Mending Your Woollens: Small Holes & Snags

So, you’ve spotted a little hole in your favourite jumper. Don’t panic and, most importantly, don’t put it back in the drawer and hope it goes away!

A small hole is often a very manageable repair, especially when you catch it early. Before reaching for your needle and thread, take a moment to look closely at the damage.

Start by looking at the hole

How big is it? A tiny moth hole may only need a few carefully placed stitches to bring the edges together. For a slightly larger hole, you might choose to darn it: weaving new yarn across the opening in vertical and horizontal rows to rebuild the missing fabric.

How strong is the fabric around it? This is just as important as the hole itself.

Sometimes the surrounding fibres have become thin and weakened, particularly with moth damage. If you close the hole without strengthening the fabric around it, another hole may appear alongside your repair.

If it feels fragile or looks thin, extend your repair slightly beyond the hole (around 1cm from the damaged or thinned parts) to support the surrounding fabric, using running stitches and weaving new thread in. 

Think about how you want your repair to look

This is where mending gets really interesting and personal. You could choose a yarn that closely matches your jumper and create a subtle repair that blends into the fabric or you could do the opposite and choose a contrasting colour to let the repair become part of the story.

A little flash of colour on a sleeve. A visible darn on the chest. A cluster of tiny repairs that show where your favourite jumper has been worn and loved.

There's no right or wrong way to mend it. The repair can disappear into the garment, or it can become something worth noticing.

And if it's a snag... the first rule is simple: Don't pull it!

A loose loop can be very tempting to tug at, but pulling it can draw more yarn out of the surrounding fabric and make the damage worse.

Instead, gently work out where the yarn has been pulled from. Using a blunt needle, darning needle or small crochet hook, you can often carefully guide the loose loop back through to the inside of the garment. Rub the area gently and with wear and time the threads will relax back into place.

If the yarn has actually broken, guide the loose ends through to the inside of the garment and secure them so that the surrounding knitting doesn't begin to unravel. Make a knot or weave the ends in with a backstitch, catching the intact loops for support.

And don't be tempted to simply cut off the little loop unless you know that the yarn is secure, that tiny snag could be part of the structure holding the fabric together.

This is probably the biggest piece of mending advice I can give. Repair it while it's still small. Don't wait.

A tiny hole or snag can be a five-minute repair. Leave it for another few months of wearing and washing, and it may become a much bigger job.

So when you notice something, put the jumper aside and give it a little attention. Make yourself a cup of tea. Find a quiet spot. Choose a yarn you love and mend it.

There is something wonderfully satisfying about repairing a favourite piece of clothing rather than replacing it. That little repair becomes another part of its history, another reminder that this is a garment worth keeping.

If you aren't sure where to start, give me a follow on social media or join for an in-person workshop in London.

I post regular tutorials on visible mending, natural dyeing and more to my Instagram account. For a more hands-on learning experience, you can attend one of my upcoming Autumn workshops.