How to Repair Holes in Jeans

Tools and materials:

• Scrap fabric
• Matching thread
• Lightweight fusible tape
• Scissors or pinking shears
• Seam ripper
• Iron with steam
• Sewing machine

Gather your materials

See 1:12-2:02 for advice on materials and where to acquire them. 

Prepare

Prepare the damaged area by snipping out the fraying threads, leaving a clean hole in the fabric.

Cut a piece of scrap fabric large enough to cover the hole and a few inches of the fabric around it, which will need reinforcement to prevent new holes. 

If the repair you need to do is close to the top, bottom, or crotch of the jeans, this step is not necessary. But if you’re fixing a hole on the knee, you may want to open the side seam with a seam ripper to make it easier to access the damaged area with the sewing machine. 

Apply fusible tape

Turn the jeans inside out, and apply fusible tape all around the hole in the fabric.

Iron

Place the scrap fabric on the damaged area, with the side of the fabric you want visible facing down. Turn your iron to a high setting with steam, and iron over the scrap, allowing the heat and the weight to activate the fusible tape. Then wait for it to cool completely. 

Prepare for sewing

See 7:40-8:36 for instructions and advice on the sewing portion of the repair.

Sew

Starting from about a ½ inch from the damaged area, begin sewing back and forth around the hole in a zigzag motion, pulling the fabric with your left hand as you sew to help the needle move across the fabric.

Reinforce

To reinforce the repair, sew a straight stitch around the hole. Then, use the same zigzag technique (not a zigzag stitch!) to sew all across the area containing the patch.

Prepare for finishing touches

See 12:38-13:30 for advice on how to set your machine to close up the ripped side seam.

Sew

Sew up the ripped side seam with a zigzag stitch. 

Trim

Trim off any edges of the patch that are still loose to prevent them from rolling up.

Iron

Iron the jeans to get out any bumps or wiggles in the fabric, which can occur especially if the jeans are stretch fabric. 

And that’s it. You’ve put new life into your favorite old pair of jeans. I hope this tutorial was helpful. Let us know if you have any questions or comments about using this technique to repair your garments.