grown up knee patches revisited

April 19, 2013

Written by Meg

Megan Nielsen: Grown up knee patches [revisited]

You gals remember my grown up kneepatch jeans right?! Well it’s been 9 months since that little DIY, and i’ve altered them a bit, so i thought it might be nice to do a little update!

I’m pretty serious about how long homemade things last. “Fast” DIY often makes me mad because i look at it and think “that won’t survive one wash GRRRRR!” – so when i added iron knee patches to my holey jeans, i was curious to see how they’d hold up.

They lasted pretty well i must admit, but despite my best efforts (gentle washes, no tumble drying), the patches started peeling up at the edges. For a while i thought i liked it, but then i decided it was just plain scruffy, not in a cool way you know?

So i sat down with a Katherine Heigl rom com and hand stitched those suckers down. Now they aint goin anywhere baby! Which is good, because they’re still my favourite jeans!

I think the lesson here is (and i’m about to get on my high horse now): sewing always wins over glue. The end.

Meg XOXO

hand sewn knee patches

About Author

Meg

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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Boyer Family Singers

10 years ago

We just awarded you with the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award” over at our blog :D

You can view it here:
http://boyerfamilysingers.blogspot.com/2013/04/very-inspiring-blogger-award.html

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Meg

10 years ago

Reply to Boyer Family Singers

Awww thank you so much! that’s so incredibly sweet of you! Totally made my day :) XOXO

Truly Myrtle

10 years ago

I recently fused the neck and sleeve cuffs down on a tshirt I made for one of my outfits. Within days of finishing it I was pick stitching it down by hand too …. just didn’t feel right :)

Author

Meg

10 years ago

Reply to Truly Myrtle

Girl after my own heart :) i’ve done that before too just.felt.weird. hehehe

Ness

10 years ago

Like the patches. I have had the same issues with fused things and end up stitching them on. I guess the advantage is that your placement is perfect! LOVE the poultry! That turkey is very cute – do I spot some Peahens in the background?

Author

Meg

10 years ago

Reply to Ness

Thanks Ness! Glad i’m not the only one :) and that’s true – normally when i do an applique i used a fusible to keep it in place while sewing, so at least this meant i got to skip that step hehehe.
And yes! those are Peahens too! We were spending the day at the “Cuddly Animal Farm” in the Swan Valley,WA – such a wonderful place to visit – it was really wonderful to interact with all the animals closely, i think my kids wanted to live there hehehee.
Meg xoxo

Amanda

10 years ago

I used to work at a library putting books away and I was always scootching around on my knees. My favorite pair of jean work pants got really thin in the knees… so I ironed on black patches, and then sewed around them in neon pink and green, in zigzag and regular stitch. I think it made it look more intentional and fun.

Margo, Thrift at Home

9 years ago

I think iron-on patches are so annoying! I tried a few times, but they didn’t last. My method now is to unpick one of the leg seams (unless they’re both flat-felled, then I cut the jeans into shorts!), and patch it with machine stitching. I put a patch on the inside and outside. For my kids, I use cute flannel or cut the denim into a heart. I really love REAL patched clothing that is worn and loved. I have a whole blog category for mending :)

Author

Meg

9 years ago

Reply to Margo, Thrift at Home

That is a really clever trick! I’ll definitely be trying it for next time- thanks honey! I love adding patches, but i am not a fan of painstakingly handstitching them on! XOXO

Arnoldo

9 years ago

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grown up knee patches revisited

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