If you know anything about me, you know I love thrift shopping. I’ll bet you didn’t know, though, that I tend to hit the kids’ section of a thrift store. Yep, you read that right. I discovered that kids’ jeans can work just as well as adult jeans. The only problem is that they tend to be too short. Never fear, though, I’ve got a solution for that. Check out how I transformed a pair of too-short kids’ pants into an awesome pair of patchwork jeans that look great.
Check Out How I Turned Kids’ Pants Into Awesome Patchwork Jeans
5 materials
$5
1 Hour
Easy
Tools and materials:
- Thrift-store jeans
- Sewing machine
- Seam ripper
- Sewing pins
- Denim scraps
Patchwork jeans
Take apart the hems
The first thing I had to do was take apart the hems of the pant legs. So I grabbed my seam ripper and got to work. Then I unfolded them and pressed them down. This gave the bottom of the pants a really cool and unique look.
Women’s patchwork jeans
Choose denim scraps
Next, I went through my scrap bin and retrieved a bunch of denim scraps. I held up the different scraps to the jeans and chose the scraps that I thought would go best with it. If you watch the video, though, you’ll see that making the choice wasn’t as simple as it sounds.
DIY patchwork jeans
Determine the placement of the denim scraps
I laid down the jeans on my work surface…also known as my floor…and placed the scraps where I wanted them. Part of the issue with using kids’ pants is that they’re short, so I had to add some material to the ends of the pants. Luckily for me, I happened to have two cuff scraps that worked perfectly.
How to make patchwork jeans
Sew the new cuffs
I turned the pants inside out and then grabbed the scrap cuffs, which were already cut open. I then matched up the seam of the scrap cuffs to the seam of the pant leg. Next, I pinned it all the way around the pant leg and stitched it in place. I repeated this process for the other leg. Since the cuff I was using was a bit longer than the pant leg, I flipped it over and cut it off where it matched up, then I stitched the remainder down.
Children’s pants upcycle
Add the thigh patch
To add the patch to the thigh, I first pinned it in place. Then I opened up the pants and pretty much shoved my sewing machine into the pant leg. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to get the patch sewn down. If you’re trying this project out, though, you might want to just consider hand-sewing that part. I really don’t know why I didn’t.
How to DIY patchwork jeans
Add a patch to the back pocket
I actually didn’t do this on this particular project, but the last time I made jeans like this, I also added a patch of scrap denim to the top of a frayed back pocket by simply stitching the top, then the sides.
Completed patchwork jeans
That’s it! It was so easy to do and I’m so happy with the results. I think they look super cute, and you’d never guess that these were thrifted kids’ jeans! The patches give the jeans a really cool, almost vintage-y look, and I am so here for it. I love the way the cuffs look and I’m just completely obsessed with these. So give this project a try, and show me your results in the comments!
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What size kids jeans? Male, female, does it matter? Cute, cute ideas!