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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Favorite new old boyfriend jeans--my jeans-mending method in action yet again, plus making skinny jeans.

My jeans-mending method comes to the rescue again! I did a tutorial ages ago for how I mend holes in jeans to give them an "I meant to do this" look like the trendy pre-worn jeans sometimes have, but also with a super EASY technique that keeps the patching in place as you sew.

I've used this technique a mazillion times, to be exact, and the latest iteration is particularly successful. My friend gave me an old pair of Sevens that didn't fit her and had holes in the knees, and she bought them in a lot on eBay anyway. Oh, if my 15-year-old self could see me now... I FINALLY own a real pair of Sevens!! My fave designer from those days. Still good jeans. Anyway, these were the classic bootcut style, so I did two major things to them: I made them skinnier, so now they're a straight cut, kind of like boyfriend jeans but a little tighter everywhere. Of course, I also mended the holes.

Plenty of detail on that for you... also check out the follow-up tutorial I did on how to mend jeans when the holes are in the knees or other hard-to-maneuver places. It can be done!! Using my same 'ol fave method.

BEFORE!

DURING! Turning the jeans inside out...

Applying the fusible interfacing...

In this case, had to reinforce with some cotton on a particularly thinly threaded hole...

MADE SKINNIER.... no pics, oops!

AFTER!!

Totally gets that casual boyfriend look, right?! These are like my new fave jeans!! I've been wearing them around partially mended, but now they're done and I can share pics. Love these!

I totally encourage you to take care of your fave jeans and make them wearable for even longer! That ripped look is in and it's quite convenient for those of us who don't like to buy new stuff all the time. ;)

Tutorials here (basic method) and here (tips for knees, tough areas).

21 comments

  1. Katherine10/17/2012

    Looks great!

    When you make the legs skinnier, are you unpicking the seam and resewing a flat fell seam?

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    1. Yep, unpicking the topstitching! That's how you get the smooth, seamless blend from the knee to the newly tapered leg. Will share more details sometime; I'm sure I'll do this again!

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  2. What a great idea...the jeans look wonderful!

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  3. Anonymous10/17/2012

    I have used your mending tutorial so many times due to living in a family of farmers and construction workers. It works great every time. Thank you for helping save us so much money on new jeans! I love your blog, especially sewing circle. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into writing. Margaret

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    1. Oh, that's so awesome to hear!! I'm so glad it's being put to such good use!!! And thanks for reading! :D

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  4. Great job! What an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing this.
    http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/

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  5. These look great! I can't wait to have a go :D
    thedressmakingdiaries.blogspot.com

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  6. I wish I could sew! I have tons of jeans that I would like to make straighter (lots from when boot cut was trendy) and a pair that I LOVE but are just too long for the Portland rain. Maybe someday I'll get brave and try it out.

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    1. I'm sure you could sew! I'll give you a lesson sometime, if you want! Happy to show you how to make jeans straighter!

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  7. Man.... I had a pair of boyfriend jeans that I cried over when they finally gave out. I cannot find a pair even close to as cute again. Those are freakin' adorable on you. I love the skinnier look on them. They still give the boyfriend cut feel without looking baggy.

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  8. I still love your mending technique. It's so simple, yet looks so much better than just trying to stitch the holes closed. I'm going to try this with my favorite pair of Gap jeans that ripped!

    Callie
    www.coffeeandcardigans.com

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  9. Hi!! nice jeans <3 i loved ^^

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  10. What a good way to upcycle an old pair. They look great!

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  11. these are awesome! They look perfectly broken in and you mended them beautifully! Wish I could still fit in some of my sevens from high school {who let me spend so much $$ on jeans?? and why did I outgrow them??} :)

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  12. Have any tips on repairing a rip in the crotch area? I don't even know how that happened to my fav jeans. I haven't worn them in 5 years but have held onto them hoping I could some day fix them.

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    1. Sure, I've definitely done that before! Check out the original tutorial... you'll just plan to cut an oddly shaped piece of interfacing, and make sure to flatten and pin your jeans down to the ironing board before you start so that they come out back to the original shape. http://www.adventuresindressmaking.com/2009/12/essential-blue-jean-mending-method.html

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  13. Love this!! I too have a pair of jeans I cannot part with but they are looking old! I never thought of turning them into "boyfriend" jeans!

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  14. Thanks for the informative means of patching up old jeans and making them look fabulous again!

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  15. Anonymous10/20/2012

    This is a great idea for my little person's jeans! I have a hand-me-down machine right now and would like to eventually get a new one, but I want to be sure it can handle layers of denim. It looks like you do a lot with jeans; do you have a good suggestion? Thanks!

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    1. I've always used my regular machine for sewing on denim, and I've done it on a range of machines (quality etc)... so you should be fine! The important thing is you'll want a denim needle, or very strong/larger needle. You can buy them at any fabric store.

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  16. Hello! Great things on your blog. I recently went to the thrift store and bought 5 pairs of flare bottom jeans. How did you make your jeans skinnier? Did you keep the original hems? I'd like to, if possible. But I don't know how. Any point in the right direction would be appreciated!! Thank you!! :)

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