Fix It Friday - Holes in Jersey Material

Wow, I can't believe it is Friday, which means it's time for Fix It Friday! The first in my line-up of repairs is mending those holes that pop up in jersey material. Yes, I am talking about t-shirt type of material that you find almost everywhere. Jersey material is very versatile and depending on the type of knit, it can stretch in almost any direction, and it does not fray as easily as, say, cotton.  This makes it very easy to repair, but always remember to fix it once you see the hole - don't procrastinate! It will be more difficult to repair when the hole gets bigger than the size of a 5 cent coin [tutorial on that another Friday!]. 

Where do these holes usually appear? Well, in my household they can be found on my son's:

a) t-shirts - near the hem and at the corners of labels.
b) jersey shorts / trousers - corners of back pockets or at the knees. 

I suppose it is because he's very active and is always climbing something both indoors or outdoors. Something has to give! I am always on the look out for these holes as it is best to tackle these holes early!  

First thing that needs to be done is flip the garment inside out. You will see there are loops on this side of the garment. These are more visible around the hole, and these are the ones that your needle needs to grab hold of for a good repair.

I am using white thread here so it's clearer in the picture, but do select a colour that matches the garment.  Pick a few loops close to the hole and insert your needle - do not go through the fabric as you don't want the repair to show. Make sure your knot is big so it doesn't slip through the loop.  I sewed 2 anchor stitches.

Go to the opposite side of the hole and grab a few loops with the needle. In my case I was going from east to west. I pulled the thread tight.

Then I took the needle and went from south to north. Once I had had sewn in the 2 anchor stitches I repeated this at different positions of the hole - e.g. at 4 o'clock position to 10 o'clock etc. 

Always remember to check the front of the garment to check how the repair is going, and to find out which points you may have missed out.  As you can see in the picture below I have got a bit more to go. 

Once you are done, go through a couple of loops to secure and then tie a knot! Remember to leave about an inch tail of thread so that it doesn't unravel easily. 

And you are done! Once you get really good at this, no one will notice you have repaired it. Let's get fixing!