diy: lace inset jeans

when my mom is in town we always do a lot of shopping. it's fun and definitely part of our girl time. we have a local discount store where you can find some really amazing deals on name brand clothing. some of the things they sell have minor (or major) imperfections so you have to be careful and selective. this time and thanks to my mom's hawk eyes, i scored a pair of Joe's jeans for $2!!! they had a 4 inch rip right below the right side pocket but were otherwise in perfect condition and fit like a glove. i fell in love with them and figured i could do something to that rip to make it less revealing. i contemplated adding some floral fabric over top or some vintage lace on the inside. i didn't want the embellishment to be too attention grabbing and a little more subtle so I opted for the lace.
i am a big fan of iron on transfer paper and usually do all my appliques with it before sewing to add some extra detailing. i noticed before that it doesn't work as well with denim but since i didn't want to pin the lace i used it still.

here are instructions on what i did:

you'll need

a pair of jeans to embellish
some sand paper
scissors
a piece of lace or fabric of your choice
iron on transfer paper
iron
sewing machine
matching thread

i first cut the rip in the jeans a little bit bigger and sanded the edges to give it a more natural look

then cut out a piece of lace and a few small strips of iron on paper which will go on the edges of the lace. make sure not to cover all of the lace with the iron on paper or all kinds of debris will stick to it once you peel the paper off. it also wouldn't be sheer anymore.

turn your jeans inside out and place the lace and transfer paper in the right spot. iron on and let cool completely before removing the paper.

be very careful when you turn the jeans back out because the iron on bond won't be very strong. now your lace should stay in place well enough for you to easily sew around the edges with the machine.
i used a zig zag stitch and really like how it turned out. i also accidentally sewed over the pocket a little but it's still usable so it wasn't a big deal.

that's it! you just gave a ripped pair of jeans a whole new life.