Patch the trousers with flowers!

Just because a garment is worn doesn't mean it has to look worn out. Give your favorite pair of pants new life with #visiblemending using hand-stitching and embroidery.

For this repair, you'll need a needle and thread, preferably embroidery floss, and a fabric patch to place on the inside. This could be a scrap from another project, a piece of fabric from other damaged textiles, or similar. It's a good idea if the patch is roughly the same thickness/stiffness as the fabric of the garment you're repairing.

It's easiest to create the flowers with a small embroidery hoop, but it's not essential. Start by marking the size of the hole and embroider flowers (Lazy Daisy) on the fabric patch so they cover the marked area.

The flowers are extra pretty with French knots in the center, but they look nice without them too.

Place the fabric patch inside the pants so the flowers peek through and sew the patch along the edge of the hole.

Then, secure the rest of the patch by using a running stitch back and forth over a large area around the hole. This way, you reinforce the fabric around the hole, which is also worn thin, and the repair will last much longer.

If there isn't a hole yet, but you notice the fabric is starting to wear thin, attaching a patch to the inside or outside of the pants and securing it with a running stitch using embroidery floss can be a great way to extend the garment's life.

If you have a seam ripper and a sewing machine, you can unpick the side seam to access the area more easily, but it's perfectly possible to fix the pants without opening the side seam. These flowers can also be used on their own to cover small holes or stains, or simply to update a garment. Good luck!

Share your own repairs on social media with #myvisiblemend or #visiblemending! And feel free to join the Facebook group MyVisibleMend to get more tips and inspiration from everyone there :)

And, just in case, here's a video showing how I like to secure the thread!