In our family, we get tears in our pants.

Most are in the knees, and some are by loopholes or pockets...but it's the ones around the seams that are always the hardest to fix! They shred and fray and seem to recur no matter how many times they're fixed.

Well, that ends today!

Supplies

Pair of pants with a tear near the seam
Sewing Machine with thread matching the color of the pants
Iron-on interfacing
Iron
Pins
Fabric Scissors
Ironing Board

Step 1: Turn the Pants Inside-Out

First, we need to add interfacing to the inside to make it stronger and less resistant to re-tearing. To begin adding it, turn the pants inside-out.

Step 2: Add the Interfacing

Cut a piece of the interfacing at least 1" bigger on each side than the tear. I like to cut it big enough to fit over the seam and on to the next side to prevent tearing in all directions.

Follow the directions that came with your interfacing to iron it on. Mine works by putting the rough side down and heating up the interfacing from the smooth side. I used a setting of 5 on my iron and only ironed over it for about 10-15 seconds total, pressing down lightly. If you iron too much or use a lot of steam, the interfacing can fall apart.

Step 3: Turn the Pants Right-Side Out

Turn the pants right-side out. Now you will see the interfacing through the tear.

Step 4: The Magic Fold

This fold will save you from all the stress and frustration you ever had trying to sew, hand sew, glue, safety pin, patch, and even tape that annoying tear!

First, pinch the torn side of the pants with the seam. Make sure to gather the fabric all the way to the furthest edge of the tear.

Next, tuck the torn side of the fabric that you pinched up under the seam, so the seam lays flat on top of it.

Lastly, pin down the seam to the folded over fabric underneath. Be sure other fabric from other parts of the pants doesn't get caught in the pins.

Step 5: Sew

Sew close to but NOT over the pre-existing thread (on the side of the seam closest to the folded side). Make sure you do not sew over the pre-existing thread.

This is why it's important to use thread that matches the pants (instead of matching the pre-existing thread -- which is a pain to try and find an exact match, isn't it?), because now the thread you used will fade away into the pants leaving behind the look of the originally stitched seam.

I used a sharp needle (or you could use a heavy duty or jeans needle if you're sewing jeans), with a setting of 5.0 length and 3.5 width on my machine. I also used a straight stitch.

Step 6: DONE!

That's it!

It takes less than five minutes from start to finish, and it looks like the tear was never even there! (If you look super closely, you can maybe spot the darker blue thread I used to sew it.)

I hope you found this fix helpful and easy to use! Thanks for stopping by! :)