How to Sew Patches on Your Jeans

One of the best fashion trends to emerge from the epic ‘70-era styles were patched jeans. Patches brought individualism and expression to denim. Though the decade of funky fashion is behind us, jeans with patches are still a fun and easy way to style up your drab denim or accent a favorite pair.

Express Yourself

Learning to patch jeans can be a playful way to infuse your own individual style into your clothes. Like Western jeans that often feature rhinestones and colorful embellishments, patches add personality to denim. Make your favorite pair feel all your own by finding out how to sew a patch on jeans.

You can sew patches onto almost any kind of jeans, no matter the cut or fit. Don’t have the denim to try out this style? Shop our collection of women’s jeans to find the perfect pair to patch.

Picking Out Your Patches

Have fun picking out jean patches and get creative. Patches for jeans can be anything that you find attractive, like flowers or a horse silhouette, or go for something trendy, funny or meaningful to you, like a patch you picked up at a concert for your favorite band. The possibilities are endless, and you’re only limited by your own creativity. Your jeans are your canvas and patches are your paint!

Make sure your jeans are clean and dry before you sew on patches. Then follow the steps below to get started adding patches.

Difficulty Level: Easy

What You’ll Need: Denim, patches, iron and ironing board, sewing kit

How To:

1. Place your jeans flat on an ironing board and place your patch wherever you think it looks best. Avoid areas with high friction or that will be hard to see.
2. Grab your sewing kit and stitch around the edges to keep the patch in place. Be careful not to sew through your jean pockets. Repeat until your jeans have as many patches as you want.
3. No patches? No problem! Alternatively, you can customize your jeans with heat transfers. Heat transfers are iron-on decal patches that adhere to clothing with heat and don’t need to be stitched.

We hope your patched jeans came out great! If you enjoyed sewing patches on jeans, be sure to check out our other how-to articles to explore more ways to spice up your denim, like how to rip jeans or how to patch jeans that have ripped! Share pictures of your finished pair with us on social using the tag #myAriat.