SO I was reading some comments over at one of my favorite re-fashion blogs, and someone had asked how to fix a very serious problem: that worn down part of your jeans, between the thighs. Because I definitely do not have sticks for legs (I have what I like to call “runner’s thighs”…), that eventually happens to almost all my denim jeans. I especially hate when this happens to my not-so-cheap jeans (like this pair of Frankie-B’s!). Well this just had to stop, so I came up with a solution that will hopefully work for you too!

Meet the denim patch:

 {left: the adhesive underside that sticks to the denim; right: the denim side}

I bought a pack of these iron-on denim patches from Wal-mart for about $4. I’m pretty sure they typically go on the outside of your torn jeans. However,  I discovered that when you iron them on the inside of a worn down area, they re-enforce that area to make your jeans last longer.

Supplies:

• iron-on denim patches (any color)
• scissors
• iron & ironing board
• some worn-out jeans!

Directions:

1. Locate the worn down area(s).
2. Flip jeans inside out and re-locate that worn down spot.
3. Choose a patch (remember, this will be inside the jean, so any color goes!).
4. Lay the patch, adhesive side down, onto worn down area. Line it up so that it the patch doesn’t go over a seam. Cut & trim as necessary.
5. Hold the patch exactly where you want it to go, and (with a heated iron) firmly press iron onto patch. Go over patch with iron several times.
6. It should stick now! In this picture, I had to cut & overlap two pieces because I was trying to follow the seam, which was curved.

Now, try on your jeans! They’ll be/feel a bit stiff where the patch is, fyi.

Tip: It’s best not to wash denim too much, but in the case that you do–the patches may start to come off, so beware! Also, if you see them start to come off at the edges (this sometimes happens if you don’t place the iron on the patch for long enough) just re-iron and it should re-stick.

hugs, hanalei