How to Sew Decorative Patches on Jeans to Cover Holes & Look Cute

10 Materials
1 Hour
Easy

Follow this tutorial to learn how to sew decorative patches on your jeans. This is a good way to use all your saved fabric scraps.


Have you got an old pair of jeans lying around with holes in the knees? If the weather’s cold, you may want to patch those holes quickly! I'll show you how to do it.

Tools and materials:

  • Old jeans
  • Fabric scraps
  • Sewing pins
  • Thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Embroidery hoop
  • Starch
  • Iron
  • Ruler
  • Scissors or rotary cutter
Cutting strips of scrap fabric

1. Cut strips of fabric

Cut 1½-inch strips of scrap fabric. Use as many strips as you want for your patch.

Sewing the DIY patches

2. Sew the patches

Sew the strips together along the long edges. 

Cutting the patches to make a pattern

Now cut that large square into 1½-inch strips in the opposite direction as before, so you have patches that include all the fabrics.

DIY patches for jeans

Rearrange the cut strips into whatever pattern you want to make, and sew them together again, along the long edges.

Square patch made out of scrap fabric

Now you have a pretty cool looking square patch!

Topstitching around the patch

Topstitch around your patch with a ⅛ -inch seam allowance. This gives you a nice seam guide for folding in the edges of the patch.

Folding the seam inside

3. Press the DIY patch

Fold the seam to the inside and use a clothes iron and spray starch to press and set the seam in place. 

Pressing the patch with an iron

Continuing pressing in all four sides of the patch. Then flip the patch over so the right side is facing up and give the whole patch one last press with the iron.

Snipping the seam allowance at the corners

4. Snip the seam allowance

Snip the seam allowance off at the corners of the patch to reduce bulk.

How to make patches for jeans

5. Attach your patch

Pin the patch to your jeans over your hole.


To make sure you are not pinning the leg together, insert something into the leg to keep the two layers separate. 

Sewing patches on jeans

Once the patch is pinned to the jeans, insert the bottom piece of a large embroidery hoop in the pant leg, so the patch is right in the center of the hoop.


Then, snap on the top piece of the embroidery hoop.

How to sew a patch on jeans

Use thin embroidery thread to stitch around the perimeter of the patch with a blanket stitch, attaching the patch to the jeans.


Then, do another row of stitching using a straight stitch just inside the outer edge of the patch.

Fun DIY jeans patches

How to sew decorative patches on jeans

Even if you only need one patch on your jeans, these are so cute that you just may want to make two so both knees match!

How to sew decorative patches on jeans

Of course, you can get as creative with extra stitching as you want for an even more decorative look.

Cute DIY patches sewn onto jeans

Let me know in the comments how you liked this DIY jeans patches tutorial.


How to fray jeans

Have a pair of jeans that need a makeover? Check out this post on How to Fray the Bottom of Jeans in 7 Easy Steps!

Suggested materials:
  • Old jeans
  • Fabric scraps
  • Sewing pins
See all materials

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Comments
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2 of 24 comments
  • Debra Debra on Jun 25, 2022

    I liked your tutorial in January. Now it came around again and I watched your video. Marvelous! ❤️

  • BSh27872682 BSh27872682 on Jun 26, 2022

    Very clever use of scraps of fabric. Lovely way to recycle and make a pair of jeans unique and chic.

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