You’ll love this easy trick for How to Prevent Knee Holes in Jeans and Pants!
I’ve got an easy, budget friendly, no-sew tip to share with you today… it’s all about lengthening the life of your pants!
Your kids’ pants, your hubby’s pants… any pants that have a way of getting holes in the knees! For me… it’s my little boys’ jeans, and this is seriously one of my favorite Frugal Fashionista tricks!
Holes are attracted to the knees of their jeans like magnets… we’ve had new jeans one day and “holey” jeans the next!
Whether you’re wondering just how to prevent holes in jeans, or are looking for the best reinforced knee pants for toddlers, this little trick works like a charm, and is SO budget-friendly!
Here’s what you’ll do…
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How To Prevent Knee Holes in Jeans and Pants
One day it dawned on me rather than fixing holes… why not prevent them! For the past few years, here’s what I’ve done…
Pick up bondex iron-on patches in the color similar to the pants. I used denim patches for jeans, that you can find here…
Iron on Denim Patches
First… wash jeans or pants in hot water and dry completely. Then repeat. You want to make sure they’ve been washed and dried completely so whatever shrinkage will occur has already happened.
Flip the pants inside out, and locate the knee area.
Thinking of where the knee would hit when the pants are on, position the patch to attach to the inside of the front knee area.
Iron on with hot heat {per patch instructions}…
Repeat on other leg as well… after you’ve finished, they will look like this…
Now reverse the pants so they’re no longer inside out, and… voila!
Shh… nobody will know our little secret of the reinforced knees. Keep in mind… as they’re worn and washed again and again, you may need to occasionally re-iron the edges to touch them up.
Nope… these are no longer ‘regular pants’. These are reinforced-knee, mega-durability, ready for serious wear-and-tear pants! They’re perfect for school, and exactly the right kind of pants for my boys! And yes… you may notice the slight outline of the patch from the exterior of the pants, but it’s a whole lot better than patches on the outside, right? 🙂
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Stephanie says
February 25, 2018 at 7:39 pmMy daughters were getting holes in the knee area of their pants all the time. To prevent it from happening, I told them to pull up the thigh area of their pants several inches before sitting down. Doing this helps the pant leg move up their leg and it doesn’t put stress on the knee area. Since they started do this, there has been no holes! Hope this helps everyone else out!
Stephanie says
January 25, 2018 at 8:18 amI was always taught to pull up your pants several inches before you sit down. I have taught my daughters this and have finally prevented their pants from wearing out. When you pull up the legs, it takes the stress out of the knee area of the pants. Sure your pants will ride up your leg a little higher but at least they won’t wear out.
Heidi says
January 25, 2018 at 9:45 amThat’s a great tip to extend the life of your pants, Stephanie… thanks for sharing!
Stephanie says
February 25, 2018 at 7:41 pmYou’re welcome
MaryAnn says
July 5, 2016 at 11:52 amI’ve used old jeans to patch knees. It works well but my grandson still goes through that patch too! Use “Heat and Bond” and iron on the patch to the fabric. I also then hand sew around the edge of the patch.
Putting an iron on patch inside is s great idea too. “Preventative patching”!!
Love that tip from the grandfather who sewed a button on the inside of the patch so the kids wouldn’t kneel on the new patch and wear it out because they didn’t want to kneel on a button!! Discomfort is a wonderful teacher!
Jess says
July 31, 2015 at 3:09 pmWhat about using old jeans instead? Cutting out patches and sewing it on. Do you think that will work?
Danielle says
July 24, 2013 at 10:42 amMy son sits on his knees at his desk all day since he has trouble sitting still. Also he is super skinny and we have a hard time finding jeans that fit him so we buy old navy skinny jeans with the adjustable waist…they look like normal jeans on him. Old navy jeans are not made from quality material so they really don’t last. I will definately be trying this!!
indiengmom says
August 8, 2012 at 2:30 pmmy son is only 11 months old and he is already coming home repeately with knee holes 🙂 I will be definately going to use this in coming years.
Mila says
March 8, 2012 at 10:57 pmWhat a cool idea, thank you!!!!
Rose says
February 13, 2012 at 1:48 pmIron on patches, looks very nice, even on the outside. You can also use them to reinforce the knee area.
Margaret Redmond says
February 1, 2012 at 9:41 pmI’ve often patched my older son’s jeans and khaki’s (usually after the hole occurs). I’ve discovered that not all iron on patches are equal in quality. Some adhere better over time.
marya says
April 8, 2012 at 1:02 pmWhich ones do you think last longer? Every time I try them, they come off after 1 washing.
Melanie says
February 1, 2011 at 2:21 pmWe do this but have to re-iron the patches on after a couple of washes. It’s pretty annoying, but better than buying new jeans all the time.
Diana Wagler says
August 31, 2010 at 7:08 amI have used this trick in the past when my boys were small. Works like magic! I still find that wind pants can be a problem after an aggressive game of volleyball! There are self-stick patches for wind pants that work great. They do work best applied to the outside but the colors available have been sufficient for our use. And, they are hardly noticeable at a glance.
