I’m so excited to final share my Sashiko mended Ash jeans with you! I worked on these over a year ago and it’s taken me that long to edit my rambling video footage to give you a peek at the process. I originally made these Ash jeans 8 years ago and they have worn in so beautifully in colour and softness – but unfortunately have also worn out in many places, like the backside. These are my favourite most comfortable jeans, so when we were planning our trip to Switzerland at the end of 2024 I knew I wanted to fix these take them with me. I have been wanting to try visibly mending jeans with Sashiko, and this felt like the perfect opportunity to do so!
I had enough scraps of the original fabric left that I could use it to patch the jeans. Which unfortunately was another confirmation for me that hoarding all my favourite scraps is a great idea. Poor Chris, every storage spot in our home is full of fabric hahahaha. I had to be really careful when choosing my patches that the grain was aligned so that the stretch of the jeans wasn’t compromised. The same applied when choosing which designs to stitch – i was really careful to only choice designs that were diagonal and vertical as anything horizontal would not stretch and would make me unable to put my jeans on. The horror!
When it comes to supplies for this project i bought the book Simply Sashiko which is full of lots of Sashiko designs with very clear instructions and measurements for how to transfer them to your fabric. There is some basic instruction on the method of stitching for Sashiko – but i found it to be slightly different than the method I had learnt in the Sashiko course I took with Upcycle Stitches, and also were not as thorough. You can certainly get something that looks right with the book – but i think there are some key techniques (like overlapping threads rather than knotting) that I think are overlooked and are important to learn. All Sashiko thread, and needles and thimble I used were also purchased from Upcycle Stitches and I highly recommend them.
I actually still had enough of this fabric in my stash to make an entirely new pair, so I also did that! I love that with the step hem and Sashiko mending these jeans look so different to the same cut of Ash jeans made with the same fabric, but with a regular hem and different hardware and topstitching. If you’d like to watch my video comparing how this denim has aged over the years you can watch it on youtube as well
I love my Sashiko jeans so much, and since I mended them in 2024, A new hole popped up and I added to my mending with a new Sashiko patch which was really fun. I love that these jeans are essentially an evolving artwork and will continue to change as i wear them more and more.
Also as a side note, I bought these boots in Gstaad on our trip and was absolutely delighted to find that the length worked so perfectly with the step hem on these Ash jeans. I love a happy accident and this has become a favourite winter outfit combo for me!
I hope you enjoyed hearing all about how i went about mending my jeans with Sashiko – if you have any Q’s or comments let me know!
