tutorial: Mending made fun

 As much as I enjoy sewing, I really don't like mending.

But recently we've had an epidemic of holes-in-knees, to the point where children we running out of jeans-options in their wardrobes.  I really didn't like the thought of buying replacements - especially for the youngest of each gender - just to get us through the last few months of pants-weather.

So here is what I came up with.
Start with the iron-on Dritz patches.

I discovered if all you do is iron them on, they fall right off.

Plus, rectangles are kind of boring.

This is the solution.  I cut out some hearts.

Then ironed, then stitched. 

(Plus, stitching and embellishments on jeans are so 'in' right now.
Think how cool and chic your kids will be.)

I used a heavier-weight DMC thread, a heavy-duty needle and a thimble.

Because it's a little tricky stitching something in the middle of a pant leg, I suggest rolling the pants up to the knee first. (I know that sounds pretty obvious, but it took me three pant legs to figure that one out, so I thought I'd pass it on, just in case.)  It's also pretty hard to work from the inside of the pant leg, so stick your needle through and pull from the top. (See picture.)  It's tough stitching through that many layers, which is why I strongly suggest a thimble.  A little rubber grip to pull your needle, wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Here's another option.  (Actually this was the first one I tried.) This time I used the boring rectangle, but I embellished with a little wool heart.  The wool is easy to tack-down and came through the wash beautifully.