Patches!

Last Friday I posted a link to a tutorial with great ideas for covering the worn spots in well-loved children's clothing. So excited by the ideas I had uncovered online, over the weekend I took the "to be mended" pile out of the corner of my sewing room and got to work getting creative with the patching.

I discovered that I had 3 pairs of little boy pants with holes that were perfect candidates. The first pair I tackled had (impressive) holes in both knees. This called for matching patches on both legs, sewn on with a couple quirky rows of zigzag stitches.

What I did was figure out the length and width of the patch required, add a couple inches to each measurement, and then cut 2 pieces (per leg) of my patterned cotton fabric. To make sure the patch was going to hold up to more little boy shenanigans, I also cut a piece of Peel n Stick Fabric Fuse the same size for added strength. This product is sticky on both sides so I took my pieces of cotton and stuck one (patterned side out) on each "sticky" side. That created a really sturdy "double-sided" patch. I pinned the patches on both legs to be even with each other and did a few rows of zigzag to secure them.

I learned a few things from this initial project:

1. The Fabric Fuse was REALLY sticky when my needle was trying to sew in-and-out of it. My needle built up a nice layer of glue that I would clean off every so often and resume my sewing.

2. Sewing a patch on a little pant leg can be really frustrating because something so small doesn't leave much room for maneuvering.

3. It is best to use a larger needle when doing this type of sewing. I used one specified for denim and it worked great.

The next pair had a smaller hole on just one leg. Because the hole was small I didn't feel the need for the Fabric Fuse. I just cut 2 pieces of cotton to size, sewed them right sides together around the edges, and left a little opening to turn the patch right-sides out. Then I pinned it in place and sewed it around the edges with a straight stitch. Super-easy!

The last pair was a little trickier. I'd seen a few images of "monster patches" at various places and thought I'd try my hand at one.

I started by cutting some red fabric and making a patch with the Peel n Stick Fabric Fuse like I did on the first one.

Then, I turned the pants wrong-side-out and pinned the patch in place and drew a circle close to the edges of the patch.

With pants still inside-out, I took 6 strands of embroidery thread and a larger hand-sewing needle and stitched around the drawn circle. I turned the pants back right-side out (admired the new monster mouth) and set them aside.

I took some white and black wool felt and hand-stitched some cute monster eyes and then found a good spot for them above the mouth. I secured those with hand-quilting thread.

My monster may not be as complicated as some I've seen, but I was going for one with "homespun" charm. :)

–Cassandra