The Exclamation
Oh darn(ing)! I’m always a bit sad when I tear my jeans, even if they have been around the block. You can read about my first tear in my first pair to catch up with the sentimental background story if you’d like. Then you can continue on and learn about my experience darning by machine.
When I mend clothing, I take a good look at the item. And a good look at my stash.
- Is it a big hole that needs a patch?
- Is it a small tear?
- Are there multiple holes or tears in the garment?
- How much of the surrounding area needs to be stabilized?
- If I need to patch it, what colors and fabric types do I have in my stash to make a patch?
- Would I prefer to do it by hand or machine?
- Do I want the stitching to blend in or contrast with the garment?
The list of questions varies with each repair.
Today my answers were…
One inch tear, singular.
Surrounding area is a bit weak and is very faded, so I’m going to use a patch this time.
Denim jeans require a denim patch. Denim in stash is a medium blue. Denim of garment is a dark indigo. The tear is in the center of a very faded area.
Faded area color = medium blue found in stash
Therefore patching from the inside will work wonderfully.
Sashiko mending by hand on denim is my go-to. Today I’m feeling alternative.
I’m a gonna use my machine!
While practicing my free motion skills on a piece of scrap denim, I noticed my light blue thread blended in smoothly. I’m going to darn these jeans with that same color.
The Action
I took the piece of denim for my patch and pinned it to the wrong side of the area to be repaired.
I pinned it with safety pins from the right side of the garment.
Then I rolled back the pants from the waist so I could get the knee area under my needle.
And I started free motion stitching using my darning foot. I went back and forth across the hole until I had covered it and was satisfied.
Then I brought my thread ends to the back and tied them off.
I cut away the parts of the patch that were too large and didn’t end up getting stitched down.
And here it is!
I definitely could have drawn some guidelines so that my stitches wouldn’t come out angled, but oh well. I’m still happy with it.
To Summarize
My patch will fray a bit but I don’t think it will be a problem with all that stitching in place.
I only stitched back and forth, not up and down the length. This was mostly because I ran out of time at the machine and my sewing room had to convert back into an office.
I’m pretty sure the stitching time was less than 5 minutes. This is my fastest repair to date!
It was definitely not the kosher way of darning by machine, but it was plenty of fun! I’ll make sure to report back if the repair goes awry. But honestly, I think it will be fine.
Til next time, Happy Darning!
