Nothing lasts forever, and especially not a pair of jeans that are worn day in and day out, rarely washed and only given tough macho love. Even more so if you’re the type of person that treats your jeans totally without mercy, all in the name of evolving the fades and getting that personal wear. This makes for a truly tough life for a pair of jeans, and at some point they’re taken beyond the breaking point.
Steel Feather jeans, courtesy of Anders Helseth
So what do you do when you get a gaping hole in your favourite pair of jeans? If you go to your mother she’ll patch them up nicely for you by, by adding a patch. The advantage of this is that it’s easy to do. It’s even the way Nudie advise you to do it, in their free repair handbook. It’s hardly invisible though, and more seriously, you do run the risk of “comfort issues”, depending where the repair is situated. Plus, unless you’ve got a massive beard and drink carbonated prune squash from jam jars, or happen to be 5 years old, it doesn’t really work as a look.
Patched and repaired, random illustration from Google.
If you’re in Japan and have an artisan sashiko sewer around, you could get them repaired in the traditional born style. This can also be a style of patching, but with more thought to the aesthetics of it, with the classic hand sewn large stitches. Born is the art of repair, and this is adding art to your jeans. Hard to find someone that can do this nicely though, but a great skill to practise on those long, cold Tuesday evenings through the winter. Let me know how you get on, ok?
Sashiko repair, again a random illustration
How about if you just want them to be repaired, good as new, zeroed and ready for new adventures? Well, you can, and it’s not even a brand new space-age technique. In fact, it’s been around for ever and it’s the same way your granny would repair your grandfathers socks. It’s called darning. This involves repairing and replacing the broken or missing fabric by weaving in fresh thread. It can be done by using a special darning machine (which should be a 50’s Singer for ultimate hipster credibility), though it can also be done using a regular sewing machine (I see a challenge for me here), or even doing it by hand.
Steel Feather jeans, after repair by Mr Handy Denim. Courtesy Anders Helseth
The result of it is quite remarkable, as if the colour of the thread used matches well, and the job is done properly, the repair is both invisible and strong. In fact, I’d say as good as new. I’d maybe even stretch to describing it as magic. Which is something of a life-saver for a pair of expensive jeans that otherwise have plenty of life left in them.
I’ve seen a few places offering this service, but do let me know if you had additions. Help spread the good word!
Mr Handy Denim, Netherlands
Companion Denim, Barcelona
Selfedge, NYC, USA
http://www.thedenimdoctor.co.uk
I looked at the Denim Doctor but was uncertain about whether he darns or patches. Can you verify?
Not sure, as I use a local seamstress, but here is a thread to feed the bear… http://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=833.0
Have just emailed Denim Doctor to see if he darns, it appears not from the site, but I’ll let you know for sure when I hear back
My dear old mother can darn like a demon. She has done a sterling job in repairing a couple of pairs of much loved jeans for me. Predictably, both pairs were so knackered they started having critical structural issues elsewhere some months later and were retired but the point still stands, moot as it maybe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wtb5gqT7f44