm gonna try these on some of my jeans too.
Thank you. ❤ Make sure you share your work too. 😁
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Thank you @crosheille. I feel rather humbled you considered it good enough. ❤
They look so cool!
And you could probably sell them for bucketloads because there's probably some designer label out there somewhere selling pre-ripped and pre-patched jeans like this for ridiculous amounts of money XD
Thank you. Business ideas too! I wonder if I can add a premium as well, because they will be one offs after all. 😉
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That is incredible, I have never seen such beautiful repairs before. @sreypov, check out this technique. I have a pair of semi-destroyed jeans you can experiment on.
Thank you. I hope you're not getting me into trouble with @sreypov, though! 😅
Oh, this is a very good idea and beautiful but so much time to do that @justinparke. I do not have time to do it.
very unique technique!
how long did you make it?
Probaby about 4 months all up, just doing an hour or two each day. Bear in mind I'm a slow sewer, though. Most people wouldn't take as long as me. 😆