Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Breeches woes

I finally got my ancient Singer sewing machine serviced last week. I'm not any kind of seamstress, but I was getting desperate to repair the holes in some of my breeches.


I quickly realized that competently repairing a hole along the seam of my breeches was a lot harder than it looked. So I've been practicing by making napkins out of fabric remnants. 

In the meantime, I'm down to three pairs of usable breeches. Two of them are black; one is hunter green. One of the black pairs is full-seat. So they're hotter than hell. My other four pairs of schooling breeches are totally out: all of them have holes in the butt. Some are larger than others, but I don't feel great about wearing any of them, lest they rip even further. 

So here's my question, gentle readers: Do you also get holes in the crotch/butt area of your breeches? What do you do about this? Are there some brands you've found to be more durable than others? Should I just start sewing some kind of reinforcement fabric into all of my breeches?

17 comments:

SheMovedtoTexas said...

My breech situation is also not good. I need to dig the machine out!

My horze breeches got massive holes i the crotch. I didn't realize probably until it was too late though. They were $25 so I just chucked them, but wouldn't pay full price for them now.

Beka Burke said...

I have a small stack of breeches that I need to mend. But I suck at mending them. Why don't they already come with reinforced crotches? Like, double-layer that crap and maybe even add a touch of padding.

Hillary said...

How old are your pants? I have literally never worn through the crotch of my pants. Including kerrits riding tights that I wore frequently from the age of 8 to well over 18. (Embarrassing- they only fit bc the elastic died).

Stephanie said...

Good to know on the Horze breeches- I was wondering how they held up!

Stephanie said...

Seriously, my life would improve so much with reinforced crotches.

Stephanie said...

They're varying ages: the newest is about a year old, the oldest about 4 years old. I've never tried a pair of Kerrits, but I might have to now!!

Carly said...

My Horze breeches like to fray at the crotch, too. I hand sew reinforcements on those puppies before they can even become real holes.

SprinklerBandit said...

I have this problem. My impressively-muscled inner thighs just blew through my Smartpak Piper breeches. Any way I fix it will cause rubs, so they're toast.

I'm guessing the solution is to be a genetically gifted wee person whose thighs never touch. :-/ Best of luck to you.

Hillary said...

I wouldn't say I recommend kerrits but the breeches I was talking about were their cheap schooling tights and saying they were abused would be an understatement.

I have multiple pairs of TS that have lasted well and based on how my ovations are wearing would say they'll last a long time too. The only holes I have ever gotten in really anything I wear to the barn has come from getting caught on something not use.

Karley said...

I've never worn holes but I tend to give away breeches before they get to that point... in the last few years I have swapped all my schooling breeches over to Ariat, TS or Smartpak brands. One day I'll have all TS since I love them sooooo much! :)

Stephanie said...

Is there a particular fabric you use for reinforcement?

Stephanie said...

Good to know! I haven't had a pair of TS in years because I hated everything about them last time I did have them. These days it seems like they offer more styles and fits, so I might have to try them again. In the mean time, I'll give the Kerrits a go!

Stephanie said...

Aw, man, so lame! I really like the way the Pipers look and was eager to try them. Sad sad sad.

Stephanie said...

You're so fancy with your Ariats and Tailored Sportsmans!! Do you feel like they hold up well?

Anonymous said...

I only ride in the TS (the new fabric) and Animo. Never had a hole - crotch or elsewhere.

Karley said...

Haha it's been a slow process of swapping over, but totally worth it. I absolutely LOVE the Hunter Trophy TS breeches, hands down my fav of all time and I feel like they are made really well.

L.Williams said...

Your Singer is gorgeous. Totally jealous. I got holes in the crotch of my breeches Devon Aire and Ariat. Both though were over 4 years old. All my current schooling breeches are relatively new ( going on 2 years) Tailored Sportsmans, SmartPak breeches and some Millers that are older then me. I buy my Tailored's used off ebay :)

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