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How to Fix a Hole in Pants (3 Ways)

Written by Carmen Barkley · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

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Learning How To Fix A Hole In Pants Can Ensure Your Favorite Pants And Jeans Will Last For Years Of Use!

There's nothing more disappointing than going to put on your favorite pair of jeans, just to find an unsightly rip! Learning how to fix a hole in pants or jeans can help you to extend the life of your wardrobe - and avoid having to throw out your favorite jeans just because of one unfortunate rip!

a pair of jeans with several patched rips

Today, I'll show you 3 of my favorite methods to fix a hole in pants - by hand, with a patch, or with embroidery.

Table of Contents

  • Why Mend Ripped Pants?
  • How to Fix a Hole in Pants with Hand Sewing
  • Supplies to Hand Sew a Rip in Pants
  • Step 1: Clean Up the Rip
  • Step 2: Prepare a Hand Sewing Needle and Thread
  • Step 3: Stitch the Rip Closed
  • How to Patch a Hole in Pants
  • Supplies to Patch a Hole in Pants
  • Step 1: Clean Up the Hole
  • Step 2: Cut and Adhere the Patch
  • Step 3: Stitch the Patch in Place
  • How to Fix a Hole in Pants with Embroidery
  • Supplies to Fix a Hole in Pants with Embroidery
  • Step 1: Choose an Embroidery Design
  • Step 2: Clean Up the Hole
  • Step 3: Sew the Embroidery Design

Why Mend Ripped Pants?

It's usually well worth the time spent to fix a hole or rip in a pair of pants. It extends the life of the garment, often adding years of use that you wouldn't otherwise get. This means you'll have to buy new pants less often - saving you money and reducing waste from throwing out old garments!

hand sewing a rip in a pair of jeans

Plus, it's almost always your favorite, wear-them-multiple-times-a-week jeans that seem to get holes! Being able to mend them means you won't ever have to be without your favorite pair of jeans!

Looking for more blog posts on jeans? Find out how to hem jeans THREE different ways here!

How to Fix a Hole in Pants with Hand Sewing

If the hole you need to mend is a clean rip, without much fraying, hand sewing it closed is often the easiest and quickest solution. However, if the hole has a lot of fraying, one of the other methods will probably be a better option for you.

Supplies to Hand Sew a Rip in Pants

Here are the supplies you'll need to mend a rip by hand sewing

  • Pants to Mend
  • Hand Sewing Needle
  • Thread Matching the Pants
  • Scissors or Thread Snips
  • Fusible Interfacing (Optional)
  • Iron & Ironing Board
the supplies to mend a rip in pants by hand sewing

Step 1: Clean Up the Rip

Start by cleaning up the rip. To do this, trim away any frayed threads around the rip with a pair of sharp scissors or thread snips.

trimming a rip in jeans with turquoise scissors

Step 2: Prepare a Hand Sewing Needle and Thread

Next, cut a length of thread 15 to 20 inches long. Thread it through the eye of a hand sewing needle.

a hand sewing needle threaded with white thread

Pull the thread through the needle until the two thread ends match up. Knot the thread ends together with a double or triple knot.

knotting a white thread

Your needle is threaded with a double length of thread - you're ready to start sewing!

Step 3: Stitch the Rip Closed

First, before stitching the rip closed, I would highly recommend stabilizing the area with fusible interfacing. This will give the mended area more strength and help it to last for many more years.

To apply fusible interfacing, cut a square or rectangle of interfacing that is large enough to cover the entire rip, plus about 1 inch on each size.

holding a rectangle of white interfacing

Next, turn the pants inside out and place them on your ironing board. Smooth out the area around the rip. Line up the edges of the rip carefully.

a pair of jeans inside out on an ironing mat

Then, place the cut square of fusible interfacing over the rip with the bumpy side down against the fabric.

a rectangle of fusible interfacing covering a rip on a pair of jeans

Place a damp rag over the interfacing, then press a hot iron onto the rag. Hold the iron in place for 10-15 seconds. It will create quite a bit of steam as the interfacing adheres to the fabric.

pressing a piece of fusible interfacing onto jeans with a damp cloth

Remove the rag from the interfacing. Allow the pants to sit on your ironing board until the interfacing has dried.

a piece of fusible interfacing fused to cover a rip in jeans

Next, grab your threaded needle. Push it up through the fabric of the pants at the left end of the rip. Pull the needle through until the knot is against the back of the fabric.

pulling the thread through at the end of a rip in pants

Push the needle back down into the fabric on the side of the rip opposite where you started. Pull the needle through until the thread is taut.

finishing the first stitch

Then, push the needle back up through the fabric on the side of the rip you started on, but a few millimeters further to the right. Pull the thread taut.

starting the second stitch

Push the needle down into the fabric opposite where the thread is coming out to form a second stitch.

finishing the second stitch

Repeat this process to stitch across the rip all the way down the length of the rip.

Once you reach the end of the rip, make sure the needle and thread are pulled to the inside of the pants.

finishing the end of a row of hand stitches in a rip in pants

Trim the thread close to the needle to free the two thread tails. Knot the thread tails together with a double or triple knot.

a mended rip viewed from the inside of a pair of pants

The rip has been mended!

a rip in pants mended by hand sewing

How to Patch a Hole in Pants

The next method to mend a hole in pants or jeans is to patch the hole. This method is best for a larger, more frayed hole or rip.

Supplies to Patch a Hole in Pants

Here are the supplies you'll need to patch a hole in pants with a patch.

