How to Patch Jeans

Patching Jeans is easy. You don't have to have any great sewing skills either.

My two little boys & somehow my husband all get holes in their jeans. These jeans got this hole in less than three days!  I wasn't thrilled. And they are even nice thick quality.

So instead of constantly buying more jeans, I patch them up. 

It is fast... about five minutes and easy.

To patch jeans you need a scrap of Jean material large enough to cover the hole AND the "weak" area around the hole.


Also, thread to match the jeans you are stitching on. (my thread looks white in these pictures, but it is a matching denim color)


Cut the appropriate size of jean scrap & place it underneath the hole, on the inside of the jeans.


Pin to secure.
(If jeans are stretchy, pin extra well.)


Using sewing machine. Sew forward and backwards (reverse) over and over until all areas of the hole are covered.


Your stitching should cover more than just the hole.  Stitch past it on all sides, because the area around the hole is weak and prone to ripping.


As you can see the stitching is far from perfect, but it really doesn't matter.
When I looked at my name brand jeans that come with "patched holes" their stitching is also imperfect.


*These jeans were little boy super skinny jeans,
so fitting it into the sewing machine was a HUGE struggle.
I had to scrunch it really tight, so you can see a better example of proper stitching on the bottom jeans pictured.  I had a little more room to work with those than the first.



So in the future try patching your jeans.  It saves money...and the lifespan of the jeans.
With little boys, it has saved me so much.  And the patches last as I pass the jeans down.

Book Pages into Garland

Valentine's Day Garland

This project is pretty self explanatory.

I ripped out some old pages from a book and cut them in half the long way. 

 Then using 2 or 3 stacked, I gathered/folded them as I stitched.

Then separate the layers and crunch as you go.  They may tear a bit, but it doesn't matter.

Simple and inexpensive.

Shirt Re-do's

Old plain shirts...in desperate need of some sprucing.

Simple Burp Rags

Kid's Hot & Cold Pack

So I loved the Kids Cold Pack Idea from Just Another Hang Up. It is filled with rice, so it can be kept in the freezer until needed.  Or heat it in the microwave and it can be a little warming pad.

I just know, my son wont use an ice pack when he gets hurt.  They are too cold and hard.

So this was the perfect solution.

Although the chick cold packs @ Just Another Hang Up are much cuter in my opinion.  I just simplified it.  And used the scraps from our Halloween Monkey Costumes.  So it was basically free to make.

Below is the pattern I made. 

You can enlarge or shrink it to make any size.

And I suggest using flannel...soft on the skin.

Free Template Printable & Download found here:

Monkey Template 1

Monkey Template 2

Busy Book

When it comes to busy books, I've always had mixed feelings.  The pages don't all seem age appropriate at the same time. The activities range from simple flip book pages to difficult activities like tying bows.  And they are very time consuming to make.  But, I really like the idea behind them.

So I tried to simplify the idea.  I made a busy book with a twist.  It is a felt book, where the covers can double as felt boards. And the pages are Ziploc bags.  So they can be filled and exchanged.
Then I made some simple activities. To fill the pages. 

The activities don't have to be hand made, you can fill the book with anything your child likes.  But, I did include some simplistic templates I made. And there will be more to come.

Free Printables and Downloads:

Busy Book Bag Instructions

Bugs Template

Faces Template

Faces Template 2

Pizza Template

First Aid Template

Easter Egg Template

Lunch Sack Template

Ocean Template

Serving Pink Lemonade also has some cute ideas you can adapt into these books. 

I adapted her frosted cookies template: found here

And her sandwich template: found here
I also suggest looking around her site. Its full of cute ideas.

 

Baby Tie & Toddler Tie

I wanted cute ties for my boys for Easter, but shopping around and there wasn't a great selection.  Baby ties particularly were hard to find.  So I looked around and found a perfect tutorial for a little kid or toddler tie at: Equal Opportunity Crafter. I used this to make the bigger tie.

But I wanted a simple clip on for my baby.  Trying to tie an actual tie was asking a bit much. 

 I looked and didn't find any great tutorials.  So I made a simple tutorial below.

It can be used for a baby or toddler and the size is easy to adjust. 

Just cut any extra length off of top of tie.

 

Baby or Toddler Tie Template and Patter. Free Printable and Download: click here and here

Supplies Needed for Baby Tie:

15 in x 15 in piece of fabric (I used the scraps left over from the Toddler tie)

Interfacing (optional: I didn't bother)

Hinged Pin

Baby Tie Directions:

Cut out material to match pattern. (Does not need to be cut on bias.)

