It’s no secret that I freakin’ love a good applique project. Creatively it’s very satisfying but it also has very practical applications as well! It’s been my go-to remedy for covering stubborn stains for ages and recently I used some fun applique to patch up my daughter’s ripped jeans.
The jeans really weren’t all that bad but I noticed my daughter had stopped wearing them since they ripped so I figured they could use a little love.
The first step was to unpick the outer seam so I could open the leg and machine stitch the applique. I left the the bottom hem intact to make life easier and just opened enough by the knee area to be able to work on it without too much fussing.
Cute Nature elements are my jam when it comes to applique and I snuggled right into my comfort zone with this project: a happy sun, colorful rain clouds, and a few stars. Stars are like salt, I add them to EVERYTHING.
Backing my designs with a double sided fusible stabilizer allowed me to secure the designs to the pants so I could stitch them down without everything shifting around constantly. At the moment I use Heat n’ Bond Lite for my appliques and I have also used Wonder Under with good results in the past. (If you would like more info on creating your own appliques check out this post).
Once the applique was prepped and topstitched to the jeans all I had left to do was close the legs back up. The jeans had been mechanically faded after construction and had very distinct fade lines so I was careful to re sew them exactly were the original stitching was, but other than that it was just a simple straight stitch up and down the leg. A quick press with the iron to open the seam and we were back in business!
The once loved jeans have returned to glory and are now back in regular rotation. Mission accomplished. Now on to another child’s mending…