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How to Sew Tear-Seam Jeans

Sep 5, 2011 / By Melissa J. Bell

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Keep your denim duds wearable by repairing ripped seams.

Photo: Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

Donning a good pair of denims can come with a few frustrations, such as working a comfortable amount of wear into the fibers. But while breaking in a pair of jeans makes a positive change to the fabric, just plain breaking them won't do a girl any good. If you've ever made a wrong move and heard that tell-tale sound of splitting denim, you might think your jeans, new or fashionably worn-in, are history. However, by sewing up those torn seams, any fashion maven can make her jeans good as gold again.

Turn your jeans inside-out and examine the tear to assess the level of damage.

Pull the outside edge of the tear toward the seam, letting it overlap the edge of the seam by at least 1/8 inch.

Pin the edge of the tear to the seam, right on top of the original seam stitching or as close as possible.

Fit your home sewing machine with a heavyweight needle designed to sew through thick layers of fabric, such as denim. Thread the machine and test the thread tension by sewing on a scrap of cloth.

Sew along the original seamline, on top of the torn edge of the jeans. Turn the jeans right side out again.

1.Jeans

3.Measuring tape

5.Thread

7.Cloth scrap

2.Pins

4.Heavyweight needle

6.Sewing machine

Perform repairs on hem tears as soon as possible; they can rapidly become worse with every step.

If the fabric around the tear is thin and worn out, a repair will just tear again, especially in a high-stress area such as the center back seam or inseam. You may need to spring for a new pair of jeans.