How to Mend a Tear

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The nice thing about the holidays is I finally get around to doing the mending jobs that, quick though they are, I never seem to manage when school and work are distracting me. Yesterday I tackled my favourite blouse and my favourite dress, both of which developped strange, shredding tears near seam lines.

The dress:

 The tear, right next to one shoulder seam:

The blouse:

The tear (one of two, I realized after I'd sewn it), right beside a very visible seam on the front right:

I'm not sure if the technique I used is the acceptable method for mending tears like this, but because I like to share...

How to Mend a Torn Garment

This procedure does not apply to tears in the actual seam. Those, thankfully, can be mended without visible stitches. 

Step One: Lay the garment flat  and line up the two sides of the tear as much as possible. If there are too many loose threads getting in the way you can trim them, but try not to cut them so close that it frays more.

Step Two: Set small stitches all the way around the tear, staying as close to the edge as possible while sticking to fabric that is not at all frayed. I used Photoshop to make my stitches visible; you will want to use a thread that matches your garment.

Step Three: Starting and ending on the outside of your two lines of stitching, set horizontal stitches across your tear.

Step Four: Smile! I didn't expect this shirt to be presentable without a cardigan after this repair, but it's actually not bad at all. An iron wouldn't hurt, though.

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