Lately I’ve been seeing Sashiko mending everywhere! It’s a type of visible mending that can be added to over time and the results are just beautiful! There are so many amazing photos across Instagram and Pinterest of beautifully mended jeans that are just so inspiring.

So I’ve been wanting to try this for awhile, but I finally got the chance! One of my favorite pairs of jeans got a hole right below the back pocket – which is kind of an inconvenient spot for a rip. So I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try Sashiko mending! Here’s what the jeans looked like before:

a pair of old levi's on a cutting mat with a large rip below one back pocket

And here’s what they looked like after I finished:

a pair of levi's jeans with a dark denim patch below the back pocket with decorative sashiko stitching across it

Now since I’ve never done anything like this before, I did some googling in advance and found a tutorial that had the exact same type of rip as the one I was fixing. I pretty much followed this tutorial exactly and loved how it turned out. This is the tutorial I used: https://thecraftymummy.com/2020/06/how-to-mend-your-jeans-using-sashiko-stitching/. I definitely recommend having this tutorial open on your device and following along with it if you want to try this yourself.

Here’s what you’ll need for this project:

What you need

  • jeans that have a rip needing mended
  • enough scrap denim (or other sturdy fabric) to make two patches for the rip
  • Sashiko thread or embroidery thread
  • Sashiko needle or embroidery needle
  • safety pins and/or regular pins
  • straight edge ruler
  • fabric chalk or marker
  • scissors

And now for the video! I hope you enjoy! I had so much fun on this project and I have worn these jeans A TON since mending them. I love them!

Video

 

 

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