Fix It Friday - Crazy Stitches

I'm not sure exactly who came up with the term "crazy stitches", but I do remember teaching a gentleman how to repair his cargo pants at the Sustainable Living Lab repair cafe at the Singapore Mini Maker Faire. When I told him to go crazy with the sewing machine, he asked whether I meant crazy stitches, and strangely enough I replied yes! 

Underside - for reinforcing, you can use similar fabric to garment or interfacing

He ironed interfacing onto the wrong side of the tear, and then went "crazy" with the machine until he got some nice zigzag stitches over it, pretty much like the one in the first image.  I think this technique works well with thick sturdy materials such as denim, cargo, tweed etc.

Tools and Materials:

a) Iron and ironing board

b) Sewing machine with the appropriate needle and thread.

c) Scissors

d) Interfacing or material similar to garment for backing

Instructions:

a) Iron interfacing (glue side down)  to wrong side of fabric where tear is (use warm iron). You can also opt not to use interfacing and use fabric instead then pin it down to the garment before going onto b)

b) Use zig zag stitch go back and forth with the machine and reinforce the area. You can also use straight stitches too. 

Crazy Stitches for Reinforcing

Sometimes garments need reinforcing - fabric gets thinner and may eventually tear or give way to holes, so it's best to fix that before it  happens!

I did a whole lot of crazy stitches for a pair of jean shorts. The area above the hem was getting thinner.

Here are some great examples I found:

From Katie's Secret Blog

From Create / Enjoy

From Running With Scissors