Holy vestments!

May 31, 2011 7:57 AM

I've got wee, 1-2mm holes in a viscose jersey dress. What's the best way to repair them?

I am not sure how they got there - the dress is used, so it could be a fabric fault; I've had it for about three years, and discounted moths - it's made from viscose and the holes are only on one sleeve which isn't IME consistent with moth damage - I've also never seen these holes on any cotton or viscose jersey clothing I own other than on one sleeve of this dress. However they do seem to be randomly placed.

The holes are not enormously visible but look like tiny bobbles - think of the holes a pattern tracing wheel would make and you have an idea of size. I'm not sure whether darning will stretch out the fabric a little and make them more obvious.Nevertheless, I don;t want them to get bigger as I really really like the dress (someone told me today that I look like Joan Crawford on the way to a soiree - what's not to love about a dress like that?) - and it's still completely wearable, but perhaps less so if the holes increase. Is there a way to darn them, or is something like Fraycheck the best option?

posted by mippy to home & garden (4 answers total)

Take it to a Joanne's and get the best matching thread you can find. Then get the smallest hand-sewing needle you can find - like a sharp. Turn the dress inside out and use teeny stitches to darn it from the back. If you're careful, you should be able to catch only the back/inside threads and close it delicately so that it doesn't cause a pucker.

Be careful with the fraycheck. If you use too much, it causes a plasticy/slightly darker mark on the fabric. Go with the thread!
posted by ashtabula to opelika at 8:09 AM on May 31, 2011

I wondered if a beading needle might be better? The holes are very round, almost as though they've been punched in with a needle. The dress is emerald green so I'm sure I'll have some thread, but I am worried about using something too thick...or too thin that will snap.

There's about 20 or so really tiny holes in the sleeve. That's why I was a bit worried about distorting the fabric!
posted by mippy at 8:23 AM on May 31, 2011

Do you wash the dress? I get holes like that in jersey knits from metal things catching them in the dryer.

I would probably try fray check rather than trying to darn a knit as small as most jersey is.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:38 AM on May 31, 2011

I never put anything in the dryer - everything is air-dried. After googling, it seems that zips/studs can make holes happen though.
posted by mippy at 9:53 AM on May 31, 2011