Patch the jeans from the inside

Saved for a while, yes, if you patch it from the inside and keep your expectations where people keep theirs. Some discussions reinforce thinning denim with an iron-on adhesive patch on the inside of the garment — a low-skill fix that shows nothing outside and closes a small hole or holds a thin place. The warnings, one person each: a thick canvas patch is too stiff for soft jeans and can make the pair unwearable; the first wear feels odd and then softens; the iron-on interfacing alone is not strong enough at a stress point and needs stitching with it. One person says a crotch hole takes more than a patch — interfacing, a zig-zag stitch and an extra layer of fabric to take the strain. One person sews a zig-zag-stitched scrap of fabric inside the leg to stop a rip spreading, or an old pocket over the tear, with the warning that the pocket can look like your underwear is showing. Visible mending — the decorative outside stitch — is not for the crotch, one person warns, for reasons of location. Then the honest line, from one person’s warning and from one person who sews: a hand-mended crotch by someone who has not sewn before will look poor and fail under strain, and on men’s jeans it cannot be done invisibly or durably at home — one person’s advice is to keep the pair as fabric for patching the next one. In some discussions people argue the same point, between mending and buying second-hand instead, and people’s deciders are how bad the tear is, how much the look bothers you, and whether there is a cheap second-hand shop near you. One person pays a local tailor or jeans shop to patch from the inside and says it keeps a valuable or often-worn pair going for years longer than their own attempts did; how to find a tailor if you do not know one is a gap people left. So is how to reinforce a pair before it tears, and which patch fabric lasts longest — both are not covered here.

Because that is where fabric rubs fabric on every step, and people have a list of things that hurry it. Some people say wear at the crotch and inner thigh is the common failure, some say it happens to people of every build and not just larger ones, and some say a pair going there within a year or two is what they have come to expect; some people asked why the crotch goes before the knees, and the answer they got was friction — the thighs touching as you move. On why modern pairs go faster, people split between the wearer’s habits and the makers: some people say jeans shifted from workwear to fashion, the fabric got lighter and stretchier and the heavy old cloth is rare, so even a desk worker sees the thin patch now; one person has pairs that lasted ten years and others that ripped in months. The one-person causes: wearing the same pair every day with no rotation; wearing them too tight or in the wrong cut, so a different fit might stop the next tear; cycling, which one person says wears the crotch seam hard — a cycling range with a reinforced crotch exists, though whether it prevents that exact wear is not covered here; the body’s own oils, which one person says break fabric down faster in some people; and one person thinks a higher rise might help but asks not to be quoted on it. On buying the next pair: one person says heavier, thicker or waxed denim is harder to wear through but hotter and less flexible, and some people warn that a reinforced crotch is miserable in hot, humid weather — something lighter for a hot climate is another gap here. One person says jeans bought in autumn are cut from thicker cloth than the summer weights. People argue whether an expensive pair lasts longer, and some people object that price is no guarantee — some dear pairs fail fast — while one person on the other side says a cheap pair replaced every eight to twelve months costs more over time. No figure from those discussions is printed here.

It works, it is a mess, and people argue whether you should. Many people say a fabric dye brings faded denim back to something that reads as new, and the same people say the care is in the bleeding: some people warn the dye stains whatever it touches, one person rinses after the bath and then washes the pair alone until the water runs clear, and one sets the colour with a vinegar rinse or heat from a dryer or iron. The warnings that decide whether yours will take come from one person each: one says the polyester stitching does not take dye, so the seams stay pale against the new dark; one says stretch and skinny pairs with synthetic fibre take it badly compared with all-cotton; one person says stretch denim needs a dye made for synthetics or it will not work; one says the fabric never comes out as dark as the bath — an inky black bath gives a dark blue; and one says a particular dark-blue dye fades toward purple. One person went black over blue and liked the undertone. Whether the dye weakens the fabric, and how to keep it off the non-cotton parts, are not covered here. Then the argument. In one discussion, with some people on each side: a faded pair has character, and dyeing it removes the history, against the pair being wearable again and looking good. In another, with some people on each side, the worn look is what people pay for, against it being purely personal preference. Some people objected to the whole idea on taste, and people settle it the only way it settles — people’s decider is what you value in the pair: the history of wear, or a uniform dark pair. Some people say fixing holes is more common than dyeing, which is a fair reading of the discussion too.

A shaver for the pills, a wash for the smell, and a point about acrylic. Some people run a fabric shaver or a razor over a pilled knit and say it comes out looking close to new and lasts another season. People argue the tool: some people say an electric shaver is quick and effective, one person says it can catch and pull the yarn and start new pills, and a steady hand with a plain razor is safer — people’s decider is your skill and how delicate the knit is. One person points out that acrylic pills immediately and keeps pilling after every shave, and the durable knit is cotton. One person zips every zip before the wash, because an open zip catches knits and makes the holes. On washing jeans, some people argue how rarely: the rare-wash side says the fabric and colour last longer, the wash-it side says heat, sweat and dirt make never-washing impossible, and some people say the never-wash advice is unworkable in their climate. One person settles the terms: the advice was never ‘do not wash them’ — it is weekly or after a few wears rather than after every one. One person warns machine-drying raw denim shrinks it; one person says following the care label significantly extends a pair’s life. How to keep them from smelling in a hot climate without wearing them out faster is not covered here.

When the fabric itself has gone, and people are clear about what that looks like. Some people say some damage means the cloth has lost its integrity — holes across a knit, wear right through, mould — and repair costs more trouble than it saves; at that point they bin it or cut it up. On mould, some people say bleach kills the spores and makes the garment safe, but the stain rarely comes out and some who tried decided it was not worth it; the bleach-and-vinegar line is above this page. On what to do with the pair you are giving up: one person keeps old jeans as patch fabric for the next ones. On what replaces it when money is short, one person names local charities, churches and buy-nothing groups with free clothing or vouchers; another the charity shop, where one person says the denim is better quality than new fast fashion; a farm-supply shop, where one person found cheap tough pairs after a well-known brand wore out on them. On children’s clothes, people argue whether patching is worth it at all — some people say children outgrow the patch and can be teased for it, and second-hand is kinder — and this page carries it as the argument it is. Part of the discussion is about a free sofa and the bed bugs that came with it; that is a different subject and this page leaves it alone.