How To Sew A Tear

Learning how to sew can take some people all of five minutes and others quite a while.

This is because it is quite intricate work and can become very frustrating with the tiny little needles if you are working by hand.

How To Sew A Tear?

When you get a small tear in your clothing, it can be very frustrating if it is especially new, but there are ways to fix that problem really easily.

If you can sew your own tears, you will be saving yourself quite a bit of money rather than just buying a new one.

Repairing your clothes is also very eco-friendly and not wasteful of material! Find out exactly how you can sew a tear right here!

Different Styles

When you’re sewing anything, it all depends on what material you are sewing because it will change how you do it.

With any rip or tear, you first need to assess the damage which has been done to the clothing.

There are also different types of tears such as a ripped seam or a larger hole in the top/bottoms?

You can either have L shaped tears which are usually smaller and you also have the larger tears which tend to be in places like elbows or knees from a fall or it catching on something.

Therefore, assess the rip first before you start any sewing because you need to know what you’ll need and what you’re dealing with!

  • Open rips – this type of tear will require a patch of material to cover the tear as the hole is too big to sew back together.
  • Clean rip – you will not have to add any extra fabric for this because you will be able to sew the sides back together.
  • Other – for these, they will not be able to be turned inside out like clothing and could be rips on a toy for example.
  • Seam rips – these can be turned inside out and put back together at the seam.

Sewing Machine

You might want to use a sewing machine because it can be quicker for most.

You can use different styles on the sewing machines such as zigzag, straight line, and 3 step zig zag too.

Sewing By Hand

Hand sewing can be really useful if you want the perfect finish because you have more control over the needle.

  • First you need your needle and thread. You will be threading the thread through the small hole at the end of the needle and making a knot at the end.
  • You need to start with the needle underneath and come up.
  • You will now be working vertically across the rip moving from side to side to make small stitches and pulling them together.
  • When working vertically, at the end, when you pull the thread it should disappear.

Open Rips

Open Rips
  • You need to make sure that there are no little loose ends hanging out anywhere and the open area is nice and tidy before you start.
  • Then you can choose a patch to use, it does not need to be the exact material if you’re not really bothered but you will need the same sort of weight and durability.
  • Now you need to place your patch right side up. The patch should be larger than the hole as it will need to be sewn to the existing fabric.
  • You can start using pins to attach the patch on and put it in place before sewing.
  • You can either hand stitch the patch or use a machine if you have one.

Rip In Seam

  • This is one of the easiest ones you will find to mend.
  • Firstly, you will need to put both of the seams edges together.
  • You will see where the original stitches have been broken during the rip. You need to start stitching where they have been broken and you can do this either by hand or sewing machine.
  • It will need a good press afterwards.

Clean Rips

  • For this particular tear, there is less to do because you will not need the use of any patch material to cover because the sides can be brought together.
  • You need to iron out the area which has been torn on an ironing board.
  • Trim any loose bits that might be in the way for a nice tidy finish.
  • You might need some iron-on interfacing at the rear of the rip which will keep the edges close. You do not want anymore fraying throughout the sewing process.
  • You can either use your hands or the machines when all of that is done to start the sewing.

Conclusion

Overall, if you’re someone who is quite new to sewing or you are just looking for some tips on different types of tears, you are in the right place.

Like with anything, practice is key, and it is exactly the same for sewing as it can be a bit fiddly at first and it can take time to get used to all of the delicate parts.

Hopefully this guide has given you some good tips on how to sew different tears and what the different tears actually are.

Most people would just throw their clothes away when ripped, but you do not need to when you can repair them yourself.

It will save you money and only take a bit of time! Start repairing your own clothes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The 3 Types Of Tear In Sewing And Mistakes?

  • Straight tear, three-cornered tear and diagonal tear. But there are always different names which are used to mend all of these types of tears.
  • Tear in sewing is the fourth type of thread breakage. Thread failure is the most common mistake that beginners make when sewing. There are three types of thread breakage: knotting, snagging and tearing. Knotting is the most common type of thread breakage.
Jessica Strouss
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