Mistakes & fixes

A woven-thread repair for holes and thin worn patches, built by stitching a grid of threads across the gap and weaving a needle over and under them to recreate fabric. Common on socks and knitwear.

A loop of thread pulled from a knit's surface, leaving a puckered dot, should never be cut. Use a small crochet hook or needle to work the slack back to the fabric's wrong side.

A repair technique aimed at hiding damage completely, using matching thread or fine reweaving so the fix disappears into the surrounding fabric. Requires close color and weave matching for a seamless result.

A seam that has come apart along its stitching line, usually at a stress point like the underarm, needs the old thread trimmed away and the seam restitched, often reinforced with a bar tack.

Reinforcing or covering a hole with an added piece of fabric, sewn behind the damage for invisible support or over the top as a visible feature. Match the patch fabric's weight and stretch to the garment.

A missing button needs a replacement sewn on with a thread shank matching the fabric's thickness, so it sits without pulling the buttonhole tight. Match hole spacing to the buttonhole and reinforce with extra thread passes.

Thinning fabric at a sweater or shirt elbow, before it becomes a hole, can be strengthened with an iron-on patch, a fabric elbow patch, or darning stitched into the weak area to extend the garment's life.

A small, ragged hole in wool from moth larvae needs the surrounding area checked for further weak spots before mending with darning or a patch. Treat the whole garment for moths afterward.

A hole from wear, a snag, or a moth needs the surrounding fabric checked for further weakness before mending. Small holes can be closed with darning; larger ones need a patch behind or over the opening.

A zipper with broken teeth or a track that won't close needs to be unpicked from the garment and swapped for a new one of matching length and type. Baste the new zipper in before final stitching.

Removing incorrect stitches without tearing the fabric means cutting only every third or fourth stitch on one side with a seam ripper, then pulling the intact thread free from the other side. Work slowly on delicate weaves.

A repair technique that highlights rather than hides the fix, using contrast thread, sashiko stitching, or colorful patches over a hole or worn area. It turns damage into a deliberate design feature.