The crotch of your jeans has a hard life. It is subjected to all sorts of wear and tear, including stretching from sitting too long, thigh-rubbing when you walk, and the number one bane of denim: seam-splitting.
So how do you repair the crotch of a pair of jeans? There are three main methods for repairing a rip or hole in the crotch of your jeans: sewing a rip, sewing a patch inside or outside of the jeans, and gluing a patch. We’ll discuss each method below in greater detail.
If you have a favorite pair of worn-in, form-fitting, and highly comfortable jeans, you don’t want to throw them away just because the crotch is ripped. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to repair the crotch of your jeans. Here’s our guide on how to fix a busted jeans crotch easily at home.
How To Repair A Small Rip At The Crotch By Hand
One of the most common problems that people face with jeans is a small rip that is lined up with the crotch seam. This problem is actually easily fixed with just a needle and thread.
Before you start, we recommend using a medium-sized needle with a durable thread. As we have mentioned, the crotch of your jeans has to face a lot of adversities, so if you use a thin thread that can easily be snapped, you will end up having to repair the crotch several times, which can be highly frustrating.
Using a bigger needle will also make it easier for you to sew since denim is a thick fabric that can be difficult to penetrate.
One tip for hand-sewing with denim is to pay attention to the weave of the fabric and insert your needle into the holes in between the threads in the weave. You will have an easier time penetrating the denim because the holes are already “open,” instead of having to pierce through a thread in the weave.
How to repair a small ripped line at the crotch of your jeans:
- Clean up the hole. Since denim is a woven fabric, a rip means there is going to be a lot of fraying around the edges, which makes it look messy and difficult to sew. When you cut the frayed portion of the denim, take caution to make sure you don’t cut into the fabric portion, only the frayed threads.
- With a needle and a thread that matches the color of your jeans, use the buttonhole stitch or the blanket stitch to seal the frayed edges. If you have a serger, you can also use it to clean up the frayed area. This step will prevent the frayed edges from unraveling further, especially in the wash. Make sure to sew about half a centimeter from the frayed edges so that your stitches are secured. This step is optional but highly encouraged since it will secure the fabric and help maintain its appearance even after several washes.
- Sew the gap shut by inserting your needle from the inside of the hole, and then inserting it on the outside of the hole to create a thin line that connects the gap. You should place your stitches around the same place as where you placed the blanket (or buttonhole) stitches so that your work will appear neat. Repeat until you have covered the entire length of the rip and weave in the loose ends.
Some people use a piece of spare denim or another woven fabric that is approximately the size of the hole as an extra layer of security, but this is optional.
If you use this extra layer of denim, you should insert your needle through both layers (your jeans and the extra piece of denim) to sew them together and secure the placement.
Sewing A Patch To Fix A Large Hole
If you have a large hole at the crotch that cannot be sewn neatly using the first method, you can consider sewing a patch over the hole to cover it entirely.
There are two ways to do this. You can use a patch that matches your jeans to sew to the inside of the patch so that the hole is still visible but with a layer of denim underneath to protect your skin.
Another way is to use the patch as a decorative element by sewing it on the outside of the jeans. You can play around with the design of the patch to create a fun design and even sew on several other patches on other areas of the jeans to create a unique look.
How to sew a patch on the inside of your jeans crotch:
- Clean up the frayed area around the hole, similar to the first method.
- Cut the patch to size. You should leave some room for seam allowance. If you have a serger, you can clean up the edges around the patch to make sure that it doesn’t fray in the wash. Alternatively, you can also use a blanket stitch or buttonhole stitch around the edges to achieve the same effect.
- Place the patch inside of your jeans, with the right side of the patch facing the inside of the jeans. Make sure that the hole is completely covered by the patch, and use sewing pins to pin the patch in place.
- With a needle and a thread that matches your jeans, hand sew or use a sewing machine to sew around the hole to attach the patch to your jeans. You can use a straight stitch for this step.
And the patch is completed! Alternatively, you can also sew the patch on the outside of your jeans to create a unique design element.
How to sew a patch to the outside of your jeans:
- Clean up the frayed area around the hole, similar to method 1. You can use a serger or hand-sew the edges of the hole to prevent further fraying.
- Use a patch or a piece of denim in whatever color that you’d like and try it over the hole to make sure that it can cover the hole entirely. You can be as creative as you want when choosing the patch design and color. You can even use a patch with a unique design to achieve a playful effect.
- Place the patch over the hole and pin it in place. If you are using a piece of denim, make sure that you use a serger to clean up the edges of the patch. Then, fold in the seam around the edges of the patch and pin the patch to your jeans with the seam folded. That way, when you sew, you will sew the seam of the patch and at the same time attach the patch to your jeans.
- Using a straight stitch on your sewing machine or a running stitch, if you are hand-sewing, sew the patch in place. If you want to create a playful design using patches, you can repeat these steps as many times as you’d like to place patches all over your jeans. The crotch area can be an awkward position for a patch, so if you have more patches on your jeans, it will look like a design element rather than a fix.
You can take this opportunity to reinforce other areas in your jeans that suffer a lot of friction, mainly the bottom and knees areas.
Gluing On A Patch
If you are in a hurry, gluing on a patch can be a quick fix that gets you through the day. For this method, you can use a spare piece of denim that matches the color of your jeans.
Here’s how to glue a patch to your jeans:
- Similar to the first method, you will need to clean up the area around the jeans to make sure that it appears neat and won’t fray any further.
- Turn your jeans inside out. You will glue the patch to the inside of the jeans, with the right side of the patch facing the inside of the jeans. That way, both the right sides will be facing outwards.
- Cut the patch to match the size of the hole, leaving some seam allowance for the glue.
- Apply fabric glue (this one is amazing) evenly around the edges of the patch on the patch’s right side. Then press the patch on the jeans (right side of the patch facing the inside of the jeans). Hold for a few seconds until it is secured.
During this process, you should pay attention to the glue’s instructions. Each type of glue has a different drying time, so you should follow that closely and wait a proper amount of time for the glue to dry completely before wearing the jeans.
Keep in mind that regardless of the glue that you use, this fix is probably not a long-term one. That is because your crotch area experiences a lot of friction and movement, which will loosen the bond of the adhesive over time. Therefore, we only recommend this method if you only need a temporary solution.
A Visual Tutorial
If you’re more of a visual learner, we’ve found this handy tutorial for mending ripped jeans by the Rakolee DIY channel on YouTube. Take a look!
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