Kristianna says
April 1, 2010 at 10:39 amYou can also use this trick to save your jeans in other “friction” spots. I had a favorite pair of jeans that were wearing out at the corners of the back pockets, and they still had just enough material to keep them from being indecent. In desperation, I went and bought some of those patches. I straightened out the fabric so it was all covered, and then patched them up from the inside and you couldn’t tell a difference!
julie says
February 5, 2010 at 3:02 pmI am so glad that everyone knows about this tip. I have been doing this to my sons pants for years.. I was so tired of having to throw away his jeans because of the holes and i hated the way that patches looked on the outside of his jeans (at least for school) this way only i know that they are there…
Anonymous says
January 30, 2010 at 1:38 pmI was just at Joanne's fabrics last night looking for something to reinforce my 3 boys' (2, 4 and 5)jeans – it didn't even dawn on me to put the patches on the insed before they wear out!! My google search led me hear. THANK YOU for the idea!
Donna says
January 23, 2010 at 9:32 pmWell, this is one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. I have a stack of about 5 pair of jeans waiting for me to patch them. Now, I know what I'm going to be doing to the new ones I got last week!
Alexia says
January 22, 2010 at 7:05 pmthanks!!! I get so tired of making my boys change into 'play pants'.. and the poor things still get so confused! this way they can wear ALL their pants to play!
thanks!
Sherry says
January 22, 2010 at 11:36 amI need to do this with my son's pants. He is always wearing holes in the knees. LOL!
SkylarKD says
January 22, 2010 at 8:59 amFantastic idea! I should do this for some of our pants. Although in our house, it's often the crotch of the pants that wears through or rips first… how do men DO that?! LOL
Jenny says
January 20, 2010 at 5:14 pmAWw but knee-holes are the fun part of jeans xD Personally I like walking the back of the legs off. I used to get in trouble for it all the time but it was nice to have my pants fit better around my feet.
phasejumper says
January 20, 2010 at 2:26 pmGreat tip! Now if they only made patches for windsuit pants….
Annikke says
January 20, 2010 at 12:30 pmOk, how ingenious is this? I am SO doing this. I get so sick of buying my boys jeans. I have a 9 year old and an almost 8 year old…..they go through jeans like crazy. I also have a 5 year old daughter who can wear out her jeans easily too (when she wears them that is , she is more of a dress girl!)
Raise Them Up says
January 20, 2010 at 11:41 amI wish I had seen this little trick when my boys were still crawlers! Wow! I could have gotten so much more life out of all those jeans. 🙂
Heather @ Green Baby Green Mama says
January 20, 2010 at 11:39 amThis is also a great tip for crawling babies! Thanks!
Becky says
January 20, 2010 at 8:49 amMy kids don't wear holes in their knees too quickly any more, but we used this trick when they were younger. It really works!!
jeanne @ Inspiring Ideas says
January 20, 2010 at 12:12 amTerrific tip! I'll have to share this at my next play group! Thanks!
Melissa says
January 19, 2010 at 9:51 amI have to do that to my own jeans actually. I have a habit of wearing out my favourite jeans super quick, so recently I took the initiative and used iron on patches to save my jeans before I struck again.
dmc says
January 19, 2010 at 9:16 amGreat tip
Anonymous says
January 18, 2010 at 11:40 pmWhen my mom was growing up (she's 82 now) in the Depression, her father, a tailor, (her mom died when my mom was very young) sewed patches and then a button on the inside of the pants in the knee area so that when her brothers played marbles or knelt down, they would roll up their pant legs so they wouldn't be kneeling on the buttons.
Priscilla says
January 18, 2010 at 9:57 pmThanks for the post! I just happened to look at one of the few pair that fits my son (because he hit a mid season growth spurt)and noticed the knee was starting to wear. With a second closely following him, this is a good way to make sure they last through both boys! Thank you!
Jill says
January 18, 2010 at 8:38 pmMAN! That is a good idea! I was just venting about this very problem concerning our seven year old son's jeans. Thank you so much for this idea!
Tanya says
January 18, 2010 at 5:40 pmThank you! Thank you! I have been so frustrated with this very issue. My boys are not even rowdy and yet they get holes, on at least one knee, the moment we buy them.
Tracy @ Hall of Fame Moms says
January 18, 2010 at 5:01 pmTHank you, I needed this info! Have boys 3 & 5 yrs of age and we've been blowing holes in knees since my oldest was 4. Just had a big knee rip at church Sunday 😉
Stephanie says
January 18, 2010 at 4:53 pmGreat idea – we normally patch AFTER there is a hole! Also – did you know that Sears will replace any children's clothes that are damaged (HOLES!) as long as you are replacing it with the same size!!! They are my new favorite place to shop for my boys!
Nancy says
January 18, 2010 at 4:39 pmMy teenage girls wear their pants out in the knee way faster than my son(he's 3 yrs old). I'm assume it's because their pants are so much tighter than his. I'm going to use this trick on their pants!!! Thanks!
Deana says
January 18, 2010 at 4:38 pmThanks so much! I have two little boys, ages 5 & 8 and they are always coming home from school with "air-conditioned" pants. 🙂