How to Mend a Large Hole in a Sweater

I have a real romance with jumpers. They are the snug safety pins of my wardrobe, nestled between the shoulders of my warmer, weightier garments, patiently waiting for their moment to shine in frostier climes. Sometimes, though, all that love can catch up with a jumper. What happens when the most beloved pullover you own carries a gigantic, gaping hole? Like an up-cycling knitting ninja, here’s a survival guide on how to mend a hole in your favourite jumper. Fear not, your knits are safe with us.

Assessing the Damage: A Hole Lot to Consider

Assessing the first thing: if you have a hole in your sweater, the size is crucial to making the right choice of mending technique. You need to know what kind of yarn you’re working with, and what kind of knitting it was. Those factors will help you formulate a strategy to keep it looking as close as possible to the original.

Size Does Matter                             

The holes in a sweater can be small, medium or large. And you will largely adapt the darning technique depending on the size of the hole. Small holes – darn. Medium-sized holes – a mix of darning and patching. Large holes – probably sturdy patch.

Location

The location of the hole also affects how repair will be approached. Is it on an otherwise flat surface, or does it interrupt the flow of a cable or lace pattern (which will require more care, possibly crafting a more complex approach to maintain the scheme of the design)?

Know Thy Yarn and Knit Style

Different fibres and yarn bodies will call for different ways of holding them, of course: wool is stretchy and generous, while silk because of its elasticity and fineness, and cotton can both be a bit less. Whether the knit is tight or loose will also affect the techniques at hand.

Tools and Materials: Gathering Your Repair Arsenal

As in any bold endeavour, having the right tools for the job can make or break your chances of success. For your reference, here is an inventory of the goods you’ll need if you want to be ready for any holiday that might cross your path.

Embroidering Needles

So these are bigger and thicker than your ordinary sewing needle, which might seem ideal for weaving in and out between the yarn of your sweater.

Matching Yarn or Fabric

For patching, you will need a matching yarn – in colour, weight, and texture – either from the original skein or a matching piece of the same original fabric.

Scissors

Sharp scissors will help in trimming frayed edges and cutting materials for your patch.

Stitch Markers and Pins

These hold things in alignment and you’ll need them for more complicated repair work.

Stabilizing Fabric

But For little holes, perhaps for a sweater sleeve, your best option might be adding interfacing or another sort of fabric, especially if the hole has stretched the sweater in the wrong direction.

Preparation is Key: Ready, Set, Mend!

Anyway, first of all, the key to preparing your sweater is that all good repair is minimally invasive. It’s always worth spending a bit of time taking apart your unravelling before you start repatching – just so you can minimise further unravelling and also make sure that the area you’re about to be working on is secure, and therefore safe for restoration.

Get the Surface Ready

Iron your sweater and lay it flat. This step might seem obvious but it’s critical if your sweater has been filed away in a heap, as you’ll better be able to inspect it for places where stitches have come loose and prepare those stitches for the needle.

Secure Loose Threads

With your sewing or darning needle, you should weave any errant strands you find anywhere around the hole’s edges right back into it. When the hole is large enough, these threads could later be used in the darning itself.

Stabilize the Hole

If a hole is large or possibly at risk of stretching further, stabilising from the inside of the sweater can make the repair stronger. Cut a piece just a little larger than the hole and pin it in place.

Mending Techniques: A Stitch in Time for Your Sweater

And now that your sweater’s prepared and the tools are in hand, time to mend. Here are two simple methods to preserve a garment’s integrity: darning and patching.

The Art of Darning

Darning involves copying the weave and texture of the rest of the fabric and stitching it back. You first bridge the gap with the yarn, keeping it in place with stitches at the edges and building the fabric up, then weave it through in a crisscross motion (to mirror the original weave), zigzagging along the hole. It’s helpful for a wide variety of holes, from ones where the fabric is still structurally faring just fine, but weakened and potentially about to unravel.

Finishing Touches: Blending and Beautifying

Withaired, there are just a few final steps to make your sweater look as good as new. Your finishing touches will seamlessly integrate the darned area with the rest of the garment and keep the shape.

Blending the Mend

A step back is in order, to take a look at the fabric around the area you’ve worked on. Are there ways to tweak a stitch here or add a row there to even the texture? Often, a little extra diligence in distributing the repair to blend in with the fabric can make all the difference.

Block and Reshape

Whether using a different kind of yarn for the patch or simply compensating for the small distortion that’s bound to occur, blocking the garment can bring it back to a sort of closure. ‘To block, you wet the sweater, usually by giving it a bath; reshape it, and then let it dry in that new shape,’ she explains. ‘Reblocking helps smooth it out, so it’s not hanging unevenly or has a little pucker around the mend. It will allow it to hang in its most natural way again, the way your sweater wants to be.’

Tips and Tricks: For a Hole-Free Future

As with everything, some short-cuts make the task faster and often more successful. Here are a few tips for your next attempt.

Save Scraps

If you are regularly repairing knit or sewn items, keep scraps of fabric and yarn that are colours which match the garments you wear the most. When the moment comes to mend, you’ll have on-hand materials that already blend.

Embrace Imperfections

And not every mend can be hidden at all. All repairs speak of the garment’s life and your care for its continued existence. Sometimes a well-tended and mended garment is more beloved than a bright new and unblemished one.

Reinforce the Weak Spots

After mending, especially if you’ve repaired a hole, you may want to add an understitch as extra reinforcement. This is sewing a second line of stitching very close to the edges of the patch on the inside of the sweater.

Practice Preventive Maintenance

Learn the conditions that resulted in its premature rupture. Did you wear it in a high-friction environment? Did a rogue bead or button-hole snag a thread? Familiarity with the vulnerable areas of this sweater can help you avoid future insults.

Conclusion

Sweater mending is a skill worth learning because of the holes in our admiration for all things sustainable: it is good for the planet and your style. By taking the time to mend, you are prolonging the life of a sweater, reducing waste, and if you do it well, the mend affirms the truth of the craftsmanship and care with which it was made.

As your scruffy-looking wallet finds itself still being used, mending still seems to be in vogue, and if you need to resurrect a couple of old beaters from the trash pile and bring them back to life, or if you have a sweater with holes in it, do it! You’ll be glad you did.