5 Easy Ways to Repair Jeans

Your favorite pair of jeans will eventually get holes, rips, or stains. It’s the perfect time to take on the revolutionary act of repair!

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Every year, we throw away 2.16 million metric tons of denim globally, with most jeans ending up in landfills rather than being recycled or reused.

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By extending your jeans' life, you can keep them out of landfills and prevent the need for manufacturing new pairs. For complex repairs, visit a tailor; for minor fixes, try patching them yourself.

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Repairing is a fashion statement that adds personality to your jeans and helps our planet.

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How to Repair Jeans

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Repairing jeans doesn’t just mean fixing a tear or covering a stain. Think of your jeans as a canvas and try some of these offbeat, artistic ways to patch them:

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Use Fabric Glue

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To patch jeans with fabric glue, apply the adhesive to both the hole and the patch surfaces — it will create a tacky film between the fibers without soaking through completely, similar to how rubber cement works.

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How to patch jeans with fabric glue→

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Put an Iron-On Patch

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Iron-on patches offer a quick and easy solution for fixing holes in jeans — they're as simple to apply as patching a bike tube and provide durable results. Just make sure to get ones specifically labeled as "iron-on".

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How to patch jeans using iron-on patches→

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Hand Embroidery

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You can also try hand embroidery. Just put a fabric patch behind the hole and stitch any design you like. It's a fun way to turn those worn-out spots into unique works of art that show off your personality.

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How to hand embroider your jeans→

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Darning

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Darning is a patchless mending technique that uses a needle and thread to repair small holes by creating a woven pattern, first with vertical stitches and then horizontal ones woven through them.

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How to darn jeans using a needle and thread→

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Use Japanese Sashiko Embroidery

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Sashiko embroidery is a traditional Japanese mending technique where you secure a fabric patch over a hole and create a decorative pattern using parallel running stitches with contrasting thread.

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