Mending denim tear

I'd probably steal a patch from the hem to cover the hole, and sew it on by hand with spaced back stitches and matching thread. On the side that shows, make very short stitches parallel to the threads of the patch, so that they can sink down between them.

A patch should be significantly larger than the worn area.

Open the hem before sewing on the patch.

If you lack confidence, baste the turn-under of the patch before pressing it, then baste the patch onto the dress with thread of a different color and pull out the first basting. Pressing after basting the patch seems to make it more willing to stay put while you sew.

If the style of the dress permits, consider covering the damage with rick-rack, ribbon, etc.

Joy Beeson

Joy,

You've provided some great tips, and I know my inexperience is showing in that I don't understand your reference to basting the "turn-under of the patch" and the subsequent instructions. I can understand opening the hem before sewing on the patch, but I'm lost after that. Will you please elaborate so that a sewing nincompoop like myself can grasp your meaning?

Thanks, Betty

I have a problem with a tear in a denim dress, and I will be very appreciative of any advice which may lead me in the right direction. In truth, the affected area is not really a tear, but more an area where the threads have worn to the point of creating a small hole in the fabric. The area is at the top edge of the hem and is smaller than the size of a dime. I don't have any experience in machine darning, but I seem to remember seeing instructions for it many years ago. Would it be feasible to place a very small piece of coordinating fabric under the tear and run machine stitches back and forth over the area to secure the under-fabric to the torn area? I'm so afraid that, with my inexperience, I will not be able to confine the machine stitches to the affected area to the extent that the repair will not be readily visible. Would I be better off to turn the dress over to a professional seamstress?

Thanks, Betty Vereen Hill

I *meant* to ask you to proofread the patching section of

for me, but when I checked to see whether my post included anything I'd leftout, I discovered that I hadn't written it yet! (And hadn't even put the sections of the mending page where the table of contents said they were, but I've taken care of that now.)

I'll post again when I've uploaded the beta.

Joy Beeson

Thanks, Joy. I look forward to seeing your instructions.

Betty

The patching section of the chapter on mending is expanding like a bowl of yeast -- before I can explain anything, I have to explain something else first. With the weather having turned suitable for gardening and long bike rides, getting it written is going to take a while, and what you want to know is much more limited.

I suggested that you cover the damage with a piece of matching fabric -- if you happen to have some scraps from making the skirt, use those; if the hem is wide enough, you can cut a patch out of the part that doesn't show, then repair the hem with whatever fabric you have. The patch must be large enough that all stitches are taken in sound fabric. Being denim, the patch will need to have its edges turned to the wrong side to keep it from raveling. I'd suggest cutting the patch square to make turning the edges under easier. Cut exactly along threads if you can, as on-grain edges are easier to handle. Don't forget to allow for both the turn-under and a seam- allowance clearance around the hole. Turn the corners first -- if basting the creases in, fold each corner over your needle to make it keep a straight line. If pressing, use a thin metal ruler or a business card. (For such a small patch, basting is easier.) Then fold all the edges to the wrong side. They needn't meet in a neat miter at the corners -- there is something to be said for blunt corners on a patch -- so you can eyeball, rather than measure, all distances. Denim might hold a crease when pinched; if not, baste the corner creases in, then pull out those short bits of thread after basting the edge creases in. (Because the corner basting is folded when you turn the edges, it would be difficult to remove it after sewing on the patch.) After basting the creases, press the patch. Everything behaves better after being swatted with an iron. Lay the patch over the damage and line up the grain of the patch with the grain of the fabric. Stick a pin in to hold it in that position while you baste close to, but not through, the basting that holds the creases. Also avoid the line where you intend to place the final stitching. Remove the basting that holds the crease, as the basting that holds the patch in place will now do the job. (Hence my suggestion of using two colors of basting thread.) Now spaced-backstitch around, making the stitches as small as you can manage -- but not *smaller*; each stitch must catch at least two threads of the fabric. Slide the needle under the patch to hide the end of the thread; securing the end is not necessary, as backstitch is in itself an end-securer. Come up close to the folded edge of the patch. If right handed, stick the needle in about a sixteenth of an inch to the right of the place you came up, trying to make this hole between the same two threads. Bring the needle point up about an eighth of an inch to the left of the place where you came up the first time. If you can't firmly catch the bottom layer with a stitch this short, make it a little longer. When all else fails, make the stitch in two steps. Theoretically, the stitches on the back will be three times the length of the stitches on the front; ideally, they will be the same length as the stitches on the front because of slanting through the thickness of the fabric. Practically: if the thread catches enough fabric that it isn't going to tear loose, be happy. When you get back to where you started, slide the thread under the patch again, and snip it close to the fabric while it is under tension, so that the end pulls back inside. Remember that I intend to incorporate this explanation into a work in progress; if you ask for more information, or find fault with my writing, you are doing me a favor. (A rare favor; you'd be amazed at how much work picking nits is, and how few people are willing to do it.)

Joy Beeson

Dear Joy: Having brought up a son and a daughter - both grown and gone, thank goodness! and a husband - still here, also thank goodness....... I have a different technique for patching denim. I put the new piece, properly aligned as to grain etc., underneath the hole. After anchoring it with a few stitches I then just use my needle to turn under the (trimmed) edges on the top side and hand hem as usual. How I finish the underside patch depends on the garment. For kids jeans I used to zigzag round the patch before I installed it, then just stitch it to the top so the edges did not catch on things; it wasn't very noticeable. For a garment such as we are discussng, I would probably trim the patch fairly close to the hemming stitches, then simply overcast the raw edges by hand.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

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I've seen the method described before, but never half so well.

Joy Beeson

And I might add another point, which is that a blanket stitch will keep the fabric from fraying without requiring folding anything under, which means a less obvious patch.

I blanket stitch both the hole to the patch, then the patch to the good fabric. in which case if small stitches are taken it can be nearly invisible. and I do use this method on denim as well as other fabrics.