This is my grandson, Jonah Bear. At 5 1/2, he’s smart and funny and wonderful.
{Hi there, Jonah Bear. I love you, buddy. You light up my life.}
He’s really hard on the knees of his jeans. Oddly, just the left knee. It’s his knee of choice, evidently. Jonah Bear L-O-V-E-S his blue jeans. What he doesn’t love is holes in his knees, so My Baby brought a few with her at Easter and asked it I could take a crack at patching them. Here’s what I came up with:
{One, two, three. Three - ah, ah, ah.}
A funny kid deserves funny knee patches. Don’t you think? Something like this. Something that says, “Oh, please don’t go! We’ll eat you up; we love you so!” Can you name that book?
{Don't let the sharp teeth fool you. This guy's a pussycat.}
Or this. Peek-a-Boo! I see you! I’m a little concerned about how these buttons will feel if he slides on that knee. We’ll have to see how this one plays out.
{I'm calling this guy Bashful Buttons.}
And this last one? He’s a cheeky little monkey. All attitude, this guy.
{Double & Triple Stitched - because you know someone's going to pull on it.}
To make these, you’ll need some colorful felt, a few buttons, and a sewing machine. There’s no pattern. I just free-handed it. But I will tell you that it’s MUCH easier to stitch the pieces on to the background color before sewing them into the jeans. If they won’t fit over the base of your sewing machine, you can stitch them by hand. It will take a little longer, but it will work.
Now I just need to box them up and send them to Jonah Bear. I wish I could see his face when he opens them. I have a feeling he’s going to crack up laughing. Man, I love that kid!
Inside NanaBread's Head 
Now I want to rip my pants on purpose just so I can do this.
Or… you could hit the resale shops. Garage sale much? :)
I’m cutting holes in my jeans as we speak…
Hahaha. For you, I would use a blue felt background and stitch little herring jumping in and out of the holes. OR embroider the phrase “Insert Oliebollen Here” just above the hole.
I have to tell you, your Jonah Bear is absolutely adorable! And he will just be oh so much more adorable with those fabulous patches!
Too cute!! love them especially the mick jagger one!!
You’re creative genius never ceases to amaze and inspire. You have single-handedly solved my biggest clothing problem. ROCK STAR! Even Son #1 wants me to patch a pair of his jeans after seeing this post. That’s high praise from a nearly 12 year old!
Wow! That IS high praise from a 12 year old. That’s awesome! I’m thinking of making a book/shopping bag out of an old pair of jeans now just so I can put this detail on the bottom corner. Could be a lot of fun.
LOVE that idea! Be sure to post pics when you are done.
That’s the most creative thing I’ve seen in a long while! My favorite is the one with the long tongue sticking out!!! I bet little boys everywhere will want a pair! :)
I like that one, too!
Those are fantastic!
Thanks, Seestor! Although I don’t think it’s technically limited to kid’s jeans. I could see you wearing the tongue patch on yours. :)
Brilliant ;)
Thanks, Teresa!
Those are wonderful. The Cub seems to favor putting holes in the left knee of his jeans, too, and I was thinking that I needed to head to Joann’s for patches. Might try something like this, first.
You’ll have to let me know if you try it! I’d love to see what you do.
Gabe and I love these! I always liked the stuff Mom would sew on our stuff, like the mouse on a leotard. Can’t wait to see what you dream up next!
It’s that “artsy fartsy” gene she passed on to us. Thanks, Mom!
Oh for Pete’s sake Jeanne!! These are FANTASTIC!! I’m sending you my holey jeans!! I’m serious!
And your Jonah Bear is an angel… maybe a rambunctious little angel.. but an angel ;)
Thanks, Kristy. I’m not sure I’m ready to start accepting delivery of jeans for patching yet, but I appreciate that you’d trust me with yours!
Those are fantastic! And you quoted my favorite children’s book of all time. Is Jonah Bear a wild one? :)
Actually, I think his little sister Lilly Bug is more of a Wild Thing. Jonah Bear is more like Max; a sweet boy who enjoys a little mischief every once in a while.
From now on I”m sending you all of my torn up jeans just so you can patch them in ridiculously AWESOME ways. That is amazingly fantastic!
Thanks, Megan. I’m thinking about converting this idea to denim book/shopping bags. Why should kids have all the fun?
Ok I want to put holes in the boys pants just so I can be this crafty!!… And I love you a little more for quoting the Where The Wild Things Are…. we read it EVERY night and my oldest son says that exact quote to me when I leave for the day.
Awww… that’s so special that he says that to you! How sweet.
Oh, I’m SO hoping my boys will let me at their jeans…They need these!!! Thanks. ;)
Aloha!
I’m a little stunned to hear that your boys own anything other than shorts. Maybe it’s because I always see pictures of them on surfboards or skating in great weather. How funny.
Beyond fabulous! Thanks for sharing the inspiration–my Levi’s need lots of TLC, and this has sparked a ton of new ideas. XO
Thanks, Ricë. Glad you liked it. I’d love to see what you come up with. Now go patch something! :)
This is adorable. I wish my pants looked like this when I was young. Instead I got the boring old patch on it and hated it. I was an ungrateful brat LOL
We were ALL ungrateful brats as children, I think. I don’t know anyone who could (honestly) state otherwise. I do think it would have been a lot more fun if we’d had patches like these instead of those boring old iron-on solids. :)
that is the cutest idea ever. You are the greatest. I just joined and love it!!!
Thanks, Renee! I appreciate it!
I love it! My boy blew out the left knee in all of his jeans when he was in first grade. I’m a firm believer in hand me down so I am totally going to attempt this b4 sending them along to the neighbor kiddo :-) gr8 idea!
Thanks, Jen! I’m so glad you liked it. Jonah already has a few more pairs for me to patch. It’s so much more fun than just stitching them shut. You’ll have to let me know how yours turn out! -jeanne
Spotted these on Pinterest and loved them. Snooping a little further I found your adorable tote bags. Can I move on in life without knowing what else you have gotten into? Nope, gotta sign on for the fun…
Thank you, Susan!
So happy you dropped in to say hello. Hope you’ll stick around and see what else you can get into. Welcome aboard! -jeanne
If you sold these on Etsy I bet you’d make a fortune! I’d be the first in line to buy them!
Great…now I’ll be looking for holey jeans in thrift shops. (:
Thanks, Rebecca! I’m so glad you like the knee patches. -jeanne
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OMG..thanks for the great idea. My 7 year old stays with holes in his jeans. Hates the traditional patches but this will make his pants super cool. Loe the idea.
Awesome, Shae!
I hope he has fun with them. -jeanne