Using fabric glue to repair ripped Levi's is an inexpensive, no-sew way to mend your jeans. But it can be messy if you use too much glue. The excess glue and the denim patch can stick to fingers. It is important to have a fairly heavy layer of glue, though, because the patch will fray and peel off if you do not use enough.
Spread the Levi's out on a table so the hole is easy to see. Put a square of wax paper inside the jeans, under the hole. This is to keep the front part of the jeans from sticking to the back if any glue seeps through.
Tear off another piece of wax paper, this one is to protect your tabletop. Put the piece of wax paper on the table a couple of feet away from the Levi's but within easy reach.
Using scissors, cut a denim patch that is at least 2 inches larger than the hole, all of the way around. Place the patch upside down on the wax paper next to you.
Open the fabric glue, and put a medium-heavy layer of glue on the back of the denim. You do not want to completely soak the denim patch with glue, but it needs to soak in about halfway to adhere.
Pick the patch up, trying to keep your fingers as glue-free as possible. Turn it so you can see the grain lines on the right side of the fabric, and position the lines so they match the grain lines on the Levi's. Set the patch down on the jeans, and use a cotton swab and a few drops of nail polish remover to remove any glue that got on your fingertips.
Place a third piece of wax paper on top of the patch, and press straight down, covering the entire surface of the glued patch. Leave the piece for wax paper inside of the jeans until the glue dries, but throw away the piece of wax paper from the tabletop and the piece used to press down on the patch. Let the glue dry completely before wearing or laundering the Levi's.
- blue-jeans image by Hendrik Schwartz from Fotolia.com