How to Patch a Hole in Jeans with Sashiko Stitching (Visible Mending)

Pin a donor patch behind the hole, baste it with cardboard inside the leg, mark lines about 1/4 inch apart, and hand-stitch running rows with sashiko thread. No sewing machine needed.

What You'll Need

  • Donor fabric scrap: denim, canvas, or twill (old jeans work)
  • Sashiko thread, 12 wt cotton thread, or embroidery floss (white or blue)
  • Regular sewing thread (for basting)
  • Safety pins or a fabric glue stick
  • A piece of cardboard (to slide inside the leg)
  • Long sashiko needle or large-eye embroidery needle
  • Regular sewing needle (for basting)
  • Thimble (recommended for denim)
  • Chalk or washable fabric marker
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Iron

An old pair of jeans makes a good donor patch. Pick white thread if you want the stitching to stand out, or blue to blend in with the denim.

This repair puts a patch of scrap fabric behind a hole in your jeans and holds it in place with rows of sashiko, a Japanese running stitch that shows on the outside. It works on knee and thigh holes, and on other heavy cotton. You sew it all by hand, so no sewing machine is needed.

1

Prep the hole

Wash and dry the jeans. Trim loose threads and frayed edges around the hole, but don't cut into fabric that is still sound. Turn the jeans inside out.

2

Cut and place the patch

Cut a patch from denim, canvas, or twill. For a knee, choose fabric with about the same stretch as the jeans. The patch should reach at least 1 inch past any weak or thin fabric on every side, and 2 to 3 inches is better. Lay it on the inside, behind the hole, and hold it there with safety pins or a fabric glue stick.

3

Baste the patch in place

Turn the jeans right side out. Slide a piece of cardboard inside the leg, under the hole, so your needle can't catch the back of the leg and stitch it shut. With regular sewing thread, tack around the edge of the patch with long, loose stitches through the front of the jeans and the patch only. Take out the pins once the patch is tacked.

4

Mark the stitching lines

With chalk or a washable marker and a ruler, draw parallel lines about 1/4 inch apart across the whole patch area, running past the hole on both sides. If you don't want the stitching to end in a hard rectangle, make the lines shorter toward the edges so the shape tapers.

5

Stitch the running rows

Thread a long sashiko needle with sashiko thread, 12 wt cotton thread, or embroidery floss, and knot the end so the knot sits on the inside. Load several even running stitches onto the needle, then pull the thread through. At the end of each row, leave a little slack in the thread before you turn and start the next one. Pulling it tight at the turn puckers the fabric. Stitch every row in the same direction before you add anything across them. A thimble helps push the needle through denim.

6

Reinforce and finish

Over the hole itself, stitch rows across the first ones, or add small crosses, for extra strength. Knot off on the inside. Pull out the basting thread and press the patch with a warm iron. From now on, wash the jeans cold and inside out.

Keep the cardboard in the leg the whole time you stitch, not only while basting. The same stitching works on thrifted jeans you want to change up, with or without a hole to fix.