My favorite jeans played a supporting role in yesterday's post about Pitt pen lettering and were called out by a couple of sharp-eyed commenters.
So here, as promised, is the back story of how they came to be. As you can see, I wear my jeans a bit on the long side, a habit I acquired over 40 years ago and never let go ...
This particular pair of Levi's was a rare find ... a perfect fit in a soft denim. But after a couple of years, the knees shredded, leading me to patch them last March. Since then, they've been laundered repeatedly, but by and large the raw edges have held ...
The knee patches were necessary since the denim had already worn through, but I discovered that they didn't exactly lie flat ...
And so, realizing the thighs of the jeans were rapidly approaching the shred point, I decided to try stitch alone as the way to reinforce them. First vertically and horizontally ...
then diagonally ...
It worked ... and because the stitching was done in cotton floss, there is a softness that has a very appealing tactile quality.
So there you have it ... the beginning of my journey into a new way of looking at needlework not just as a decorative art, but as a functional one.
Oh yes, thank you! They are even better than I imagined. That last photo… I'm wanting to to reach through my screen and touch that stitch.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement ... looking back at the original post on my jeans made me realize how far I've come in the past 8 months ... and how much farther I hope to go
Deletelove all the little cross stitches for strengthening, like a million stars!
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes they morph into dragonflies ...
DeleteBeautiful mending! I love it when the repair makes it more than it was.
ReplyDeleteThank you ... now I'm wondering if I should try stitching the raw edges at the bottom, too
DeleteYour repairs are so satisfying...both the appliqued pieces and the stitching. They work together beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThis project is what led me to Spirit Cloth ... it's been fun to recall that process of discovery (which is ongoing)
DeleteI must apologize for my late reaction!! I'm catching up on my comments over here as I have had time to throw a glance, but never more than that
ReplyDeletethese jeans are Beautiful, Cheerful, and a Delight! the cross stitches in the last image are my favourite
I imagine you wearing them as you potter about in your dry lands, never have any mud spots that have become a permanent feature on most of my Home&Garden clothing
...plus am inspired to fix my torn trousers like wise
DeleteWhich makes me think I probably need to so some more stitching in other places where these jeans are wearing thin ... it's much easier before they tear.
DeleteBTW, the "cross" stitches are actually just intersecting rows of kantha ... and worked up surprisingly fast (I was almost disappointed when I was done ... except now, of course, I'm not ;)