Mornigstar

Think you did good purchase for this job and a decent price.
Usually the inside leg seam is not double so I open it. Then
Put on patch and reset that leg seam.
Good luck

KalamaQuilts

I've been stitching up knee patches for 50+ years and never once crossed my mind to undo that straight leg seam.
Thank you

themadpatter

I know how you feel! Once I got that idea I felt like I had reinvented fire, lol. It really does make it sooo much easier, I never even bother trying the smooshing down from the top way anymore. I do have zigzag machines to take care of redoing the serged part of the seam. I have a serger, too, but it is such a pest. I think it needs a new tension assembly for one of the loopers. (And after having this problem for literally years, I just this minute thought about trading the tension dial with one of the needles. Boy, am I slow sometimes!)

Thanks for this question 066logger, or I never would have had that brainstorm, lol. My DH makes the same kind of holes in his pants that you do, so I know what you are talking about. I have a stash of denim taken from old jeans that I use for patches on his pants. The other hints I have are to use children's washable glue stick or a fusible web like Heat n Bond Lite to attach the patch before sewing it. Press the patch to dry the glue stick first, its a quilter's trick called glue basting. Also, it must be a sewable fusible web! That's why Lite is red, because it is imperative. You could also use one that washes out after you patch them, but you don't need to get that fancy. even if the patch were a little stiff, I doubt you'd notice it, or care if you did. DH is basically a farmer, and he only Lets me patch his, he doesn't Make Me, lol. I swear he'd wear rags if I weren't around.

juliasb

Welcome to the QB! You are one brave soul attempting to patch the leg of pants right off the top but it can be done. Pin the patch first to the place you want it to be. Rolling the more open part and the farthest part of the pants each way till you have only the area where you need to make the repair. You will have fabric bulk to work around. Sew the patch in place. This is a challenge for the most experienced sewer. The invention of the sleeve arm made this process much easier. The tighter the pants the more difficult the patch job becomes.

066logger

Thank you all for the encouragement and advice!! I finally had a little time after work today to tinker around with patching up one pair of pants. Ran out of thread haha. I just had some little spools and I had just enough thread to cut the legs off the most damaged pair of pants and hem them into shorts. And then patch one knee hole and shorten up the legs a little bit, this fabric stretches a lot as the day goes by and I notice I end up walking on my pants by the end.

066logger

[ATTACH=CONFIG]617992[/ATTACH]Whew! It was more of a task to figure out how to upload that picture than it was to sew ����

066logger

Oh, sorry to blow this thread up with multiple replies but I do have one more question. I’m going to shoot by the sewing shop tomorrow for more thread. What would you guys recommend for tools for a novice like me? I bought a good pair of fiskars scissors, the correct bobbins and I believe the right needles and a pack of pins for pinning patches are what I have right now. Also any recommendations for a high quality thread that will hold up to some abrasive use?

pennycandy

Congratulations, sounds like you have been bitten by the sewing bug!

Number one sewing tool, a good seam ripper! I could not live without one.

Looks like your pants are made of cotton ripstop. I suggest you bring a scrap with you to the sewing shop so they can recommend a good thread from their stock and the correct needle size.