Wool coat mending: advice?

Hi, all! I have a vintage wool coat which I bought back in my college days. It has since developed what seems like a moth hole in the center back. I’d like to mend this as invisibly as possible. Has anyone handled something similar? I’d rather not use my usual technique of messy darning or decorative embroidery, and would prefer to return the coat to its original look.
The poor thing has been in a box for a while, so please excuse the wrinkles and fuzz.
Thanks, y’all!

If I was mending this, I would unpick the lining a bit (if it has a lining) and look at the seam allowance.  Does the cut edge of the wool fray?  If not, is there enough cloth in there for a 1-inch patch?  (in old days, clothing used to come with a few inches of spare cloth for just this sort of repair and a few spare buttons, but I'm not sure if this is old enough).  

Find some matching thread and do a patch on the INSIDE of the cloth just picking up one or two threads per stitch to keep it as invisible as possible.  Then on the outside, stitch the edge of the hole down to the patch so it won't fray more.  After that, restitch the lining into place.  These are almost all hand stitching as a machine stitch would show a lot more.

It's not as invisible as reweaving the missing part, but it is about 50 hours quicker.  

How are the edges, inside? Sometimes, good clothing like that is made with substantial material on the inside of the seams and hems, that you can carefully snip a piece, bind off the edges where you snipped it from, and use the little piece to patch holes from the inside, using small stitches in thread in a matching color. You'd then do the same tiny stitches on the outside, to secure the edges to the patch. It will not be perfect, but it will also be the least noticeable way I personally know to do it.

I meant to add about killing moths.  Depending on where you live, it might be time to put winter stuff away for storage.  Moths love this!  If one moth got in, chances are more did too and they are just waiting for an opportunity.  

Moths hate it when you wear your clothes and air them out in the sunshine, so if you can get a couple of sunny days to hang the coat outside before storing it, that would go a long way to destroying hidden moths.  

If you are going to wash it, putting some borax powder (found in the laundry section) in the final rinse helps make the wool untasty (it's a mild biocide).

And if you have room in your freezer, maybe wrap the coat up tight and keep it there for the winter.  It doesn't kill all the moths, but it kills a lot of them and makes the rest go dormant until the season when you can wear your coat again.  

And, for added protection, they also don't like cedar (cuz it's toxic to them), so you can pack a cedar essential oil sachet with it, or use cedar planks, balls, or shavings(though they lose their effectiveness faster) in the storage area. I've heard similar said of Lavender, but I've not tried that.

did someone say lavender magic wands for moth repellent?  



I put these in my winter cloth storage this year and I'm very happy with the result.  I keep my wool clothing in small batches so if there are moths, they don't contaminate too much.  Toss a wand in with them and they come out smelling, not really of lavender, but fresh like they were never in storage.

I'll be making a lot more of these this summer.  

Yes, please!!!

This seems like a pretty smal hole, and in an unobtrusive place. I'd look for some crewel yarn in as close a color as possible so that I could pull out one strand and use it to sew the hole shut. Not by pulling the sides together, but by using the yard to weave a center. I think tha tperhaps, even if you couldn't find yarn, that cotton thread would work,

get identical colored  wool  roving and a  punch needle...  works like magic! ( ask for the  supplys from any wool shop and  google  how to)  super  easy  invisible  fix!

if you really want it to look "Invisible" it depend mostly on two things skills and what material you can access

IF you can find loose wool that looks just like this one then the previously meantioned needlefelting imho is a DEFINITE do this. It is Much easier than you think if you have never done it before (but avoid my mistake: take a single needle not one of the multiple needle thingies they usually sell in the cheaper sets, this makes the work more intentional/controlled and it is still quite fast) It also has the benefit of making everything extra sturdy there and you can probably do it without haveing to open too much of your lining.

HOWEVER
If this is going to be the fancy respectable coat.. then, in my humble opinion, scavenging from your seam allowences is probably the best way. Be it for "reweaving the area" or a small patch.
The reweaving is the highest skill requirement but for a relatively small hole might be doable (there are multiple instructional videos on youtube on how to do this & it is very impressive)
The patch will be the most "obvious" version but if done well most people will never notice it, even though it might still be visible when "you" look.

BUT both option presuppose that the insides of your coat still truly have the same color, which is something you will have to see (some dyes hold up against sunlight better than others, and a coat is often worn in less sunny conditions.. but it really depends)

(I hope you treated the coat against the moths... if not yet: place it into the freezer for at least 48 hours if you have it and then clean well afterwards. Yes, I know that it was stored and there is no judgment here atr all only the point that the TLC will make probably more of a difference than the quality of the mend)

(I , personally,  would TOTALLY visibly mend this but I understand that the location is a bit "off for that, but I would  make it bigger note smaller (like felting differently sized polka dots in a dancing line over one shoulder and just keep the one of the hole one of the smallest), but then I am shameless and even mend pant crotch areas very overtly) (but also imagine a nice deeper Red thread sahiko patch there and another on one cuff and one matching on teh oposite Shoulder... hmmmmm.... or some meadow flowers at the hem like with a dandelion and then just a few of the parachutes dancing over your back over that area and further upwards.... however, that is not what you asked)

much love and luck in finding your materials and inspiration
S