Cut twice for tie material and cut one of interfacing.

Main Tie:

Match fronts of fabric face to face. Place interfacing  on top and pin all three layers together.

Sew as dotted lines on pattern show.

Turn right side out.

Fold outer corners of tie in and tack with a few small stitches.  As seen in picture.

Decide on length of tie then: gather top of tie and stitch.

Knot of Tie:

Cut one. No interface needed for knot.

Fold in half, so fronts of fabric are facing. Stitch up the one side as shown in diagram.

Turn right side out, creating long tube.

Fold into knot as shown in pictures.

Put all together. 

Tuck the top of main tie into the knot. 

Covering the gathered area. Stitch to secure.

Add pin for securing to child's shirt.

A simple trick for: Moisturized Skin

I got this trick from Kayla's amazing blog located here, and immediately tried it out.  After having a baby, I don't know about you, but I had several bottles of Baby Oil Gel around that have never been used.  So instead of throwing them away I put them to the test...and loved the results.

If you choose not to read about it on Kayla's blog, I will quickly explain how I use it. 

First of all, I am really bad with lotion.  Although I need it desperately in this dry climate, I forget to put it on and usually I am already dressed so I only get my hands. 
But instead, I keep the bottle in my shower and after I am all done, I quickly towel off. Then lather up with the Baby Oil Gel.  I use it all over.  Then I simply wrap myself in my towel and mosey around for a few minutes.  From brushing my hair, teeth, etc.  This just lets it absorb a bit before I put my clothes on.  (I take 2 or 3 min. tops!)

And no I have never had any "oil" residue or marks on clothing or furniture and it doesn't leave me feeling greasy. 

And I have found any brand works well, I am just using up whatever brands I have on hand.  And I find the GEL is important, regular baby oil leaves me feeling greasy!

Also, Kayla refers to using this while she was pregnant.  And although I am very recently classified in that group I tried this before being pregnant and found it worked wonders.  But for those of you who are pregnant or plan to be one day, this is a "safe" option and works wonders on crazy preggo skin!

Hemming with the original Hem!

I got a pair of cute Lucky Jeans from my sister.  She lost some weight and passed them my way.  The only problem...she is taller than me, so I needed to hem them and I didn't want them to look like a "homemade" hem job.  So my mom suggested the idea below.  Come to find out this brilliant idea, had been around before my mom and here is another tutorial you might find helpful.

Now for the supplies and steps:

Materials Needed:
Your Jeans
Measuring Tape
Pins
Scissors
Iron
Sewing Machine (preferably with zipper foot, but not required)
Double sided Iron-on tape/adhesive (optional: see below)
Needle and thread (optional: see below)

Step One: Very IMPORTANT!! Wash jeans!

Step Two: Measure the height of the original hem.  Save this measurement for later. (Mine was 1/2 inch)

Put on the jeans with the shoes you'd wear them with.  Then fold the bottom hem up until you reach the desired length. Pin and measure this amount. (My cuff was 2 & 1/4 inches.)  This measurement is from the bottom of the fold up to the very end of the jeans, which includes the original hem. 
Then subtract the first measurement of your original hem.  (Mine is: 2 & 1/4 - 1/2 = 1 & 3/4).

So now I pin my jeans to this length, as shown in the picture below:

Step Three: Sew! This is best done with a "zipper foot" on your machine,  but I didn't have one and it worked just fine! If you have a zipper foot, place it as close to the original hem as possible and then stitch following around the leg. 

 Be sure NOT to sew over the original hem anywhere!

If you do not use a zipper foot, like me Do notice the placement of my sewing machine's foot. Seen above. It is on the original hem, so I had to be extra careful not to veer into it!

Step Four: Measure your excess cuff.  If it is 3/4 of an inch or shorter, go to step 5.

If it is longer than 3/4 inch you have a choice...you can cut the inner excess cuff off, or you can tack it under.

A. First, if you choose to cut, measure and do not cut shorter than 1/2 inch.  This allows for future fraying.

B. Tacking it: Place double sided iron-on adhesive between the excess cuff and the leg of the jeans.  Like you are "taping" it inside.  Then Iron as directed on its package.  After ironing tack cuff, with a few hand stitches, to each of the pant leg seems.  Both the inner and outer seem. Shown below:

Step Five: Finally, Iron the outside of the pant leg.  Smoothing and flatening out the seem! 

I hope these work as well for you as they did for me!  And let me know if you have questions.  Some of the directions can be confusing!  But it was really easy and took me half an hour (following option B: tack and ironing).