In this installment of our Designer D.I.Y. series, Mr. Snyder stitches print boxers to blown-out denim to produce a whole greater than the holes in its parts.
At a time when everyone is isolated at home, nervous about spending money and without an occasion to dress up, what can we do to help you pass the time?
Styles has started a series of print-and-keep D.I.Y. wardrobe customization ideas, similar to the sewing patterns that glossy magazines used to provide. We want you to remember the joy of fashion and learn (or remember) how to make things at home. Some of fashion’s best-known creative talents will be on hand to guide you through the process.
“Staying at home has given me a lot of time to reflect on all the things I love — my family; my three daughters, Gabi, Cece, and 3-month-old Alexandra; and my fiancée, Shira Suveyke,” said Todd Snyder, a men’s wear designer whose torqued all-American classics only look simple to pull off.
It’s a fact not lost on his heritage-label collaborators like Champion and L.L. Bean, the storied label Mr. Snyder managed to coax out of the Maine woods and onto a runway for the first time in its 108-year history.
With his stores closed and production on hold, Mr. Snyder has focused his unexpected free time on the kind of domestic stuff that is often neglected when you are running a successful brand with your name on its label. “Recently I dusted off my old sewing machine,” he said. “It’s the same one I used in college to make shirts, and I used it to patch some jeans for Shira.”
STEP 1
Pick a bandanna or shirt you are ready to toss and cut a patch slightly larger than the hole you are looking to repair. “Denim pairs well with a lot,” Mr. Snyder said. “I chose a blue paisley bandanna, but you could have fun with old print boxer shorts.” Leave at least an extra inch all around to give you something to stitch onto.
STEP 2
Turn the edges of the patch under to produce an inverted hem and to prevent fraying. Place a matching piece of fabric on the inside of the patched area for reinforcement. Affix the two patches to the jeans with straight pins to hold them in place.
STEP 3
Either by hand, using a whipstitch every ¼ inch, or with a sewing machine, sew around the perimeter of the patch to reinforce it. Don’t worry: the sloppier, the better.
STEP 4
Using the same technique as above, stitch back and forth across the patch in parallel lines to strengthen it. Remember to knot the ends of the thread.
Try on your freshly patched jeans and take a look in the mirror. It’s the only runway we’ve got right now.
Photograph by John Taggart for The New York Times