1Mending Rips and Tears on Shirts and Pants

Repair work for rips and tears can be done with the help of sewing needles, thread of appropriate color, scissors, tissue paper, and an iron and board.

The mending technique you choose to repair a rip or tear should be informed by the mend itself. Most shirts are made from light-weight fabrics and their rips and tears are mostly straight or L-shaped. If the rip on the shirt is only very slight in length then you can do some basic hand stitching. Again, due to the light weight of the material you ought to use a fine needle, say size 8 or 9. Proceed to thread the needle with a matching color of thread then make tiny back and forth stitches across the rip.

If the rip is quite lengthy then you might be obligated to secure the edges by basting the shirt’s fabric to some tissue paper. Basting simply involves making large temporary stitches to hold a given repair work location in place. With this done, proceed to make stitches as has been described above, wetting the tissue paper slightly if it feels too hard. Lastly, tear the tissue paper away carefully and undo the basting stitches.

2Simple Clothes Repair Techniques Using Iron-On Patches

Work clothes and school uniforms are very prone to visual damage courtesy of stains and of course the damage that results from tears and rips. Thanks to some basic clothes repair techniques you can ensure that the apparel continues to be in use even for a couple of more years. To repair tears and cover stained areas you need sewing needles, scissors, matching thread, iron-on patches, and a steam iron and board.

First you need to repair the damaged part of the clothing in the case of rips and tears. Mend the said area using the sewing techniques that have been described in the preceding point and then use a steam iron to press this part of the clothing flat. Next, use your scissors to cut the iron-on patch into the desired shape and then use the iron to press it into place.

3Repair Work Using Patch Pockets

This simple clothes repair technique is most applicable for items of clothing that have been damaged by stains or one sort of unsightly spot or another. Using patch pockets is quite a colorful way of disguising such damages. Their use does not require much strictness; you can use patch pockets of different colors, fabric and design to get the job done on a garment that has totally different characteristics. Here you will need sewing needles, scissors, matching thread, the pocket pattern, and a steam iron and board.

Proceed to cut a desired shape of pocket from the patching material and then hem the top edge before pressing it flat with the steam iron. Next, place the pocket patch in place with the aforementioned basting technique. You will now be in a position to fix the patch in place using the backstitch technique.

4Restoring a Jacket Using Elbow Patches

A jacket will commonly show lots of wear and tear at the elbow area. Get your jackets back into wearable condition using some impressive elbow-patching skills. You need to have some suede cloth from which you will cut twin elbow patches, say 5”X6”. These patches can then be rounded off or cut into rectangular shapes.

Next, proceed to carefully undo the stitching at the bottom of each cuff so that you get enough space to slip your hand in between the main material and the inside lining. With one hand underneath the elbow area, place the elbow patch in position and then proceed to affix it using very tiny and neat backstitches, being careful not to sew the patch to the lining. With the patch firmly secured you must redo the bottom cuff stitching to complete the job.

More complex but doable simple clothes repair techniques can be referred to at tlc.howstuffworks.com.