Make Do and Mend ....

.... or rather I can't find a decent pair of black jeans any where that are skinny but not too skinny, black but not too black, not too high rise but not too low either AND don't make my legs look carroty should I choose to wear them full length. Or give me the dreaded camel toe. Not asking for much am I?

Jack Wills Jeans, Maison Scotch Pea Coat, J Crew Sailor Tee, Matalan Leather Ballet Pumps

I noticed last year that come October, November onwards, I unconsciously gravitated towards the black jeans and tended to leave the blue jeans behind. Black Jeans = autumn/winter. Blue Jeans = spring/summer. And I noticed I was repeating the same pattern this year with the exception of the blue boyfriend jeans on those milder days.

It's not that I don't have black jeans, I do but they they all serve a different purpose or provide a different look :

I have my Jack Wills black jeans. Lovely faded black. Not very skinny but still shapely enough. I like these best when I cuff them as I have done in the top pic.

I have my Topshop off black Jamie jeans seen here. Lovely colour and getting better with each wash and tumble dry. Fading beautifully and perfect length for me though ankle grazers for every one else. For once, being a shortie had it's merits but they are very stretchy and very shape revealing .... and they make my belly look huge which means they are only good when wearing long tops and big jumpers. They are good for tucking in to ankle boots however as they taper right in to the ankle. Bad with any other footwear on me as they give me carrot legs or parsnip legs as they call them on Mumsnet ... whichever vegetable floats your boat but  you get the gist.

I have some old black New Look jeggings seen here with the tightest waistband ever. I can forget eating in those - a cup of Earl Grey and a biscuit is about as much as I can stomach and then it starts to hurt. But they have their uses some times and they tuck well in to boots too. They fall in to the vegetable jean category too. Both the Jamie and the New Look jeans also have that annoying habit of slowly working their way down so the crotch ends up mid thigh. There's a lot of inelegant hoicking going on with these two pairs. 

And then I have my H&M distressed jeans which I picked up for £12. They are the perfect faded grey but with a touch too much distressing. The frayed knee wasn't too bad till I kept kneeling in them and the fraying eventually tore in to a bigger and bigger rip. The rip is now a pothole and quite cold.

Peekaboo!

There is also another hole near the left hand pocket at the front which the lining keeps poking through.

Little peekaboo

Very very annoying. In fact these would be my perfect jeans because of the fit except for the holes. I can even wear them with shoes and not feel too carrotty. These are so close to perfect - I could cry :o(

So I went on a mad search recently and tried on black jeans after black jeans after black jeans. But alas no luck. And so I decided to do something about my holey H&M jeans. I decided to patch them up. With iron on patches. My inspiration gleaned from the the patchwork jeans currently making their rounds on various blogs.

Pocket Patch

 Knee Patch

I did actually do a really big patch to cover the whole of the knee area but found that this didn't work as the patch doesn't bend as much as the existing fabric due to it's stiffness. Instead I cut it down a fraction so it only covered the area it needed to so the rest of the knee area could bend comfortably. 

Sorry (didn't realise how grainy some of these mirror photos were going to be today)

A little more discreet.

This is not a perfect solution (especially the knee patch) but it has extended the life of these jeans by at least a month during which time my search will continue and if you don't look too closely, the patch blends in not too badly. I have to say though, I'm rather fond of the little pocket patch. Strange how these things grab us.

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Last note : 

• Before anyone says anything, I've looked in H&M, Zara, M&S, Topshop, New Look and also had the Mint Velvet zip biker jeans and the M&S version too. The Mint Velvet and the M&S version were ruled out as the rise was a little too high and I sometimes like to wear a belt and have that showing. Oh go on I admit it, I sometimes like to do a fashion tuck. So any other recommendations anyone? Which won't break the bank?

• Helpful hint. If anybody fancies doing their own patchwork jeans for fun or any other reason using iron on patches - remember to round off the corners as this helps prevent the corner catching and working loose. I learnt that from all the iron on name labels I did on George's school uniform :o)

Round your corners off!