When you have a hole in your sweater, the first instinct is to ignore it. Especially if you love that sweater.
As the hole grows bigger, you start looking for ways to mend it without leaving a visible sign.
To do this, you need to learn how to fix your sweater without sewing. This helps you cover up the hole fast and save money and not throw away your favorite sweater.
How Do You Fix A Hole In A Sweater Without Sewing?
The best way to fix a hole in a sweater without sewing is by using a fusing patch. Turn your sweater inside. Seal the hole gently by bringing the opposite ends of the sweater together with your fingers. Place the fusing patch on the hole. Place a cloth over the patch and iron on the patch over the cloth for it to hold tightly.
Turn your sweater inside to the right side up. The hole on the sweater is no longer visible. This is a quick way to mend your sweater whether you know how to sew or not. It helps to keep your sweater looking new for longer.
Method 1. Using A Fusing Patch
Step 1. Before you fix holes in your sweater without sewing, make sure it is washed and dried. This helps to ensure that it won’t shrink after it is repaired. This would make your chosen method of repair look worse than the hole on the sweater.
Step 2. When your sweater is dried and washed, it is now ready for repair. Turn it inside out so that you make your repairs from the inside. Once you are done, it won’t be possible for anyone looking at your sweater to see the previous location of the hole.
Step 3. Prepare the fusing web that you will use to seal the hole. Measure how large the hole on your sweater is. Then, cut a slightly larger fusing web that you will use to fix the hole on your sweater.
Step 4. Bring the fabric around the diameter of the together using your fingers. This will help to seal the hole before you fuse it permanently.
Step 5. Place your fusing web over the hole gently. Also, slowly remove your fingers from the hole as you bring the fusing web over it.
Step 6. Cover your fusing web with a cloth.
Step 7. Start your iron and set high heat settings. Place your iron over the cloth on the fusing web. Do not iron directly on the fusing web or it will stick on the iron which could lead to further damage to your sweater. Place your iron here for about ten seconds.
Step 8. Turn your sweater inside out, place the cloth on the location of the hole and place your iron. This helps to strengthen the hold of the fusing web onto the sweater. After ten seconds lift off your iron from the sweater.
Step 9. Confirm that the hole on the sweater is properly fixed and there aren’t visible signs of mending on the right side of the sweater.
Method 2. Using Fusing Powder
Step 1. Turn your sweater inside out to work on the inside of your sweater to keep the repairs out of sight.
Step 2. You need to get some additional fabric to fill into the hole in the sweater. Cut it from some other part of the sweater with excess fabrics. You can cut off from the seams where different parts of the sweater are sewn together. Make sure not to cut into the stitching.
Step 3. Using scissors, cut off the additional fabric you need. Then cut it up into much smaller pieces and jumble them into a ball.
Step 4. Now mix your fusing powder into the small pieces of jumbled-up fabric. Roll them into a ball, flatten them on your palms and place them on the hole on the sweater to seal it up. Press this fabric onto the hole firmly.
Step 5. Pour some fusing powder onto the fabric on the hole. Then, place a lightweight patch onto the fabric on the hole. Make sure that your patch easily blends in with your sweater. You can do this by ensuring that the patch you use has a similar color to the sweater.
Step 6. Place a cloth or non-stick fiberglass sheet over the patch and iron over the sheet, onto the patch and hole. Make sure that your iron is set to high heat.
Step 7. Turn your sweater to the right side. Place the cloth over the hole and iron at high heat. This strengthens the patch you and the fusing powder over the fabric on the hole.
Step 8. Lift the iron and sheet or cloth off your sweater and you will confirm that your sweater no longer has a hole on it. This means that you can save money as you don’t have to go out and buy another sweater.
Method 3. With Needle Felting
Step 1. To fix a hole on your sweater with needle felting you will need a felting pad, wool roving, felting needle, and dishwashing soap.
Step 2. Look for the hole in your sweater. When you have found it spread the sweater out and place the part with the hole onto the felting pad with the hole exposed.
Step 3. Pull out some wool roving and place it into the hole on the sweater on the felting pad. Make sure the roving is large enough to cover the hole. Then, using your felting needle, stab the sweater into the felting pad around the hole. This fixes the wool roving onto the sweater. Also, make sure to felt the center of the hole and you will see the sweater and the roving start to gel.
Step 4. Lift the sweater off the felting pad. Turn it inside out and add another layer of wool roving into the hole.
Step 5. When felting this new layer of wool roving, start from the center of the hole moving outwards towards the edges of the hole.
Step 6. When you get to the edges of the hole, where already have your first layer in place, fold the roving into it and felt it further.
Step 7. If the hole in your sweater is still not properly fixed turn the sweater around and add more roving and keep pelting. You can repeat this step until the hole is properly fixed.
Step 8. Now, when the hole is properly fixed and the felting looks like a patch, wash it. Use hot water and dishwashing soap. Scrub the sweater and the felt. This wash makes the felt sit properly in the hole on your sweater.
