Repair · how to patch a hole in your jean
We mend Field & Crest for life — but a hole at the knee is a good first repair to learn yourself. Iron-on patch or sashiko stitch, step by step.
By The Field & Crest studio
Every Field & Crest garment comes with a lifetime mending guarantee — send it back and we'll fix it. But a worn knee on a favorite jean is one of the most satisfying things you can learn to repair yourself, and the skill transfers to everything else in your closet. Here is how we do it on the bench, in two methods.
What you'll need
A scrap of denim slightly larger than the hole (an old jean leg is perfect), a needle, thread in a contrasting or matching color depending on whether you want the repair to show, a pair of small scissors, and either an iron-on adhesive patch or, for the sashiko method, an hour and a podcast.
Method one · the iron-on patch
Turn the jean inside out. Trim any loose threads around the hole but don't cut into healthy fabric. Cut your backing patch so it overlaps the hole by at least an inch on every side. Place it adhesive-side down against the inside of the jean, cover with a thin cloth, and press with a hot dry iron for the time on the patch packaging — usually around 40 seconds. Let it cool fully before you turn the jean right-side out. This is the fast repair; it will hold for a long time but eventually the adhesive tires.
Method two · sashiko stitch
Sashiko is a Japanese running-stitch technique, originally a way to reinforce and mend work clothes, and it is the repair we use in the studio because it is genuinely permanent. Back the hole with your denim scrap as before, but instead of glue, pin it. Then stitch rows of small, even running stitches across the whole patch area, working in parallel lines about a quarter inch apart. The stitches lock the patch and the surrounding weakened fabric into a single, stronger field of cloth.
“A visible mend isn't a flaw to hide. It's a record of the wear, and it makes the garment more yours, not less.”
Use a contrasting thread — natural ecru on indigo is a classic — and let the stitching show. The point of sashiko is not to disguise the repair but to celebrate it. A jean with three or four visible mends has a biography. Ship it to us if you'd rather we did it; bring it to the bench if you want to learn. Either way, the jean stays out of the landfill, which is the entire idea.
