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Mending a Cut in a Plaid Shirt

8/6/2018

1 Comment

 
I once heard a tragic tale: a man ordered an expensive winter jacket from a sportswear company, and when it came in he eagerly opened the package using a blade... which went too deep and sliced right through the front of the jacket!  The company wouldn't take the coat back, since the damage wasn't their fault, so there went several hundred dollars down the drain!  True to my preoccupations, when I heard the story my first thought was that I wished I'd been around to try to mend it.  I reckon some latex patches on the inside of each cut edge, carefully ironed with a press cloth, would have been a good start...

I'm such a sewing geek!  So when a friend buys a shirt from Goodwill with a cut in it, I am pleased to take on the task of mending it.
Picture
Was the original owner stabbed?

The cut is perfect, straight, on grain!  It is just below the shirt pocket, but doesn't go into the pocket or damage its stitching.  This view is from the inside of the shirt. 

The first thing I do is carefully trim the fuzzy bits from around the hole. 
The fabric is modal and polyester, which feels great.  I had to look "modal" up: it's a semi-synthetic made from beech trees.  So, related to rayon, but softer.  I lay a bit of iron-on interfacing atop the cut, and iron it in place.  It bonds really well. 

With the interfacing bonded, I thread Boudica with green thread and criss-cross over the face of the fabric, following the plaid lines so my stitching is hidden.  Below, two interior pics showing the lines:
Picture
interfacing on cut
Picture
The bobbin thread was bright green, so it shows really well on the interfacing.
Picture
See how the lines match the plaid?
Picture
Fray Check(R) wet, just applied.
On the face of the fabric, the stitching blends really nicely.  If the interfacing ever comes loose at the edges and starts to curl, the stitching will hold it in place as a patch.  But what about the frayed edges on the front?  I use some Fray Check(R) to cover them.  Fray Check is basically liquid nylon; it seals the edges by saturating them and then drying into a flexible material that's integrated with your material. 
When the Fray Check(R) dries, it's clear and bendable.  Here's the finished patch on the front side of the fabric.  Can you find it in the picture?  I doubt anyone will notice it on the wearer!  I'm pleased with this repair!
Picture
Hole? What hole?
1 Comment
The sister
8/8/2018 03:54:04 am

It looks great! If I didn’t know it was there, I wouldn’t notice it.

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    Karen Roy

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