Fix It Friday - Mending Holes in Sheer Fabric

Um.... I think this has been a difficult fix for me. We have curtains at home that are sheer enough to let in the light but not trap the heat. It got torn in a number of places but I didn't notice until I took them down for a wash (yes, I've made a small step towards Spring cleaning this year!). I personally think sheer fabric is difficult to mend. My mind was set on getting the thinnest interfacing and then just ironing it on to the torn places, but when I got to China Town yesterday afternoon, nothing seemed appropriate - they were either too thick or the colour didn't match that of the curtains (mine are off-white / grey).

I decided to use nail polish and some good old sewing.  

Why Nail Polish?

When stockings and tights were still part of the fashion scene, women would use nail polish to prevent any holes from getting bigger or to prevent any runs. It was very useful in those days particularly if you wore skirts or court shoes with the stockings.  I decided to apply nail polish in this mend to reinforce the area.

Sew the Tear Together

Once the nail varnish had dried I sewed the tear together. I used thread that was a shade darker in colour than the fabric - I tried to match it but couldn't find anything suitable. As a general rule, try to match the colours!

Here it is! I was very happy with the first one I did, but the next few (probably because they are bigger) didn't turn out too well. I think if I had paid attention to the curtains and fixed them while they were small tears I wouldn't have these glaringly obvious streaks, but then these are curtains, and no one really looks at curtains up close do they now?   Now my question is, what happens if these tears are on a sheer garment? How would you mend them then?

This is part of the Fix It Friday series!

Don't forget to pop over to Little Did You Know and see what she's been up to with her mending.

Until next Friday!