5 helpful tips for clothes repair
With this list, my intention is not to prevent you from experimenting, trying, or experiencing your own ways of repairing garments, as I strongly believe this is the only way we can develop a skill and create great artwork, but to share some basic rules and practical tips that can be seen as little signposts on your creative journey of repairing and creating clothes.
There are some common mistakes I’ve made and learned from over the years and some I was able to avoid completely because someone else taught me or shared their experience with me.
Ever so often, it’s not possible to sit down for hours and sew an artistically accomplished repair, especially if we notice a tear or damage when we have limited time, then this list can come in very handy to avoid frustration and focus on the actual repair without any distractions or challenges.
“The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe.” - Orsola de Castro
Take time to identify the damage
If you find worn-out patches like elbows or knees not just mend the hole or thinned area but also the surrounding needs reinforcing.
For knitted and woven garments, darning is a great mending technique to repair a hole by sewing in new threads into a fabric to create a new weave. You want to use a slightly thicker thread than a normal sewing thread. If you make a visible mending then you want to choose a coarse and contrasting thread.
Here’s a practical tutorial on darning.
Mending in time
This is easier said than done, and I wished I’d always keep to this rule. Mend your garment as soon as you discover the damage and it will be much easier to repair. It will save you time, too.
Choose the right thread
This can determine the quality of your mend. For hand sewing use cotton or linen thread as it gives the mend a nice structure. For visible stitches use thicker, coarse thread such as knitting or embroidery yarns.
If you want an invisible mend choose thread that looks slightly greyer than the garment, as it will blend in better with the fabric that is to be mended.
Don’t pull the thread too tight
It may need a bit of practice to get the right tension but if you pull the thread really tight when you’re sewing by hand you’ll end up with a puckered, bulky repair. pull the stitch tight enough so it doesn’t create a loop on top of the fabric you’re mending.
Patches
When you use patching or Sashiko stitch to repair your favourite garment, use thinner fabric than the original garment for your patch to avoid a hard and uncomfortable mended area.
Tacking or basting holds fabric together and patches in place. It’s done by using a generous running stitch and thicker, more loosely spun thread (tacking thread). It may seem unnecessary but the extra work will have an impact on the outcome of your sewing work as it’s easier to sew and look neater.
Secure your thread
Before you start your work make sure you create a knot. If you’re using thicker thread it might be a good idea to stitch a few stitches back and sew over the first stitches to secure it without a knot. Once you finished your repair work do the same or a knot.
With every mend, you add character to your garments.
In my workshops, I introduce you to Japanese Sashiko, a sewing technique to reinforce, mend and sew one or several layers of fabric together. It’s built up of rows of running stitches that create a geometric pattern onto the fabric that is to be repaired. Another mending technique I teach is darning, a beautiful way of sewing new thread into the worn-out fabric and seeing the hole disappear.
