Fix It Friday - Fixing My Jeans with Sashiko

Taking Care of Jeans
I met someone who only washes his jeans once every 6 months.
My first reaction was "eww!" but then he told me that he has 10 pairs that are worn once a week and rotated with each wear. After each wear, they are air-dried and sunned before being hung on a rack.

On top of this regime, he only washes his jeans ...... BY HAND!
He does this to ensure the indigo colour and the weave of the denim is not lost.
Apparently, this is a well-known technique shared amongst vintage jean lovers!

Here are my jeans ..... lost its colour COMPLETELY and the seams are tatty, but I LOVE it. I decided to use a combination of Sashiko and weaving.

What is Sashiko 刺し子 ?
刺し子 is a Japanese form of folk embroidery that has been passed from one generation to the next. It literally means little stabs, and they are basically running stitches. Here I use the technique to reinforce the denim. I also use some weaving in the repair.

Sashiko and weaving takes a lot of patience. If you would like a quick fix, then perhaps you can consult my tutorial on crazy stitches!

What Do You Need?
I used an embroidery needle, 8 ply embroidery thread and a thimble. 
You could use an embroidery hoop to assist with the repair.

What Do You Do?
Define the area that needs repairing. 
For the weave repair I added scrap t-shirt patches.

Weave away. 

If you're not sure how to weave on textiles, check out my video. 

Sashiko Away!!

For the sashiko, I didn't tie any knots; I just went forwards and backwards (like a sewing machine) with a running stitch in the beginning before continuing with the sashiko. 

You can go crazy with sashiko stitches, or if you would like to be more organised, draw out your design first!

Here's the final product! I think I might expand on the sashiko for this pair of jeans :-)

Sharing at:
Sundays Down Under
My Life in Progress

Check out my other jean repairs under the Fix It Friday series!