I don't have any kids, but here is a thought.... How about corduroy patches on the knees. It wouldn't be too cutesey and would be durable. Plus, I seem to have a dim memory of seeing some RTW jeans with either corduroy or ultra suede patches on knees. Phyllis in AL
Cathy, I can remember my daughter deliberately buying jeans (very expensive I might add) that already had rips in them. These rips were frayed about 1/2 inch all round and then backed with contrasting fabrics, such as plaid flannel. You could fuse the backing fabric to another fabric or interfacing to further strengthen it before you put it behind the tears. Dianne
I used iron on patches on the WRONG side of the knees. These were made using denim that I bonded on with iron on bonding. I finally started doing this BEFORE the jeans were worn. I did not even have to sew!! Then when a hole was worn through - usually just the pants fabric, it createed a slash or hole in only that. SOmetimes after multiple washings you would see some fringe around the tear or hole -= but the fringe was "cool". By the time he was 12 I let him decide whether or not they would be patched or fringed. Go look at the other boys jeans - EVERYONE has some kind of wear & tear - no matter how much money their parents have!! Once they are 20 and purchasing their own clothes they suddenly become more careful with them - there is hope for the future!
-------------------------------------------------------- One of my students had a pair of jeans on today that had 2 square flannel patches the knee. The patches were each a different flannel. There was then a cuff on each pant leg that matched one of the patches. I think this was all for embellishment, but could be used to mend and lengthen. Cheryl