Mend a hole in a shirt or sleeve - PEP BB textiles.straw.repair.shirt

Hubby ripped his shirt. The edges were frayed and uneven, which limited my options, but it didn't seem old enough to be rags, so I unpicked the "breast pocket flap" as material for repairs. There are several "invisible mend" techniques I'd have liked to try, but the pocket flap fabric didn't "match the plaid", so I went with the patch on the inside, and did invisible stitches first to hold the patches in place, and then to close the gap.



The only tools I used were a stitch ripper to salvage the flap, scissors, and a needle and thread and I didn't think to include those in the picture.

This is not *as invisible* as I would like, but considering the damage to the shirt and the material available and the location of the tear where the fabric will be mostly under his arm, I'm pleased with the result.
This is a good reminder how much easier things like this are when you sew the shirt yourself and have scrap fabric to do repairs like this!

I have a shirt I like to wear for yard work.  It had a bleach accident and a hole appeared among the damaged threads.  This is how I fixed the hole while modifying the shirt. I used regular sewing thread and a donor fabric backing. Other tools used were binder clips for holding and the sewing machine for final hemming of neckline and sleeve ends.

(The shirt before)

The collar looked like a good place to find donor fabric to go behind the hole. I wasted an afternoon trying to pick the seam at the collar only to discover the makers had assembled the collar pieces then attached them to the neckline.  Unless I wanted to spend all week picking away one stitch at a time, it was time to break out my good fabric scissors. I carefully snipped away the collar, then decided to remove the sleeve cuffs as well.

(The colors)

I picked out thread colors that would blend with the shirt. For some reason I do not have navy blue.

I used indigo blue, light blue, and white threads to tack down the edges of the hole. I pinned the donor fabric behind the hole and decided the five inch embroidery hoop was the best size for my project.

(Hooping it)

I ironed the section of the shirt to help it lay flat so maybe it would turn out better. I started with one sewing needle and decided quickly it was too fat and was destroying the fabric rather than passing through.  I switched to a thinner needle.  I maintain a variety of needles in my pin cushion for "fashion emergencies".

Then I experimented with tiny stitches, some satin stitching, and some attempts at weaving on the fabric surface. I attempted something that I will call "couching", but I used the previous satin stitches rather than a thread laid on top.

After a couple of hours, I had to put down the project and walk away.  The next day I examined my progress and decided upon my strategy. Another few rounds of changing colors of threads on my needle and turning the work to attack from all angles, I finally was much happier.  The edges of the hole are now captured.

(In process)

I turned the hems for the sleeves and neckline.  When the fabric becomes too thick for even quilting pins, I switch to binder clips. I started with the sleeves because they will annoy me less.  I decided that black thread was NOT an acceptable substitute for navy blue and switched to the indigo blue I had used before.  After a few stalls on areas that likely had five or more layers, the rest was easy.  I trimmed the threads and examined my work.

(Machining it)

Unfortunately the bleached area is still very visible. I may attempt blending with blue Sharpie markers to make it less noticeable.  I will have to color on the scraps and see how it turns out.  At any rate, the hole is now secured and I should be able to launder, hang up, and wear this shirt for many years without threat of imminent destruction.

(The end)

If we happen to have a “how to stick the photos where you want them to appear” type of wiki, instruction, or such, please direct me to it! I have another BB to submit and want to do better next time. Thank you all. That stuff I learned BM (Before Motherhood) is actually used here.

Janie Brackett wrote:If we happen to have a “how to stick the photos where you want them to appear” type of wiki, instruction, or such, please direct me to it! I have another BB to submit and want to do better next time.

Janie, it's a learning curve, isn't it? :)

Try this thread for photo how-tos -> How to post an image on Permies.com.

Another one of my shirts got a hole in the sleeve. As it is a nice woolen shirt and it's currently winter here, I want to keep wearing it! I used patches made from an old pair of moth-eaten men's woolen trousers I'd picked up at at op shop for the purpose some time back. Works great! Made the patch rather large as my elbow is pointy and wanders a bit in the sleeve, and previous elbow patches have failed when my elbow is resting on the fabric around the periphery.

Tiny wear hole in my boy’s old onesie. I wanted to get this hole mended before putting it away for another future child, and decided a handmade embroidered patch was the way to go. Traced the snail line art from an old children’s book, and stitched it with back stitch and satin stitch. Once I finished the patch, I backed it and the onesie with iron on stabilizer (a necessity when working with knits). Then I used a (lazy) whip stitch to fix the patch in place.

Thanks, y’all! I completely forgot this bit needed to use natural materials. I have more mending in the future, so I’ll just resubmit when I do another mending spree.

I've owned this hoodie since I was 15 so it has accumulated a lot of little holes and one bigger one has appeared over the last few days. I bought some light purple cotton thread to blend in with the original colour as best as possible. I sewed up the holes without a patch to match the weave as best as I could. I only know the basics of sewing so hopefully this is alright.

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pictures or a video (less than two minutes):
- show the shirt with the hole to be repaired
- show the tools and materials
- show the repair in progress
- show your shirt with the hole repaired
- describe how you will mend the hole (optional)

One of my favorite sweaters has been getting some holes under the arm,  so good chance to get one sewn and do this BB.

Cotton thread,  overcast stitch along the seam,  thread doubled for strength:  

I really like this shirt. So I spent almost a forever procrastinating fixing these hole, but they actually look pretty good.
I'm sorry it didn't dawn on me, the full shirt pic. posted previously and just didn't think about it.

Just a reminder the very first requirement is to:

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pictures or a video (less than two minutes):
- show the shirt with the hole to be repaired

Some of these are difficult to see they are shirts.  

Anyone already approved above is grandfathered in, but future submissions will likely be more strict about this.  

I just realized I'd never taken pictures of a shirt mending for this BB!

I'm pretty sure I've had this shirt for at least 8 years. It's one of the few yellow colors that look good on me, and I really like this shirt. This is the 4th time I've mended it over the years, and I love seeing how my mending has changed and improved over the years!

Here's the big elbow hole:

hole in the elbow of my yellow/brown/white plaid shirt

I have cotton thread in gold, dusty brown, and off-white that almost perfectly match the shirt.

The matching threads and long sewing needle I used to mend the hole

For this mending, I reweaved the the pattern of the plaid. I start on the outside stripes. These two brown stripes took 30 minutes.

30 minutes into the mend

Considering the amount of youtube videos I watched while mending, I ended up spending 2.5-3 hours on fixing this shirt, but I really love how it turned out! There's a slight puckering in the middle, but I think it's barely noticeable.

The finished mend, viewed from the inside

Most recent mend it pictured at the bottom. The other sleeve contains my older mends. The right mend was done with a piece of khaki pants fabric backing, and I've had to remend it twice

I do not know how my daughter split open her shoulder seam! It's a new shirt! And she still needs it for cheerleading. ug. Good thing I can sew.

My husband wears through the elbow on his shirts. The last one I mended looked a bit scruffy so this time I did two patches. The first with a piece of old t-shirt to stabilise the hole (what I did last time), and the second to cover that up (linen patch). It looks much better with the second patch on as well.

This is an old lace shirt that my grandma had.  




My materials: cotton thread, needle and scissors.




Half way done




All fixed

Had this whole in the sleeve of one of my favorite pullovers. First time hand sewing.