I don’t get patches on britches. When I was a kid patches meant you were poor. No matter how creative the patch, it seems no amount of strawberry-iron-ons or carefully stitched denim, could fix your bank account. I guess it’s like stupid, you can try to cover it up, but you can’t fix it.
As I got into high school, holes were cool. I had my brother shoot my old jeans with a shotgun to get the desired effect without having to pay big bucks for it. My dad threw a fit and wouldn’t let me wear them unless mom patched them. I guess his old cowboy mind couldn’t be wrapped around the desire to have holes in ones britches. “Trashy” is what he called it. He really threw a fit when I made my brothers holy 501 Levis have bleach streaks with Mercedes Benz symbols (in rural Nebraska we thought they were peace signs) and then wore them for senior pictures. (Someday, when I don’t have anything else better to do…I’ll scan the picture, big 80′s hair and all and you can have a good long laugh on me.)
Now, years later Ben and the kids want patches. The more the merrier. Then they parade around like some bannie rooster after winning a barnyard brawl. I don’t get it. My mom taught me to patch carefully and cleanly, so the denim won’t keep unraveling.
Now days the patches on jeans you buy are more crude and look like some of my first, Future Patcher of America, patches.
So here’s my dilemma. Do I patch to please my family? Yes! I can’t help but to patch. That decided…Do I patch to extend the life or just to basically patch to decorate, for the I’m really not as poor as my jeans look fashion?
Do you patch? If so do you a) iron on, b) sew by hand, c) sew by machine d) all of the above or e)I’m hungry, want some ice cream?
You know me…I’ve got to know this so I can keep up with the Jones. NOT! I doubt the Jones even read this blog.
Simply,
Sis
Tags: destroyed jeans, making due with what you have, patched jeans, patches, saving money by patching clothes
I hand so on most patches, but if I need a really clean look I use a machine.
Bobbi Janay–I can’t think of a patch I’ve sewn on by hand, outside of boy scout type patches. I’ll have to try it. I use that stich witch stuff to glue the patches together before sewing. That stuff is cool! I wish they made it for human boo booes. Tee hee.
Thanks for you imput.
Sis
My Mom taught me to patch & to do it as small & as neat as possible. But I’ve since been called on by nephews & granddaughters to patch with ‘artistic abandon’….stretch lace for the girls & camo & khaki for the guys. I think its neat that they will wear this handiwork. I DO think it is ridiculous to pay top dollar for this look ‘off the rack’.
I patch, both for function and fashion…but I must admit that my sewing skills limit me to iron-ons.
cake–’patch with artistic abandon’ I love it!!! Sometimes I get so focused on function, I forget about form.
I’ll have to get in touch with my artistic side (that would be SINthia, my evil twin) on second thought, maybe not.
momma sunshine–love your name, There are so many iron ons now days, I think it’s all good.
Loved your comments, gals, thanks.
Sis
I am so with you! I would rather have holes than patches. But i have been know to sew a hole closed to get a few more wears out of them. But I think boys are ment to have holes in their knees. It is a right of passage….except at church.
i do a combination of hand and machine patching. my patches are functional, as in, “my hind end is hanging out of these pants but they’re my favorite pair and i gotta do somethin’!” -but i make them look like they’re supposed to be that way! my husband is in a band, and i’ve patched no less than 5 pair of jeans for him and other band members, because of my “talent” of making jeans with holes in inappropriate locations into jeans that look like they came from hollister and cost $90.
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