Embellishing Jeans: a Quick Tutorial

Obviously I thrift a lot. But not just for clothing to refashion or upcycle. I love to buy ready-to-wear clothing there too. I have found some of my favorite jeans, great kid clothes, and even work shirts for my hubby.

I came home one day with some Children’s Place jeans for my oldest boy – in absolutely pristine condition. And for only 50 cents. Perfect, right?

And then I turned them around and found little hearts on the pockets. Woops. Sorry, dude.

But, no need to give them away.  This is an easy fix!

We just embellish the jeans [because yes, you can even embellish BOY jeans!]

1. Trace over one of the back pockets to give you a template.

2. Using the template you made, cut out two pocket shapes from your fabric.

3. Sew around the sides and bottom of your pocket – but don’t sew the top of the pocket (or you’ll sew the pocket closed).

4. Trim around the edges, cutting off any excess fabric [though I left a little so that it would fray – more about that below].

4. Use a fabric glue, such as Liquid Stitch, to glue the top of the fabric onto the pocket.

I used a fabric that will fray after it’s washed – I want the fraying. But if you don’t want yours to fray you have options: either add fray check around the edges of your pocket or cut your fabric a little larger than your pocket template, and iron the edges under before you sew. You could also use a fabric that won’t fray, like knit fabric, but I’d only use that if you find one with very little stretch.

My four-year-old said “Wow, Mom… are these jeans really for me?!” when I showed him. That, my friends, is 50 cents and 15 minutes of naptime well-spent.