Son's Ripped pants Knees

**geckoace** · 04-17-2009, 10:42 AM

if i iron some of those iron on patched to the inside of his khaki's before he wears them will that help to preserve the knees. he has ripped 4 pair of khaki's this school year and i am about to go crazy.

help

**hotprincesscm** · 04-17-2009, 11:33 AM

It sounds like a good idea! I don't see how it could hurt to try!

**2ndGenGranola** · 04-17-2009, 12:22 PM

It didn't help here.

**Michelle** · 04-17-2009, 12:42 PM

I think it depends on how hard he is on his pants, and the quality of them. I will never buy a pair of Target jeans for my kids again (brand name Circo) because I swear the knees rip if I look at them wrong.

However, it can't hurt to try, and if I had thought of doing your suggestion earlier, I would have. Duh on me.

:goodluck: I hope it works for you.

Oh, one other thing...if you live near a Sears and can buy him some new pants, they guarantee that the pants will last as long as your child is able to wear them. If they don't, they'll exchange them for a new pair.

**mombottoo** · 04-17-2009, 01:11 PM

I raised 3 boys and the first thing I did whenever I bought them new pants was iron a patch on the inside of each pant leg at the knee. They (meaning the pants) last much longer this way. So go for it! It will definitely make your son's britches usable much longer...

**zakity** · 04-17-2009, 04:37 PM

Can you cut off the jeans, hem them, and use them for shorts this summer?

**MomK** · 04-18-2009, 06:09 PM

Yes, you can definitely iron on patches at the knees, and this will help the pants last longer! I do this with DS's jeans, and it really helps. Little boys can't help it, they scoot around on the knees of their pants and wear them out! I think maybe it's biological! Anyway, a lot of little boys (and girls) sit up on their knees in their seats, and on the floor, besides the regular scooting around as they play.

Good luck!

**MomK** · 04-18-2009, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by zakity

Can you cut off the jeans, hem them, and use them for shorts this summer?

BTW this is a great frugal solution! And you wouldn't even have to hem them. The styles these days are distressed/frayed. You could zigzag around and leave the fringes.

**joyofsix** · 04-18-2009, 07:53 PM

Well, my guy rips from the outside in so now I just put the patch on the outside to start with. Probably wouldn't look so good with khaki's though.

**norcalmommy** · 04-19-2009, 03:07 AM

I ironed on patches on the inside of DS's jeans. They started to come off and irritated his knees. I found skater jeans made by Levi's at Sears. They look more like Caprentar's pants then skater jeans. They have reinforced knees and butts. I LOVE those jeans. You could tell the knees were getting well worn, but no holes. They are the only pair of jeans he outgrew without ruining.

**joyofsix** · 04-19-2009, 07:29 AM

Anybody else remember tough skins? I think my mom got them for my brother from Sears.

**pbobber** · 04-19-2009, 09:21 AM

Sears still sells ToughSkins. Up to size 7, I believe. I bought these for my ds this year and they last well. The first hole just developed in one pair (due to a bike crash).

Also you can make your own patches. Buy double fusible interface. It comes on a roll and at last purchase was available at Walmart. Don't buy the heavy-duty kind; makes the patch too stiff IMO. Cut a patch out of an old pair of pants. Trace the patch onto the interfacing, cut out and iron. Peel the paper backing and iron into pants.

**Incognito** · 04-19-2009, 07:35 PM

I had 3 boys, and understand the ripped-knees in the pants problem.
I tried iron-on patches, but that worked for only a short time, because the patches are made from flimsy material. I also sewed square denim patches onto the knees from the outside, and this worked for quite a long time.
Finally, I started buying their pants a lot longer, but same waist size. I'd cut off about 6 inches of material from the bottom, make square patches for the knees, sew them on from the outside, then rehem the bottoms. This method worked the longest, and the cloth was the same. When the patches finally ripped, I removed them and underneath was the original pants cloth, and that lasted pretty much as long as the pants did.

--Incognito

**iscldangel** · 04-19-2009, 10:49 PM

I am a seamstress for a sporting goods store. We get jeans/pants with wear and tare holes in them all the time. There is a setting on the sewing machine, it is like a honeycomb stitch. We simply place a similar background material behind the hole and stitch over it with matching thread and it blends it in. I would suggest trying a seamstress shop if you don't have this setting on a sewing machine. We don't charge much to do it, it is way cheaper then buying new jean and holds WAY better than the patches. JMO

**geckoace** · 04-20-2009, 01:17 PM

you guys have given me so much good food for thought. i am shopping for next school year since these are uniform pants..... and i went to sears and the toughskins are on sale so i think ill grab a few pairs of those while i work through this, i also need to find a good cheap seamstress in the area....