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Fabric Repair Holes

Clothes and soft furnishings such aslinen, cushions and the fabric on chairswill need some repair work when anarea becomes worn or gives way due toconstant wear or an accidental tear.Preventive strengthening measures canhe taken in certain instances, such asdecorative patches on seat cushions orthe arms of padded chairs, and elbowsand knees on clothes. Otherembellished items, such as cushionsand table cloths, can also he reinforcedwith interfacing on the wrong sidebefore sewing on decorative elements,such as buttons and tassels, to furtherstrengthen the fabric.

Once an area of fabric, whetherclothing or soft furnishing, has becomeworn or frayed, the techniques fordarning and repairing are not difficultto learn and are well worth the effort ifit saves you from having to replace amuch-loved family item.

RIGHT-ANGLED TEAR

DARNING BY HAND

Choose a thread for darning thatmatches the fabric colour as closely aspossible. Use one that is slightly

1 Work small running stitches back andforth across the fabric within the markedarea. Leave a slight loop at the end ofeach row so that the darn doesn't becometoo tight. At the worn area, leave thethread lying parallel across the hole andwork running stitches on each side.

thinner than the fabric threads,otherwise the darning will he toothick, and work with a long length.

2 Turn the work so that the laid threadsare horizontal. Begin to weave over andunder the stitches and threads until theCM ire area is covered with a woven parch.Avoid pulling the threads tight.

1 Bring the edges of the rear together byli)osely oversewing them. Beginning andending 6 mm/1/4 in beyond each end ofthe rear, work tiny stitches across the rear.

2 On a worn garment or pocket tear, irona square of iron-on interfacing, to thewrong side before working the stitches.Pin the pocket hack in position andrestitch over the repair.

3 A button can ix: replaced over a right-angled rear once it has been repaired withinterfacing and machine stitching.

2 On the

fabric to leaveWork overcast inover the raw edg,the front side or HAND PATCH

This type of patch is normally used torepair garments but will come in handywith bed linen, curtains and cushions.To make the patch less obvious, cut thefabric to match the colour and patternf the worn area as closely as possible.

1 Cut a patch shout 3-4 cm/lc/4-11/2 inlarger than the worn area. Baste the patch6 mm/V4 in trout the raw edge and notchany curves. Turn under and haste the rawedge. Work small, neat hemming stitches

to secure.

MACHINE PATCH

This quick and easy patch is a hard-wearing way of repairing most utilityitems around the home. Use fabric from

1 Cut a square or rectangular patch about

2 .3 CM/3/4A V4 in larger than the wornarea and baste in position on the rightside, matching the grain of the fabric.Machine rigr.ug over the edge to secure.

DARNING BY MACHINE

Machine darning is suitable forstrengthening worn areas such as the

knees of trousers, but can he rathersolid if used to fill a hole on a piece of

another similar item, if possible, or prewash a new piece of fabric to soften it.Stitch with a matching thread.

2 Turn the garment over and trim theworn areas of the patch to I cm/;/sin.Machine rdgrag over the raw edge. Thefinished patch will have two rows of zigzagshowing on the right side.

furniture or fabric. Use a darning footon the machine and stitch with finerfibre such as machine embroiderythread, in a colour to match the fabric.

fabric to leave a 5 mm/Vt in allowance.Work overcasting or buttonhole stitchesover the raw edges without stitching intothe front side of the patch.

1 Baste a circle of running stitches aroundthe outside of the worn area. If possible,fit the fabric into an embroidery hoop sothat it lies flat against the needle plate.Lower the darning foot and work parallelrows of stitching fairly close together hackand forth across the marked area.

2 Stop with the needle in the fabric andturn the hoop until the stitches lie acrossthe other way. Stitch more parallel rowsslightly further apart to form a stitchedgrid over the marked area. If filling a hole,tun, the hoop back round and work athird set of parallel rows across the hole.