Repair & Re-wear

Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end. We begin from the reverse side of the fabric and bring the needle through the material about 1 cm below the bottom edge of the hole. 

We’re going to be making tiny stitches, placing the needle through just a couple of loops in the material. Continuing just above where we began, we’ll make these stitches further and further apart from one another, creating a diamond shape over the hole. As you continue over the hole, begin to taper your stitches closer together.

Once your stitches are a couple of millimeters apart, above the top edge of the hole, use your thumb and forefinger to hold the tail of your thread at the base of your work, and with your other hand, gently pull your stitches together, transforming the long stitches into a single seam.

To finish the repair, bring your needle to the back of the fabric and make a couple of knotted stitches by placing your needle through the ends of the material, through the loop of thread created by your stitch, and pulling to secure.

Trim the threads and your repair is complete. You can help the repair blend into the material by lightly ironing over the surface.  That’s all it takes to keep your merino wool moving because to repair is to re-wear. 

The garment is repaired and ready to be worn again on your next adventure!

Secure the fabric onto your darning disc and thread your needle.
Place your threaded needle into the side of the work area. Then bring it back to the surface a few millimeters away from the edge of the hole, leaving a long tail of thread.

Imagine a square overlaying your hole, and begin at the bottom right corner. We’re going to make long stitches that form vertical stripes over the hole. 

Bring your needle up to the top right corner, through two loops in the material, and back down to make another small stitch. Repeat this back and forth until the hole has been covered with long vertical stitches. 

The next step is to weave horizontal threads through the vertical stitches. Use the back end of your needle to begin weaving, over and under the threads. When you reach the other side, make a small stitch. 

Now repeat in the other direction, weaving over and under the opposite threads. You can use your needle to straighten the horizontal threads by pushing them against the previous row.

At the end of your final row, place the needle halfway into the corner. Now you can carefully remove the darning disc, pulling the needle to the back side of the fabric. 

On the backside of the material, secure the thread by making a couple of knotted stitches. Bring your needle through an existing stitch, and through the loop of thread as you pull to secure. 

Pull the other thread tail to the reverse, thread it onto your needle and repeat the same process. To complete your repair, trim both thread ends.

And just like that, your merino’s back to its best, because to repair is to re-wear.

Place your fabric scrap behind the hole in your garment, and secure both layers onto a darning disc or another flat surface.

Place your threaded needle into the side of the work area, and come up to the surface at the edge of the hole, leaving a long tail of thread.

Make a stitch a few millimeters away from the hole to form your first sun flare, then come up at the opposite side of the hole. 

Repeat this step so that you have 2 adjacent stitches on either side of the hole, this time bringing your needle up along the edge of the hole halfway between the first two stitches. Repeat this step so that you have 4 sun flares stemming from the hole.

You can continue adding stitches between your existing flares until you have 8, 16 or 32 sun flares depending on your preferred design, and the size of your hole.

On your final stitch, place your needle halfway into the material. Now carefully remove the darning disc, pulling the needle to the back side of the fabric.

On the backside of the fabric, place your needle through a couple nearby stitches, and make a knot by pulling the stitch closed through the loop that’s formed.
Thread your needle onto the second thread tail, where you began your repair, and repeat this process.

Now you can trim the threads. You may also wish to trim some of the fabric from your patch.

This creative repair technique can be used to create a sun motif, as well as stars, leaves, flowers and many other creative interpretations.
And now that’s all fixed— and with a bit of added personality, because to repair is to re-wear.