All Patched Up - DIY Designer Boy's Jeans Tutorial

All Patched UP - Boy's Designer Jeans Tutorial
What you need:

Jeans
Sand paper
scrap denim
Wonder-under (or other lightweight iron-on fabric adhesive)
Sewing machine
Embroidery thread and needle
Anything else you want!

If you are doing this for girl's jeans you can always add appliques, gems, ruffles, or tons of other fun stuff.  I like to keep it simple for my boy's jeans. This is also great for hand-me-downs that need a pick-me-up.

Step One: Rough 'em up.
Use your sandpaper to distress the parts of the jeans that would normally get the most wear. Use care with the knee area though. The knees are usually the first part to wear out on their own.  Rough up the front and back pockets and you can even choose some spots to wear all the way through to give them an authentic vintage look.  The sandpaper will make a more dramatic effect on darker demin.

Step Two: Patch it.

Draw the desired size and shape of your denim patches onto the smooth side of your Wonder-Under.Cut them out and figure out how you want them on your jeans. (The oval shaped one will be going on the inside of my jeans.)

Iron the wonder-under onto the denim fabric according to the manufacturer's directions.

Cut them out, peel off the backing..

 and iron them onto your jeans.  I like to do some on the inside too reinforce the areas where I have done the most distressing or where I have sanded all the way through the denim.

Sew on your patches to secure them into place. You can also use decorative stitching to add more oomph! I will be using embroidery stitching for most of mine. I used my machine for the inside patch. What a cool vintage effect!   

I love playing around with fabrics patches too. Try using canvas or other sturdy fabrics. 

Step 3:  Stitch it.
Be creative and add some simple embroidery stitches.

 I used a blanket stitch around 2 of the patches and a simple straight embroidery stitch for the third.

And X's across the pockets. I love the orange and yellow. It's so happy, not to mention that orange is Ryan's favorite color! He's going to love these.
 
A little color can add a lot of fun to some boring jeans. Or you can use neutral colors if you want to make sure your child's new jeans match his wardrobe, and his Cantaloupe Corner shirts, of course. Black, tan, grey, navy, or white.

That's it.
Now your kid has the cutest pair of designer jeans out there. Designed by you!

Go show 'em off!

(P.S. The "Super Hero" Shirt can be found HERE )