Patchwork Sashiko on Thrifted Jeans: My New Favorite Rabbit Hole

I picked up a copy of Patchwork Sashiko by Diana Li Fitzgerald a few weeks ago and have basically been stitching ever since. If you're not familiar with sashiko, it's a Japanese hand-stitching tradition — simple running stitches, usually in patterns, originally used for reinforcing and mending fabric. What Diana does in her book is layer that tradition with patchwork sensibility: using fabric scraps as patches, then stitching them in, through, and around the damage. The result looks intentional in the best way. Like the jeans have a story now.

These particular jeans came from a thrift store. A couple of decent-sized holes, some thinning along the thighs, and a good heavy denim that seemed worth saving. They're the kind of candidate that's perfect for this kind of project — already worn in, already soft, nothing precious about them.

I started with the waistband seam, which had come partially loose. Red perle cotton, simple running stitch following the original seam line. This is a good warm-up for sashiko if you're new to it — just keep your stitches even, go slow, and let the denim guide you. The red against that gold topstitching is one of my favorite combinations.

Same area, pulled back a little so you can see where I traced along the pocket seam too. Red thread picks up the original stitching lines and makes the whole thing look deliberate. Once you start doing this, you'll notice the existing topstitching on jeans is basically a roadmap of where to stitch. Follow it, echo it, extend it.

This hole got a red gingham patch. I cut the patch rough — no need to hem it neatly — and placed it behind the opening so it shows through. Then I stitched it down with colorful running stitches radiating outward from the patch in concentric waves. Diana's book uses this approach a lot: the patch anchors the center, and the stitching fans out to strengthen the surrounding fabric and visually integrate the repair into the whole piece. I used a mix of thread colors here — yellow, green, orange, blue — pulling from whatever I had in my embroidery stash.

The gingham came from my fabric scraps. If you want to play with this technique but don't have a scrap pile built up yet, our Cotton Scraps 2oz bags are perfect for exactly this — small pieces of interesting fabric with enough variety to find something that works against denim.

The bigger hole got a different treatment. This one was too far gone for just a patch behind it, so I went full weave — working back and forth over the hole with thread to create a woven darning fill, then stitching through and beyond it with more running stitches. It sounds fussy but it goes fast once you're in a rhythm. The scissors in this photo are ones I've had forever and love — good embroidery scissors make a difference when you're working with perle cotton all afternoon.

Here's the thigh panel with a big spread of running stitches across an area that was thinning but not yet holes. This is the preventive side of sashiko — reinforcing fabric before it goes all the way through. You're adding thread and therefore strength back into the weave. And honestly it looks like confetti, which I'm not mad about. The red ball of perle cotton in the background is the one I've been working through for weeks.

This is my favorite patch on the whole pair. It's a bold geometric/ethnic print — something I pulled from my personal fabric stash — and it completely changes the character of these jeans. The raw edge is intentional: it softens and fringes as you wash and wear it, which is the whole point. The stitches radiating off it tie it into the rest of the leg visually.

This is where having an interesting fabric collection really pays off. A plain muslin patch works fine structurally, but an unexpected print turns a repair into a feature. If you're building up a fabric stash for projects like this, the Fabric Nugget Bundles are great — small pieces, lots of variety, exactly the scale you need for denim patches. Our Scrap Happy Club subscription box also tends to include one-of-a-kind prints that are perfect for visible mending because you'd never find them at a chain craft store.

A few things I've learned working through Diana's book so far:

Thread weight matters. Perle cotton #8 is my go-to for denim. Embroidery floss works but you need more strands and it behaves differently. The heavier weight perle reads better from a distance and punches through denim without shredding.

Don't trim your raw patch edges. Leave them generous. They'll fray down to something soft and intentional after washing.

Stitch length consistency is more important than perfection. In sashiko, the rhythm is the point. Even stitches with consistent spacing look beautiful even if they're not tiny or precious.

Let the holes tell you what to do. An irregular hole gets an irregular patch. A seam that's failing gets stitching that follows the seam. Work with what's already there.

Diana's book is well worth picking up if this kind of work interests you — it covers the patchwork sashiko technique clearly with lots of visual examples, and she has a lovely low-stakes approach to the whole thing. No pattern required. No precision required. Just needle, thread, and fabric.

If you're hunting for interesting scraps and prints to work with, you know where to find us. Our yardage collection has some genuinely unusual prints right now, and the scrap bags are a low-commitment way to start building a patch stash. Go rescue something.