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tutorial: grown up knee patches

I love knee patches – and i’m so thrilled to see so many variations on the them in stores at the moment. I’ve been wanting to try knee patches on my own jeans, but i really didn’t want them to look too juvenile (like the patches i’ve put on my kiddos pants, see here, here and here).

So i thought this might be a much more subtle grown up version of the knee patch. Denim on denim! I chose a patch that was slightly darker than my jeans, and i think that combined with the rectangular shape it results in a really great mature take on knee patches.

I actually got kind of lucky when doing this project as i had recently fallen over some paving (i am so gosh darned co-ordinated) and ripped a hole in my favourite skinnies. So i decided to donate them to this project! Here’s the before and after:

From unusable to awesome! I’m really thrilled with the result!

Want to make some for yourself?? How to instructions after the jump!

This is so so easy!

You’ll need a pair of jeans, and some iron on patches. They don’t need to be denim – there are often lots of other colour options in the fabric store. If you can’t find iron on patches never fear! You can use any fabric you’d like and combine it with iron on fusible webbing instead.

Now all you have to do is figure out where your knees are in relation to the inseam. Lay out your jeans flat, and measure down the distance you want your patches to be. Make sure you’re happy with how it looks. Then iron in place following the directions on your patches! Make sure you measure each side properly so that they are in line when you are done.

I’ve zoomed in on my tape measure in the last picture incase anyone wants a bit of a guide. I’m 5’5″ and this placement worked perfectly for me :)

Tip: follow the ironing instructions on the packet for the patches carefully. The first time i did this i didn’t iron for as long as it told me to and the patches started falling off. Oooops!

When you wash them, I recommend washing cold and not tumble drying. Too much heat will cause the glue on the patches to loosen.

oh and ps. I got more ankle boots. I have a problem. But seriously, aren’t these babies rad??

pps. I’m wearing the top Mim made me – again! It’s such a fantastic top – if you haven’t checked out her tutorial yet, make sure you do!

About Author

Meg is the Founder and Creative Director of Megan Nielsen Patterns, and is constantly dreaming up ideas for new sewing patterns and ways to make your sewing journey more enjoyable! She gets really excited about design details and is always trying to add way too many variations to our patterns.

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Roxy
11 years ago

Cute patches! I think knee patches are a logical trend to follow all the elbow patches that are around. I want to see some nice floral ones too :-)

Anto
11 years ago

what a good idea. I have a pair of jeans that got ripped at the knee a while ago and it never occurred to me to use patches because I had that same fear that it might look childish.

Momita_DIY
11 years ago

Great idea!!!

Beth
11 years ago

Very cool! I’ve been seeing elbow patches a lot lately too.

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