Question for sewers

[silentsara]

Hello! My husband ripped a pair of lined Carhartt pants (pretty heavy duty fabric). I'm trying to figure out the best way to repair them. The rip is in the middle of the front of the thigh, so it isn't a high stress area. I'd just sew a zigzag over it but the lining isn't ripped and he'd prefer the two layers to stay separate.

Any suggestions?

[cmeon]

I'd mend it with a ladder or zig-zag stitch by hand. It will be the least conspicuous method- and you can keep the lining separate from the outer fabric without deconstruction.

[cam]

MH has that type of jean (I had to dig a pen out of them once that fell between the denim and lining when MH didn't realize he had a hole in the pocket - at least we figured out it was there before they got washed ). Although I don't really understand what benefit there would be to keeping the lining detached, if he is insistent, I would just hand sew it to keep it flat and smooth (otherwise you could do a quick machine sew by pinching the edges together away from the lining, but they wouldn't be flat or look as nice, granted they probably aren't for looks anyway). Not the most convenient compared to just zipping over the area with a machine like you understandably would want to do, but not all that big of a deal to hand sew either if it would make him happier. Maybe someone with broader machine experience has a better idea though.

[silentsara]

Thanks! I was thinking hand sewing was the answer. He says the pants will feel weird if they lining is attached. He's the one working in them, so I won't argue.

[saltypearl]

Could you do a sandwich of iron on patches?

[silentsara]

So I stuck an iron on patch in between the two layers and then started hand sewing it. He saw me fighting with the thick fabric and told me to just machine zig zg it through both layers. He's worn them now and its not an issue after all.

Thanks for all the ideas!