Jeans repair with sashiko

Sashiko is a simple stitch technique that originally used by fishermen and farmers to mend / reinforce their worn clothing. Last week I repaired my husband's jeans with this technique! As you can see in the photo below, it's got a small hole, approx. 1" x 1/2".

First I cut out a small fabric piece from my old jeans that I saved for this very purpose; to patch! The piece should be large enough to cover around the hole. I wanted to give a generous coverage because the fabric around the hole was getting thin-- so I decided to use a piece approx. 3" x 1 1/2". I trimmed the 4 corners round to prevent unnecessary frays (so the patch is now oval / cupsule shape).

Flip the jeans inside out, pin the patch around the hole. Using light blue cotton thread, whipstitch around the edge of the patch.

Using the same cotton thread, I start small sashiko stitch where the patch is attached.

I make sure to fill in the area with a series of sashiko stitch -- including the area around the hole that's getting thin. The more stitch the better. Then... Voila! The hole is now completely covered with sashiko stitch + reinforced with the patch! I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I think it would be fun to use more colorful thread, rather than using simple light blue -- I'll try that next time.

close up...

This is the thread I used this time.