Saturday, September 11, 2010

Crotch Shots Part Deux

So remember back in April when I was the smarty-pants who figured out how to repair a rip in the crotch of her jeans by ironing a patch onto the inside of them? Well, guess what. That didn't work. I mean it did, sort of. Like, until I WASHED them. And then the patch started to peel away from the jeans, and this stiff, gluey patch fabric was then poking my inner thigh every time I walked until it managed to work its way through the hole in the jeans, hanging out of the flap like a little crotch flag. Did this keep me from wearing the jeans? Hell no! They are my favorite pair of jeans, after all. Consequently, the tear got worse. And not only that...another rip was forming on the other side! It was a triage situation, clearly. And so the time came to present to you...Crotch Shots Part Deux: the second crotch repair.

This time I wasn't gonna mess around. This time, the fix was gonna last. So instead of going with some cheesy iron-on denim, I reached for heavyweight khaki fabric to make a pair of long-lasting crotch patches.


It is imperative to note the origin of these crotch patches. They came from none other than the "seahorse pants"--an amazing discovery in cousin-in-law Tara's giveaway clothing pile years ago. I was going through her old clothes, which were a goldmine of awesome finds, when I stumbled upon these pants and proceeded to laugh for the next three months. Tara couldn't quite explain how these pants came into her possession and swears she never wore them. (The tags are still on the pants to prove it.) I took the pants thinking someday, somehow, I will want to include an embroidered seahorse motif on something. I'm thinking it will be on the back of a denim jacket...when I'm in the "seahorse gang" (or something). In the meantime, the khaki was used for crotch patches.

I sewed those puppies on around all of the edges using a zigzag stitch, which allows the fabric to stretch a little without tearing the stitches. And for a person who insists on quoting Sally O'Mally about once a week, flexibility is a must. ("I can KICK, I can STREEEETCH....and I'm 50!")


I then turned the jeans right side out and did another zigzag stitch right along the rip, going back and forth a few times, so now the two sides of the tear are bonded together by the strength of a wide zigzag!

Around this time I realized I probably shouldn't have used brown thread. In my defense, I didn't have any blue thread laying around and the notions shop is just too far away. I know, I know, it was a beautiful day and I should have rode my bike, but I didn't. Instead...I opted to use a blue pen and color in the stitches. Trashy, I know! First, I colored in the faded spots and patch fabric with a light blue marker.

Then I went over the brown stitches with a blue ball-point pen. This will probably fade completely the next time I throw the jeans in the washer, and at that point I'll either buy a sharpie or decide I don't care.

When it was all said and done, I must say, I was quite impressed with the crotch repair. And as long as the patches don't fall out, rip, or otherwise fail, I don't think anyone will even notice them!

Unless you're looking at me from this angle. Which you shouldn't.

16 comments:

  1. Liana! I don't like looking at your *pants* from that angle, even when you're not in them.

    Also, thank God, you brought back the trashy to this blog.

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  2. I know! I was freaking myself out with my recent bouts of tastefulness. I feel much better now.

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  3. Zig-zag stiches! that's what I have been doing wrong. Oh, the annals of crotch repairs in the this house -- and don't get me started on Russ's pockets. Whose idea was is to make pockets out of the most flimsy material available? Not someone married to a man who carries around pointy keys all day, that's who.

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  4. Yes! Zigzag is the stretchy stitch you have been searching for your whole life! Also, loved hearing about Russ's pocket lining problems. Glad to hear I'm not alone. :)

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  5. I'm kind of sad you cut up those seahorse pants. I would TOTALLY wear them.

    Thanks for the tips! My friend just gave me a pair of pants I have been in envy of forever, but they have a crotchal hole that I must repair before I can wear them.

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  6. Thanks a lot for sharing this tutorial!!! :) I've been doing crotch-repair research and this one looks really effective. I'm going to try it on a pair of cozy, yet elegant, jeans I wear on my bike commuting.

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  7. Do you happen to know the brand of those seahorse pants...a must have for a crazy buddy of mine if i can get my hands on a pair!

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  8. So how long did this patch hold up for? I ripped my favorite pair of jeans and am trying to find the best solution!

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  9. Hi Everyone! Thanks for your interest in my crotch repairs and in the amazing seahorse pants! Sadly, I have no idea where the pants came from...they were a TJ Maxx purchase, I believe, but probably from like 2005. A unique find that I clearly should have put on E-Bay! (Sorry, guys.) As for the effectiveness of the patches, I am happy to report that I STILL HAVE THE JEANS. They now have holes in other places, like the knees, because when denim grows thin, there just isn't a lot you can do to strengthen the fiber. That said, I did manage to stop the rippage at the crotch. But as a tip for future repairs, I would make the patches a little bigger than you'd think...the rip is going to want to keep ripping no matter what you do, so it's best to anticipate this and let it have a little room to move. I would also recommend going over the edges of the tear several times with zigzag stitches, to make sure you really cut it off at the pass. Good luck with your crotch repairs, everyone!

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  10. better than pins is using washable glue and for heavens sake use light blue thread. giggles

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  11. I just posted a blog about my method for patching tears and holes. I run into this problem frequently too. You should take a look at www.nelsonsewing.com under the Mending Monday category.

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  12. Hi Liana, I found this post because I am researching patching of some shorts and pants which suffer from many miles of bicycle saddle wear. Thank you for sharing your advice. I have a crafty, upstate, high school friend named Tara https://www.etsy.com/people/MindingMilo, is the world this small? Cheers!

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  13. This is how I've been doing mine but I find they wear around the patch. I need a bigger patch, like the size of riding pants patches haha

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  14. I seem to have the same problem with pants. I've found using the same type of fabric, in this case denim, in blue is helpful. Stitch around the patch to prevent fraying. You can zig zag, but have found just little stitches in matching thread works great and becomes pretty invisible. Many check signing pens like uniball are pigment pens, and will be permanent. Magic marker bleeds, and is NOt permanent. It fades especially when washed.

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  15. I do my patch different. I criss cross stitches( not to tight) to bring the hole shut about a 1/2" from the rip. Do close stitches and then sew all the way around the rip going over to secure the stitches crossing the rip. Pull them only just enough to close the rip. Then flip inside out and spread E6000 glue pushing it into the rip and stitches good. Keep it thin so it's not raised from the material. Go around it about 1/4"-1/2" around all the stitches. Let dry some the blow dry really good to heat set glue. Works great on active teams jeans.

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  16. I know this post is over 5 years old, but I came across it on Pintrest and just had to thank you!!!! A couple months ago my favorite pair of jeans ripped in the same place. I figured 6 years was a good life span for jeans so I looked and looked and searched everywhere to replace them only to find that Lucky Brand no longer made this cut. In your post you made the directions look so easy. I am happily sitting here in my newly repaired favorite jeans as I type this. You're my jeans lifesaver!

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