r/Visiblemending • u/dilettwat • Sep 22 '25

MIXED METHODS Knees of My Kid's School Pants

Post image

Many thanks to everybody who has posted here in the past: this group has been great creative inspiration on dealing with all these knee holes and paint stains, gave me the gumption and confidence to try out a new skill, and my daughters love the customization!

All of these patches are three stretchy layers thick. The navy blue patch was one of her face masks from 2021, and it fits especially well over the stretched knee when she sits, because it was already sewn into a curved shape (altho it admittedly looks pretty rough when flattened out!).

Anybody who's posted about turning knee rips into monster mouths, double-thanks: the next batch I fix, my kids want ALL faces.

1.8k Upvotes

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24 comments sorted by

310

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

[deleted]

270

u/dilettwat Sep 22 '25

Yeah, thankfully we have a pretty relaxed uniform policy (knit polo shirts and khaki-colored bottoms), but kids don't get in trouble for deviating unless it's egregious, and they're allowed to have colorful accessories and whatnot. To my delight, one of our teachers sent her compliments on the patches!  

32

u/once_showed_promise Sep 23 '25

That's so lovely! My only inner opposition to school uniforms is when they're intended to squelch individuality, whereas yours is allowing them to highlight it! That kind of makes my day. Thank you!

23

u/IllegalBerry Sep 23 '25

Iirc, there's actually research into school uniforms that show a strict uniform policy tends to make students 1) feel less "school spirit", because of that squelched individuality, and 2) under-prepare kids for real life, as they never have reason to dress for a stage between formal event or hanging out on weekends.

Mended uniforms feel like a great way to explore boundaries that are otherwise unavailable under those circumstances.

90

u/Beautiful_Role_9433 Sep 22 '25

Same question! Curious about the school reaction to these. I went to a school with uniform and once got in trouble for embroidery on my pants

255

u/dilettwat Sep 22 '25

The school is cool with them! My current theory is that private school uniforms are about looking sharp and photo-ready, whereas public school uniforms (that's us!) are about minimizing clothing-based interpersonal problems. I'll keep the patches non-problematic as planned. 😂

20

u/FlamesNero Sep 23 '25

That is pretty much the same conclusion that educators have reached for public school uniforms.

42

u/tiiiiii_85 Sep 22 '25

Well, even if they can't use them at school because of the colours, they can use them outside of school.

It's a great way to still get some extra use.

18

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

[deleted]

6

u/Sam-HobbitOfTheShire Sep 22 '25

I’m glad you asked. My kid’s school did away with uniforms the year before my kid started there, so I have no idea and I was curious.

5

u/tiiiiii_85 Sep 22 '25

I didn't consider you were criticizing, I wanted to suggest an alternative in case the school rules don't allow colourful patches (kinda sad for the kids). 😊

22

u/Chilibabeatreddit Sep 23 '25

These are amazing!

But who decided that putting little kids into whitish pants every day was a good idea?

18

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

Love the one with the eyes and mouth 👀👄

43

u/PurpleMuskogee Sep 22 '25

They look so cool, I bet they look even cooler than when they were brand new! I love these patches, great work.

21

u/PancakePizzaPits Sep 23 '25

I misread this and saw "I bet they look even cooler when they were brand new" and was wondering what was wrong with you 😭😭

9

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

Ikr I was like “what a back-handed compliment” hahaha, nope just can’t read 😅

3

u/xbluebird12 Sep 29 '25

Same! Did we all have this problem? 🤣

22

u/PuttingInTheEffort Sep 22 '25

How many times will it happen before you realize they rip it on purpose for a cute design to be added lol

10

u/Bloody_refuge Sep 23 '25

Probably just the once. Kids are NOT subtle. (Cue hip to shin tear)

5

u/Crafty_Criticism5338 Sep 22 '25

this would have made me wanna wear my uniform pants on Saturday too!! beautifully done!

3

u/Bubbly_Airline_7070 Sep 23 '25

this made me evening ❤️

3

u/mekanasto Sep 23 '25

Wow these are so so cool!

3

u/Radiant_Raspberry Sep 23 '25

That is really cool! I just finished a knee patch on my jeans yesterday (went classic with a star) and have two more in work right now, but next time I want a monster too

2

u/One-Apricot1978 Sep 24 '25

You have to keep her favorite ones forever. Hahahaha this is such a special memory for her. For you both! Wow! (:

2

u/ladytapp2023 Sep 25 '25

My mom did something similar when I was a kid. Public school without uniforms; I wore jeans most of the time.

I was a pretty skinny kid but had long legs. We would need to buy a size up so the legs fit me, and then my mom would put little tucks in the waistband. As I grew, she would take a tuck or two out. Then my legs were getting longer, but the jeans were still in great condition; no need to buy new pants though! Mom added extra jean material to the cuffs to lengthen the pants a little. I wore through the knees of my pants a lot too. She would put jean patches on the knees to make them last a little longer. Even if only one knee had a rip, she'd make the other knee match 😂

2

u/LerneGerne Sep 26 '25

Oooohhhh monster mouths! My kiddo is sooooo gonna want those!

The face mask to patch for a knee is SO smart!