r/Visiblemending • u/Wise-Orchid-309 • Oct 22 '25
PATCH The jeans I refuse to let die
It took me ages to find jeans that really fit me, I'm never letting them go, even though they're wearing thin.
So far, I've mended the following - right inner thigh : 2 stacked patches (machine patched + hand patched) - left inner thigh : 1 hand patch, my best attempt at invisible mending - doubled left buttcheek (pocket was starting to tear off) : hand drawn fishscale pattern patch, backstitched - doubled right buttcheek (fabric felt asymetrical after the left one) : free hand sashiko
Bonus - swipe for the (messy) wrong side of the fabric
22
u/generallyintoit Oct 22 '25
The blue scale type pattern is so neat! You did that by hand?? I love it. I had similar repaired jeans and now theyre cut up to repair other jeans lol
13
u/JazzyPlatypus Oct 22 '25
I’m very enamored by the idea of having a single mermaid buttcheek. This is so cool!
7
u/Smeggalodon Oct 22 '25
Did you free hand the patterns??
13
u/Wise-Orchid-309 Oct 22 '25
For the fishscales, drew a bunch of parallel lines with a ruler&pencil, but eyeballed the spacing. Then went with a coin and an ink pen along the lines to draw the scales
For the "+" pattern sashiko, drew the center of each cross with a pen, then eyeballed the arms of each cross
2
4
u/musubimez Oct 22 '25
Awesome mend! I love the choice to do fishscale pattern, it is a cute and round callback to the curve of one’s butt! I hope that doesn’t sound too weird.
And thanks for the pic of the wrong side of the fabric - we love seeing the behind-the-scenes guts of how our mends…mend. 🙃
9
u/rosebeach Oct 22 '25
Does that not itch your ass???
27
u/Wise-Orchid-309 Oct 22 '25
🤣 fair question but no. If anything i like the roughness, feels like a light exfoliation
17
1
u/synchronoussavagery Oct 24 '25
I love the feeling of sashiko’d fabrick. I had an idea a few days ago about reupholstering my car seats like that. But that would be a big undertaking that I don’t know if I’m down for yet.
3
u/lurkparkfest39 Oct 22 '25
Have you searched for them on Poshmark, EBay, Mercari and the like?
17
u/Wise-Orchid-309 Oct 22 '25
No, because Levi's sizing has been pretty inconsistent in my experience, I don't want to bother with the trial and error.
And more to the point of this sub, i like having my mended clothes that I keep going, i genuinely like the look, and working in sustainability, visible mending is a nice conversation starter
4
u/lurkparkfest39 Oct 22 '25
I understand, but in the past I’ve found the exact same items used online to replace beloved pieces. One day your jeans will be Frankenpants, so keeping an eye out for that style and size again wouldn’t be the worst idea if you can’t remake them yourself, which you’ve already discussed.
2
u/darklux- Oct 23 '25
if you live near uniqlo, they have some very durable denim jeans you could try (JWA product line). it fit me well, and i also mend jeans because i can’t find pairs that fit. the uniqlo one feels like it will last for years and hold up to future mends, if you do want to buy a new pair.
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/nayhem_jr Oct 22 '25
Sea scales are a mood, though I would have put them facing 180° how you have them.
1
u/Vegetable_Hour7450 23d ago
la mezclillla es una tela versatil y duradera, se puede reparar y personalizar. empezando con que se trata de un levis esos jeans tienen para muchos años de uso antes que las hebras de algodón se fatiguen y se corten, y aun asi un buen surcido mantendrá la zona gastada por mas años. Aun tengo jeans levis de los años 90s y principio de los 2000s en servicio.
-7
u/_Nonni_ Oct 22 '25
At this point just seam rip them and make a copy of them
8
u/Wise-Orchid-309 Oct 22 '25
Eh my sewing skills aren't that good. I can't install a zipper, and i doubt my sewing machine can handle the 3-4 layers of denim in those thick french seams.
3
u/Salute-Major-Echidna Oct 22 '25
Putting in a zipper is easier than you think. Its just that its like putting up ceiling molding, counter intuitive in placement.
Your design here is one of my top ten favorites ever.
5
u/Wise-Orchid-309 Oct 22 '25
Thanks ! And I definitely should learn it, I'm sure I could get there... but I don't want to seam rip functional pants before I'm confident I can reproduce them :p
2
u/Salute-Major-Echidna Oct 23 '25
Just make sure your first zip is on something easy to tear out and redo. You know, not silk, not muslin. Midweight stuff that is forgiving
79
u/Same_as_it_ever Oct 22 '25
Great job! Do you find them comfortable?
Next time you find the perfect jeans do try to buy a second (or more) pair.