Fix a Small Hole in Knit Fabric

My kids are lively, crazy, sweet, dirty, fun trouble makers, who can put holes in anything, especially their clothes.  This post is just part of my journey to save and reuse.  Recently, my oldest put a hole in one of the sleeves of one of his favorite long-sleeve tees.  I know how this hole came to be.  When he is upset he pulls the ends of his sleeves over his fists and bites at the fabric.  The result over time was a hole, which I am pretty sure he helped along by poking his finger through the hole when it appeared and before I noticed it.

Next on the list of repair is another pair of pajama pants, which have a similar hole, but it is definitely not as a result of biting, because if it were, my son should be performing for Circ du Soleil.  Because the hole is located in an area at the top of the pajama pants in a non-stress location, I believe that the fabric was just weaker there for some reason and finally came apart.  Naturally, I could be wrong.  It is just a theory.

So, let's get on with fixing the arm hole.  Pick your thread color.

After lining up my blues, I chose the second from the left.  It was the closest fit without driving to the fabric store just for thread.  I cut another piece of that very useful Virginia Blood Services t-shirt, thank you Grandpa, to reinforce the damaged area.  Make sure this fabric is larger than the hole you are trying to patch.

Pin that sucker in place, making sure it is on the inside/wrong side of the fabric.

Zigzag stitch the heck out of the affected area, following the general 'direction' of the hole.  Because I am always afraid of my stitches coming out, I start with a few straight stitches back and forth, then I zigzagged back and forth twice, ending with a few more straight stitches back and forth just to be sure.

Trim of the extra being careful NOT to cut any of the stitches that you just lovingly applied.

Next admire your handiwork.  It only took a few minutes to save a favorite t-shirt (most important) and a few dollars.

So, that is one more piece off the fix pile and back in circulation.  Let's move on to the robot jammies!  I will fast forward a little through this one, since it is basically the same steps.

Since these pajamas had such a busy pattern, I just used plain white thread, since it would be pretty impossible to hide this fix with any color thread.  But I don't think it detracts from these jammies one bit.  It kinda fits in with the robot theme anyway.

And another piece fixed and off the list.

Happy mending.

Kelley