Step 9. When you have your felt properly fixed in the hole and the hole completely fixed wash your sweater normally. Wash using hot water and dry your sweater.
Step 10. When you have through laundering it, the hole is completely fixed and you can wear your sweater with a unique felted patch that blends in easily with your sweater.
How To Fix A Hole In Your T-Shirt Without Sewing
You can also fix holes in your T-shirt without sewing quite easily. This helps you to extend the life of your favorite garment and save money as you don’t need a new t-shirt every time one gets a hole. Additionally, it will take you less than ten minutes to fix your clothes and wear them for a productive day.
To fix your T-shirt, you will need a cutaway stabilizer, a fusing web, an iron, and some water. Start by ironing your T-shirt properly. Make sure that it doesn’t have any wrinkles especially around the hole.
Use your fingers to bring together fabric around the hole to seal it. Then place the fusible adhesive piece gently over the hole. Then place a piece of stabilizer onto the fusible web.
Place a piece of fabric on top of the stabilizer and fusible web. Sprinkle some water over the cloth and then place your hot iron box on the cloth and press.
Confirm that the T-shirt is now in wearable condition. Cut off the stabilizer and wear your T-shirt for the day. You have successfully fixed a hole in your T-shirt without sewing.
How To Fix A Hole In Knitted Fabric
If you want to fix a hole in a knitted fabric, the easiest way to do it is with a thread and needle. Turn the garment inside out and make sure that you can see the hole. Thread your needle with a thread that is similar to your garment. To fix the hole, make stitches across the hole until you seal it completely.
You can also use a fusible adhesive web to fix holes on a knitted garment. It is easy and fast to fix holes in this method. In addition to the fusible adhesive, you will need an iron to activate the adhesive once the fusible web is placed on the hole.
As the weather outside has gotten chilly, many of us will find ourselves reaching for our favorite knitwear. But just as you’re about to put your sweater on, you may notice a small hole. Perhaps your belt buckle rubbed against it while you were washing dishes. Or your cat swiped at you. Maybe worst of all, a moth found its way to a delicious meal despite your best sweater-keeping methods. No matter the reason, finding a hole in your knitwear is disheartening.
However, it’s not hopeless. Although holes can appear devastating, you can repair them using darning. Darning is a repair technique that fills a gap with new material, rather than requiring you to patch it or sew it closed. When done with yarn that resembles the original material, the repair can be almost undetectable.
There are two ways to repair a hole in a garment: pay a professional or do it yourself. A professional mender will make holes literally vanish. Some specialize in what’s known as French reweaving or invisible reweaving, where individual strands of thread are woven into the original cloth. You can use these companies for holes you find in woven materials, such as what you’ll find on suits, sport coats, or trousers. As you can imagine, such services are not inexpensive — a hole the size of a pencil eraser can easily cost $50 or more to repair. These companies can also fix knitted sweaters, although the same logic applies. The finer the knit, the more expensive the repair, and in some cases, the repair cost may exceed the sweater’s price.
This leaves us with the most economical and arguably, the most rewarding option. If you’re working with a hole in a sweater, you can learn how to darn it yourself. Thankfully, darning is not challenging to learn.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Optional:
- Darning mushroom. Alternatively, you can also use any hand-sized, round object, such as an orange or a tennis ball.
First, you want to make sure you’re working with a neat, clean hole. If there are any remaining threads or frays, cut them off to have a tidier starting area.
Next, thread your needle. If you’re trying to make your repair less noticeable, you’ll want to use yarn that matches the size and color of the original fabric. Some new sweaters actually come with an extra bit of yarn, so save those whenever you get them.
To start darning, apply a darning stitch, which is a simple running stitch where you weave the thread in rows along the grain of the fabric and reverse directions at the end of the row. Start by doing this horizontally or lengthwise.
Left: the flow of the darning stitch; Right: darning stitch over the hole, highlighted in green
Make sure not to pull too tightly as you want your stitch to remain loose. Otherwise, you might create some creasing or puckering in the end. A darning mushroom or other round objects can help apply tension to the hole, making it spread out. Remember, the goal is to fill the gap, not close it.
Once completed, you then weave your yarn through the stitches you just completed. You’ll see that you’re weaving in new material as you progress. Eventually, when enough yarn has been incorporated, the hole will be filled.
Weaving pattern used over darning stitch, illustrated and over the actual hole
For more darning resources, check out this Reddit guide or Youtube video.
I think the last step is to acknowledge that not every repair will be perfect. Even with some practice, I have difficulty darning larger holes, which are less forgiving than smaller ones. However, even when the repair looks poor, I take great pride in it. Clothes are often an extension of our identity, so I find it noble to see someone has taken the time to repair a garment. You can even inject some character into your repairs by using different color threads or trying new stitches. In the end, you learn a new skill, help the environment by not throwing away a sweater, and hopefully gain a deeper connection with your clothes.
Filed Under: Care and Maintenance, Darning, Guides, Repairs, Sweaters