How to fix a hole in your t-shirt: tutorial

It's been a while since I've shared a tutorial, and since my how to fix a hole in gauze or light-weight fabric post has been so popular, I thought I'd share how to fix a hole in t-shirts that might also be of help.

You know those holes. The little ones that suddenly pop up on your t-shirts. Where did you come from?? Let them sit...and slowly they start to get bigger.

Well have no fear! There's a quick and easy way to stop those little t-shirt holes in their tracks and make them look like they were never there at all.

How to fix a hole in your t-shirt

Supplies Needed
(*product links included)
Stitch Witchery
Light-weight Stabilizer
Parchment Paper
Iron
Ironing Board
Damp, clean, non-terry cloth
Straight Pin or safety pin
Scissors






Step 1: Put a medium-sized piece of parchment paper down on your ironing board. Turn your t-shirt inside out and place it on your ironing board on top of your parchment paper and locate the hole you want to fix. *The parchment paper under your t-shirt will prevent the stitch witchery from accidentally adhering to your ironing board.

Step 2: Using your pin, gently pull and tuck the fibers around the hole to come together as closely as possible.

Step 3: Cut a small piece of stitch witchery and a bigger piece of light-weight stabilizer. Place stitch witchery directly over t-shirt hole and place stabilizer over the top of that. Turn on your iron according to the stitch witchery instructions and grab your damp towel cover.

Step 4: [Your layers should be as follows: Ironing board + Parchment Paper + T-shirt + Stitch Witchery + Stabilizer + Damp Cover Towel + Iron]. Following the instructions on the stitch witchery package, "glue" stitch witchery in place.

Step 5: Once completed, carefully remove your hot towel and check your results. Check to make sure the hole completely fused closed from the front and the stabilizer is secure inside. Repeat if necessary.

The outside results should appear as if the hole was never there. The inside of the t-shirt will have a small piece of stabilizer attached to secure the fixed hole. You can cut the stabilizer down to be smaller inside if needed.

This method also works well on slightly bigger rips by using bigger pieces of stitch witchery and stabilizer.

Remember to check out the post on how to fix holes in light-weight fabric such as a shirt or skirt with this same method, with great results!

*This post contains product links, added for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Fix holes in gauze or lightweight fabric

A friend of mine asked me if I could fix a couple of her skirts. The first one had a ripped lining. Simple to take in a 1/2 inch and sew it right up. The other? I had my work cut out for me.

The gauze-like material had ripped away from the trim, creating holes all over the skirt. Yowza!


I'll admit, it hurt my brain a little, but I discovered a method to fixing holes in lightweight fabric like this woven gauze-type material, that actually seemed to work.



Materials You'll Need: (*product links added for your convenience)
Lightweight Cut-away permanent stabilizer
Lightweight Stitch Witchery hem tape
Scissors
Iron
Damp lint-free cloth
Parchment paper

In case you aren't familiar with stitch witchery, it is a fabric adhesive. The web-like material adheres fabrics together by using the heat of an iron and the steam created from the protective damp cloth. It is also called hem tape because it is a quick way to hem pants. Turn them under and heat seal the seam. Sticky magic.

Permanent Stabilizer is lightweight, textured, non-woven nylon. It provides stability to stitching on lightweight knits and woven fabrics so they won't stretch out or sag. You may have seen stabilizer on the inside of a shirt that has embroidery on it. It's soft and flexible.

Alrighty then...To cover each hole, I cut a piece of stitch witchery to cover the length of the trim, including the ripped section, and a piece of stabilizer bigger than the hem tape.

I put a big piece of parchment paper under the hole so the stitch witchery wouldn't adhere to the ironing board, and re-used it as I fixed each hole.

It was a little tricky, but with my fingers I carefully maneuvered the remaining gauze strands to cover the hole, trying my best to match the existing weave pattern.

Next, I carefully placed the hem tape across the hole and along the trim line, and the piece of stabilizer went on top of that. I used stabilizer in hopes to secure the gauze to something that would help it maintain its place against the trim.

With a damp cloth placed carefully on top of the hem tape and stabilizer, I pressed down the hot iron on the damp cloth for like 11-12 seconds.

It took some time, but the results were surprisingly good. Hem tape is so sheer and stabilizer is so light-weight that you can't even see it through the fabric. With the gauze fabric against the inner cotton lining, the "fixes" seemed to disappear. 

Needless to say, my friend was thrilled with the results. I'm hoping her skirt continues to hold up for her and they have many more happy years together! xo

*This post contains links to products through Amazon.com and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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