  • Pants to Mend
  • A Square of Fabric to Use as a Patch
  • Scissors or Thread Snips
  • Sewing Pins
  • Iron & Ironing Board
  • Sewing Machine
  • Thread Matching the Pants
supplies needed to mend a rip in pants with a patch

Step 1: Clean Up the Hole

Start by cleaning up the rip or hole. Trim away any threads or frayed areas around the hole. You want to create a neat, clean slate to apply your patch to.

trimming a rip in jeans with a pair of turquoise scissors

Next, press the hole or rip with a hot iron. This ensures that all the fabric around the rip is laying nice and flat - no wrinkles or curled up edges here!

pressing a cleaned up rip in jeans with a pink iron

Step 2: Cut and Adhere the Patch

Next, cut a patch large enough to cover the entire rip, plus about an inch on every side.

holding a square denim patch

I like to use denim when patching jeans - and I choose a color similar to the color of my jeans. If you're patching another type of pants, simply choose a fabric similar to the fabric of your pants.

If you prefer, you can even choose a contrasting or eye-catching fabric for your patch. Some people even like to use sequin fabric to patch their jeans! They're your jeans - so it's completely up to you!

Next, finish the edges of the patch with pinking shears, a zigzag stitch, or a serger. This will help prevent your patch from fraying over time.

trimming a denim patch with pinking shears

Center the patch over or under the hole, then pin it in place. It's up to you if you'd rather place the patch on the inside of your pants or on the outside.

Personally, I often prefer to place the patch on the inside, underneath the hole so it's less visible from the outside.

pinning a denim patch over a hole in a pair of jeans

Step 3: Stitch the Patch in Place

Once the patch is pinned in place, it's time to stitch everything down!

First, set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch. Sew all the way around the edges of the patch, stitching right along the edges of the fabric. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching.

stitching around the edges of the patch

Next, stitch directly over the center of the rip with a zigzag stitch. This will hold the edges of the rip to the patch. If you are mending a hole, where the edges don't meet, stitch over all the edges of the hole.

stitching around the edges of a rip in pants with a zigzag stitch

Once you have finished, trim all the thread tails. Give the mended rip a final press with your iron. You're finished!

a rip in jeans mended with a denim patch

How to Fix a Hole in Pants with Embroidery

One of my favorite ways to mend a hole in pants is with embroidery. It's so fun and gives your pants a unique, personalized feel. This method works well for both clean rips and larger holes.

Supplies to Fix a Hole in Pants with Embroidery

Here are the supplies you'll need to fix a hole in pants or jeans with embroidery.

  • Pants to Mend
  • Fusible Interfacing
  • Scissors or Thread Snips
  • Iron & Ironing Board
  • Extra Fabric (if mending a larger hole)
  • Sewing Pins
  • Embroidery Floss
  • Hand Embroidery Needle
supplies needed to mend a rip in pants with embroidery

Step 1: Choose an Embroidery Design

First, decide on an embroidery design. You can choose something simple enough to free-hand, or print an embroidery template to guide your design.

The most important thing is to choose a design large enough to cover the hole, plus some overhang beyond the edges of the hole.

the back of a pair of jeans with several rips mended with embroidery

Some of my favorite easy embroidery designs for mending jeans are daisies, sunflowers, bumblebees, hearts, and stars.

Step 2: Clean Up the Hole

Next, clean up the edges of the hole with a pair of sharp scissors or thread snips. This creates a nice, clean surface to apply your embroidery to.

trimming a rip in jeans with a pair of turquoise thread snips

Then, cut a piece of fusible interfacing large enough to cover the hole or rip plus about an inch on every side.

holding a small square of white interfacing

Fuse the interfacing to the back of the hole, on the inside of the pants. This creates a more stable surface for the embroidery and makes it easier to complete and more durable long-term.

pressing a small square of interfacing onto a rip in jeans

Step 3: Sew the Embroidery Design

Next, thread your hand embroidery needle with a length of embroidery floss. I like to cut my embroidery floss about 15 inches long. I find that if I start with a piece any longer than that, it tends to get tangled during the embroidery process.

cutting a long piece of yellow embroidery floss

Knot the end of the thread with a double or triple knot. Push the needle up through the fabric from back to front.

knotting the end of a piece of yellow embroidery floss

Pull the embroidery thread through until the knot is taut against the back of the fabric.

pulling a piece of yellow embroidery floss through the fabric of a pair of jeans

Stitch your embroidery design. If you get close to the end of your first thread, knot the end into the previous stitches and trim the thread tails. Then, restart with another length of embroidery floss.

knotting the end of embroidery floss into the previous stitches

Once your entire embroidery design is finished, trim up all the thread tails on the inside of your pants.

trimming the thread tails on the wrong side of the embroidery

Your pants are mended and ready to be worn!

a rip in pants mended with an embroidered daisy

I hope you're feeling inspired to give your ripped jeans or pants a new life using one of these 3 methods! Which method is your favorite way to mend pants?

Want to remember this post? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board here.

Looking for more blog posts on jeans? Find out how to hem jeans THREE different ways here!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anna says

    November 04, 2023 at 4:47 pm

    Good guide!
    One of the problems I have, is that there is no way to zigzag a patch on all sides on a jean leg, it simply cannot be done ”lengthwise”. This is especially true on kids jeans (which are the ones needing patching most of the time. I guess the only solution would be to rip open the leg side seam, and then close it. But how does one do that with an acceptable result?

    Reply

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Ready, Set, Sew! An online sewing course for beginners by top US sewing blogger, Sweet Red Poppy.

Hello, I’m Kimberly, the creator of Sweet Red Poppy!

I’m a wife, mother to 3, seamstress, and lover of all things crafty! Sweet Red Poppy is my creative outlet where I find and create inspiration. It’s a place where I can share my never-ending sewing projects and my love of learning!

Read more about me →

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