Repairing Jeans; Sashiko

 

I've been sewing for many years now. One of the most important uses of the ability to sew is to mend broken garments, whether you are doing it out of necessity or for artistic reasons. I do both. I try to consume less and be mindful of my impact on the environment, albeit minimal in the grand scheme of things. Regardless I feel a moral duty to still be somewhat sustainable even if that sounds absurd. So naturally I decided to repair my 2009 Diesel Larkees. they ripped a little too much on the knee and in the crotch. While I was away visiting and taking care of my grandparents I mended these holes. My grandmother used to be a seamstress, so I was able to use her old supplies. I was hoping she could help me as well and teach me new things but because of her age she couldn't do much except help me with ironing them, which I am grateful for. I started with repairing the knee. I didn't plan on using sashiko to repair them as seen in one of the pictures but I decided to add it later on to 1. make the repair a little stronger and durable 2. make it prettier. I used red yarn for this because we did not have any sashiko thread lying around (who even does?). My inspiration for these repairs was this pair of Kapital Okabilly jeans. The repairs on them are a bit chaotic because of the different colors, patterns and fabric but that's what I liked about them. I'm planning on repairing these jeans more often in the future when they distress more and hopefully one day they'll look just like the Okabilly's!