Over the years of mending and embellishing my family’s clothes, I’ve played with various different styles of patches. As much as I like the look of sashiko inspired jeans, I wanted a patch that was be quick to make, covered the entire surface of the knee and would be simple enough in shape that I could use it as a base for other forms of embellishment. This was the thinking that inspired the Curved Patch Pattern.
Designing the perfect basic patch
Now this PDF pattern and tutorial is quite unique as I have yet to see anything like it available. When you think of jeans patches, the classic stiff fusible ones which have been around for decades usually comes to mind. I still remember my mother using them on my jeans. I also remember how uncomfortable they were and really not very good looking. Having done research on the idea of circular economy, I’m not a big fan of using synthetic patches that you glue onto jeans since they can’t biodegrade like cotton. The Curved Patch Pattern, an homage to the cargo look, has darts so that the patch shapes around the knee. That means it not only looks stylish but is very comfortable. It can also look like it’s a part of the jean’s integral design so you don’t necessarily have the feeling that the clothes have been fixed.
Perfect for learning to sew with or without a sewing machine
Many people haven’t touched a sewing machine since home-EC in high-school. If you abandoned the idea of learning to sew after your frustrating experience with the boxer shorts project, consider the Curved Patch Pattern as an opportunity for reconciliation with sewing. The PDF pattern comes with a tutorial that has been developed with the novice in mind. Each step is hand illustrated so you can enjoy the process of learning how to fix your jeans.
If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can easily sew the patch on with the backstitch like I did with these shorts. Because I takes a little longer to sew by hand, I decided to flip the patch inside out so the seam of the dart was visible. Just one of the many variations you can make to personalize the patch.
Curved Patch Graded for all ages and sizes
I want this pattern and tutorial to last for year to come. For this reason, the Kids Curved Patch Pattern comes in 5 graded sizes that fits all jeans sizes and styles. So you can fix your 18 month old’s jeans and hold on to the pattern until your child is 12. It also works on slim/skinny jeans or the looser regular fits.
The Women’s Curved Patch Pattern also includes 5 graded patterns so whether you are a size 0 or 26, the curved patch will work on your favorite jeans. For the adult version, I prefer the look of it on slim or skinny jeans but if you want to add them to a regular fitted pair, I have included a tutorial to show you how to modify the pattern to fit your jeans.
The ultimate building block for creative mending
The beauty of Modern Mending patterns is that they can be combined together to add variety to your mended clothes while still using the same blocks in different ways. Think of these patterns like LEGO for creative mending. Your imagination is the limit. In this sense, the Curved Patch is the ultimate basic building block in our collection. Have a look at the following images where I applied the skull patch on top of the Curved Patch.
Curved patch pattern as sustainable and zero waste DIY
So the best part about the Curved Patch Pattern is that it is the perfect way to not only make your loved clothes last, it is also a great way to re-purpose old jeans that might not be wearable anymore. Old jeans or the waste fabric that you have left over after having turned old jeans into shorts can be turned into patches. Because the recycling industry has not yet developed a system to efficiently recycle textiles into new fibers, using old clothes to repair and upcycle into new clothes, essentially keeps textiles away from the landfill.
If you want to make your favorite jeans last a few years longer, click the link below and download the curved patch from my Etsy shop.
Happy Mending!