As a mother to 6 boys, I am well acquainted with worn-out knees!
Can anyone relate? Kids can be so hard on clothes! Especially now that we’re out in the country, the stains are another major laundry issue, but that’s another post.
For today, I want to share my first line of defense for “holey pants” syndrome…..”KidVantage” from Sears.
“KidVantage” is a free membership available to anyone shopping at Sears. They offer a “Wear Out Guarantee” that will replace any worn-out clothes or shoes before they are outgrown. In other words, you can exchange them for the same size.
I have replaced the same pair of jeans two or three times before the boys outgrow them! Sears has never questioned my returns and gladly exchange them! I wait for Sears to have a sale, I like the $12.99 jeans price.
With quite a few boys in a row, I replace the torn out pants one more time before they outgrow them, then the next brother gets them and we start all over again. I have saved a ton of money with “KidVantage“!
However, in my acquisition of clothing for my children, I am not always privy to the Sears brand and therefore, I must patch and mend clothing if I plan to get all the wear I can out of them.
January is a great time to do your mending, especially if you’re like me and don’t particularly enjoy it.
I found pants that the boys had outgrown and decided that they could serve as a patch….fatigue patches, how cool is that when you’re a little boy?
Cutting off one of the pockets made for a cute patch, don’t you think?
After measuring the length and width of the tear in the pants, I cut a square patch large enough to cover it by at least an inch on each side. Then I turned the sides under about 1/2″ and pressed with a hot iron.
For this particular tear, I decided to “double” or fold the fabric to make a stronger patch. Bereket is especially hard on the right knee, for some reason.
Here’s the first pair of pants with patches pinned and ready to sew! Groovy!
There’s that right knee again….yes, these are Bereket’s.
After discovering some cool “sports” fabric from another project and some batting, I decided to not only “double” this patch, but to fill it with some batting as well.
Keep in mind my purpose here, I want to stretch the life of these pants. I’m not as concerned about “looks” as I am durability. These will become permanent “play clothes” and not “school/church clothes”.
I cut the batting about 1/2″ from the ends of the patch….
I decided to double these up as well to increase comfort but durability….
There we go, pinned and ready to sew!
Old jean pockets make cute patches!
All of my “trimmings” will go back into my scrap bucket for another time. Don’t waste anything, ladies!!
Here’s my stack of pinned patches, ready to hand-sew as I have time. That’s the part I struggle with the most!
These scraps can be used in the Cricket loom! There is no need to throw anything out! Way to go, homesteader!
My final “creative diversion” of the day was to make this cute little jean purse for Meredith. I used one of the inseams for the strap and cut a couple of hearts out of scrap fabric to embroider on. I love that the “distressed” look doesn’t require perfection, I am so over that.
Now that your own creative juices are flowing, what needs mended in your home? What can you make from leftover projects or re-purpose from old clothing?
You could even upload pictures of your projects on The Morristribe Facebook page! Fun!
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About kmorris
I LOVE the idea of using pockets as patches! Nowadays I no longer patch pants, though, since distressed pants are fashionable. (It’s just an excuse, really.) I just make sure my little girls put on ‘good’ pants before we go out because, fashion or not, I don’t really like the distressed look.
My mending project is a zipper that I dreaded for more than a year, and almost finished in an hour or so. Then I got sick, and then busy and I haven’t touched it since, although I’ve hauled out the sewing machine for that project again. Maybe tomorrow.
Referring to your previous post: our latest freezer eating was: stirfried left-over pork with onions, red peppers, asparagus, and curry. It was yummy with homemade sauerkraut potatoes.
Annie Kate,
Oh, don’t get me started on the “distressed look” and how much it costs for the teenagers! I’ve often asked “So, you’re telling me that you take a perfectly good pair of jeans, go out in the street and solicit a large vehicle to run it over, back up and run it over again, squealing the tires and tearing the fabric, only to charge me MORE?”……:)
Glad my little boys still like patches. Thanks for commenting!
Just yesterday I made a shoulder bag for my 9 year old from some cargo shorts he ripped (and also outgrew in the waist). The bag is made from one leg of the shorts and has a cargo pocket on the outside; the bottom is the bottom hem of the shorts so it should hopefully last a little longer than if I’d cut the hem off. I made the shoulder strap with three (braided) shoelaces I’d saved from throwaway shoes. He loves it! I figure he’ll use the bag to carry Nerf bullets or rocks, or whatever his little heart desires.
I’ve made a smaller shoulder bag for my clothes pins using a cargo pocket from a ripped/well-worn pair of shorts that I’d held onto in my scrap bag for a while. Again, the shoulder strap is made from a shoelace–just one shoelace, since I can guarantee that I won’t be putting rocks in this little bag! Since this is something no one will ever see (unless they see the photo of it on my blog…), I didn’t bother making the bag look pretty by sewing the edges. It’s simply practical and it works!
I love your patches from pockets! Great idea!
Amy, your projects sound glorious! Thanks for sharing!
The Sears Kidavantage is a great deal. I’ve never taken advantage of it though. Even the fact that Jon has worked at Sears for over a decade hasn’t made the program of use to me. Two kids, different genders, at most Jesse gets hand-me-down jeans from James. And probably my dirtiest secret of all…I let relatives buy J&J clothes most of the time. I buy clothes twice a year for them. Somehow Jesse is still wearing some 2T stuff. :O The kids do have a shoe addiction, which I probably need to nip in the bud. I do have a bin full of clothes I couldn’t part with, that will someday become quilts for their beds.
Your projects look like fun!
Sara,
Thanks for commenting, that’s great that you don’t have to buy many clothes!!
Thanks for the tip – I never thought of making my own patches!!