How to sashiko-patch jeans
A patch inside and a grid of running stitch outside.
Step by step
- Turn the jeans inside out and lay a patch over the hole, with a good margin all round: the surrounding fabric is probably weak too.
- Safety-pin it in place and turn the jeans right side out.
- Mark a 6 mm (1/4 inch) grid with chalk.
- Knot the thread and come up from the inside.
- Stitch rows of running stitch about 6 mm long across the patch.
- Reinforce over the hole with little crosses or extra edge stitches.
Watch
Repair Jeans with Sashiko and Whipstitches | Visible Mending Tutorial (9:22)
By Xiaoxiao Yarn · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 9-minute video from Xiaoxiao Yarn on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Visible mending
Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.