I often get asked about repairing jeans, particularly holes at the crotch. Denim is not really my area of expertise, but I do repair my own jeans. I’ve tried three different ways of repairing holes at the crotch, two by hand and one with a sewing machine, and here they are. I hope you find them helpful!

1: Darning Jeans

For small holes, where the surrounding area has looked ok, I’ve tried darning the holes at the crotch. I think I used embroidery thread or maybe silk- whatever I had to hand, in as close a colour match as I could find. I made sure my stitching extended onto the area of fabric surrounding the holes to strengthen it.

This is a fairly time-consuming way of repairing jeans, and I think it’s effective for very small holes at the crotch. What’s great about it is that it doesn’t add any bulk to the jeans and you can’t tell it’s there when you wear them.

My pre-recorded darning workshop will teach you different approaches to darning, and while shown on knitwear, you can apply these techniques to other fabrics like denim.

2: Sashiko inspired hand-stitched patches to repair jeans

For this pair of jeans I patched the holes with fabric on the inside using sashiko inspired stitching. . These jeans are pretty scruffy anyway, so I didn’t mind about my stitching showing up, and I used them as a way to explore a bit of sashiko-like hand stitching. You can see that I’ve needed to extend the repairs, so there are quite a few patches inside now, and I now need to extend those too!

I used cotton embroidery thread for these repairs.  I initially started my patching with a similar colour thread, but for subsequent repairs I decided I’d enjoy the process more if I used other colours. It’s taking so long I want it to be fun.

You could do this with matching thread colour to make it more discreet, and smaller stitches would also blend in better and make it stronger.

This is also a great way to fix jeans worn between the thighs- you can add patches either on the inside or outside of the jeans and get creative with your stitching if you want to.

3. Machine stitched patches

For these jeans I’ve sewn a patch of fabric on inside with a sewing machine, using sewing thread that was as close a match as I had to the jeans. I’ve sewn lines in different directions, to create a very stable patch. A bit like darning, I have lines of stitching going up and down, and then lines going side-to-side.  I’ve worn these a lot since the first mend, and they now need another patch further up, which I plan to repair in the same way.

This is the fastest way to repair holes, and it can be very discreet (I don’t want to use the word invisible) if you have matching thread. It’s also very durable.

Two of these pairs of jeans are stretchy. That’s not affected my decision making in the repairs, but I think it does mean the jeans wear out quicker than pure cotton jeans. For the fabric patches I’ve cut up an old pair of jeans that had a broken zip.

How to mend your jeans invisibly

For repairs you don’t want to draw attention to, matching thread colour and small stitches are probably your best options for discreet repairs. If you have a larger hole, then finding a fabric you can use as a patch that looks similar will also be important. You can see on my colourful and scruffy pair of jeans that I’ve used a much darker fabric as a patch- which is less than ideal, but it’s what I had.

Alternatively, just have fun with the repairs- make your stitching and patches colourful and just own it when you wear them! It can look amazing.

Where to start if you’re a beginner and feeling overwhelmed?

Start with something small- small holes are much less scary than big ones, and much easier. You don’t have to fix the whole piece all at once, and you can work up to the bigger holes (this is what I did when I started mending). Just make a start, and chip away at it bit by bit.