Oh nos! Bye bye to the 501s?

Stagiaire Fash

I used to love these jeans, bitd, was happy to be able to wear them again earlier this year, and have enjoyed pulling on my true blues. But there’s a strain in the relationship—in the jeans, actually.

This is not an unusual way for pants to wear out, but I’ve never tried to fix any. Is there a way I can save my jeans?

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3 years ago

Dressing

18 replies

Latest reply was from suzieq

rachylou

Veteran

Search on ‘mending jeans’ on Pinterest... there are a lot of cool mending vids!

3 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks Rachylou! I don’t have a sewing machine, but if I knew just what I wanted, I know what tailor I’d go to.
My son walked into the room as I was taking pic #2, said “I’m not going to ask” in that tone that really means “what the Sam Hill are you doing?” Lol

3 years ago

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

The kind of mending done to fix this is usually hand sewn. I visibly mended a pair of my jeans that blew out in the thigh last year. I loved how it looked, but it turns out it takes a really sturdy mend to last on any part of the fabric that takes a lot of stress. My skills weren’t up to the task, so I only got about an additional ten or so wears out of them.

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3 years ago

cat2

Veteran

Yikes, too big for a patch. I would recycle these, assuming your town has fabric recycling.

3 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Jenn, what a great little piece of handwork! Pity it didn’t last.

Besides needing a strong mend here, I assume the fabric all around my rip is quite thin, so I’d need to do something about that too.

Cat2, right now it’s a small rip, about 1.5”, so not bigger than a patch. But you are correct about the size of the area I’d have to strengthen.

3 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

Look into sashiko mending. Japanese method of reinforcing large, high-wear areas. Best to do it on thinning fabric before it tears, but you can do it after the fact too. https://www.diynetwork.com/mad.....ko-mending

I've done this on knees before, but I find it turns into a game of whack-a-mole. Once the fabric is starting to give in one place, it's usually happening in other places as well, and then the jeans spend more time in the mending pile than on my body. I've also found I have some mild sensory issues with the feeling of all that stitching rubbing against my knees, and don't reach for jeans much once they've been patched, but that might not be such an issue with backside patches.

3 years ago

Sloper

Veteran

I don't think it is too big for a patch. Use denim or a sturdy fabric like a strong chino or canvas. If you feel uncomfortable doing it yourself, try a tailor/dressmaker or ask at a denim store for recommendations (or ask people on the street with good denim looks or patched jeans).

There are jean menders in the US, but that would be a drag to send it overseas for a mend.

Reminds of the Cat Stevens song "Oh Very Young"

They will vanish away like your daddy's best jeans
Denim Blue fading up to the sky
And though you want him to last forever
You know he never will
(You know he never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still

3 years ago

Eva

Active Member

The same thing happened to me once, and the tailor put a patch on the inside of the jeans (covering not just the hole, but also the thinner fabric around it), and stitched all over it with a thread the colour of the jeans in that place. It was barely visible. The tailor let me pick the shade of the thread, and I would recommend picking a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the jeans.
Altogether, I was happy with the result, but the mended part was a little stiffer afterwards due to the patch.

While looking for an example photo online, I found this website (with before/after photos) where you can send in your jeans, and they give you a quote, fix them and send them back. I have never tried them though, so can not vouch for them.
https://www.jeans-doktor.de/ih.....-mach-neu/

3 years ago

Anonymous

I personally wouldn't try to mend them. When DHs jeans tear, I turn them into "recycled rats" cat toys

3 years ago

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Move the pocket way down?

(Just kidding.)

To make the mending strong enough, I would layer fabric under the tear, and machine-darn over it (sew back and forth a lot). But that would draw attention to that spot, and if it were me, I'm not sure I'd want to invite the gaze right there, from people who would be behind me and unseen by me--LOL!

3 years ago

Bijou

Veteran

Given the placement of this tear, I would be saying goodbye to these jeans. I did lots of repairs on my sons trousers when he was 5 and 6 years of age, where every pair got ripped on one knee. The fabric really weakens and so it is hard to find fabric strong enough to sew the patch onto. I tended to reinforce the attractive patch with an inside larger patch as well, but it only gave me about an extra month of wear before they were thoroughly trashed.

3 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

In high school in the 70s, I wore jeans with all kinds of colorful patches. I used the sewing machine because it’s durable, but hand sewing can be too, just not mine.

3 years ago

judy

Veteran

While I haven't ever used their services, the before and after photos of this jean repair place look very impressive: https://www.indigoproof.com/#intro
Might be worth a try if they are a very loved pair.
One of my sons went to high school with her. It's nice to see her success.

3 years ago

Sally

Veteran

I used to have 501s when I was 17 and I remember wearing a patch on the bottom after a few years of wearing them to death. I did try to patch them up but it didn't really work. Good luck. I hope you find a solution. Do they even make them anymore? Like my gap jeans in the late nineties which were also amazing, I sometimes wish I had bought multiple pairs to last a lifetime.

3 years ago

Sal

Veteran

My jeans tend to go in the knees first (more when my sons were young) but the seat is second. I have patched as Firecracker suggested, and it worked but is very obvious.

I would see how thin other areas are and whether it is likely that a mending attempt will buy you one month or one year.

Frustrating because they are great jeans but great to wear them out.

2 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I would also be happy they actually wore out rather than got ditched for not liking any more. There is a Scandinavian company called Nudie Jeans I think which loves to repair jeans. They might have a store in Germany?

2 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Oh, just looked it up, they only repair their own jeans. But they have a store in Berlin and a repair shop!
Maybe they could help with your next pair?

2 years ago

suzieq

Active Member

You might could do several large patches, on both legs in various places, to make it look intentional. I had a pair of patchwork jeans in the ‘70s that were like that when they were brand new.

2 years ago

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