How to repair linen fabric

One of the best things about linen fabric is its durability and long-lasting strength. But even the toughest fabric can tear, rip or get holes in. By mending holes and stitching up tears you're prolonging your garment's life, which is more sustainable than throwing them away. It is also possible to patch up your best-loved items without any noticeable repair, so they will look nearly as good as new.

Mending is trending!

Remember as a kid, sporting a colourful patch on your favourite jeans? Or wearing woolly socks that have been darned by careful hands? These are traditional craft skills that are hugely important if we are to live more sustainably.

Mending cafes and repair groups for technical goods and everyday appliances like lamps and toasters are increasingly popular. Now you can learn how to apply these same skills to clothing – from fixing your jeans pocket to covering a hole on a date-night shirt. Repairing garments needn't look homespun – most of these techniques are either invisible or can be turned into a feature in themselves.

You don't need to be an expert in sewing or repairing in order to mend fabric like linen, but you do need to follow these simple techniques to get the best results. In this post we'll tell you how to: fix a seam with a loose hem, decide which are the best stitches for repairs and the choose ideal technique for different types of material.

Whether you've discovered a rip in your favourite cushion cover or want to patch up a hole in your essential summer shirt, here's the lowdown on mending linen fabric for clothing and home textiles.

How to repair a hole or tear in linen fabrics

Depending on the size of hole or tear you need to mend, you have two options. One, patching; and two, sewing up the hole with hand stitches or a sewing machine. Patching torn clothing or textiles is also great if the fabric has worn thin around the hole and might tear in the future or looks threadbare.

Adding a patch

– Cut a patch from a similar-colorer fabric to the one with the tear, making sure it's slightly larger than the hole you're planning to mend.

– Iron your garment so the fabric lies completely flat, then turn it inside out or to the reverse side.

– Pin the patch over the tear, then stitch around the edges with the zig-zag stitch on your machine.

– Alternatively, you can make a decorative feature of the patch by stitching a contrasting fabric onto the right side over the holes.

Sewing up holes

– If you want your repair to be almost invisible, choose a thread in the same color as the fabric. If you want to highlight the repair, go for a complementary color, like pink on yellow or blue on tan. The thread should be the same thickness as the fabric – don't choose a heavy embroidery thread for mending linen fabric as it will be too bulky. A lightweight cotton thread is suitable for repairs to holes in lighter weight material.

– Your needle will also need to be appropriate for the fabric you're mending. Thicker garments like denim jeans, will need a robust, sharp needle. Thread with sufficient cotton to fix the hole or tear.

– Iron the item first. Begin sewing to the side of the hole, where the fabric is stronger. Pull the thread up from the wrong side of the cloth, but sew on the right side. Then carefully sew a running stitch across the tear. Once you've covered the hole, turn the garment 90⁰ and go back over the stitches to reinforce the mend.

– To create a decorative mend on small holes, use embroidery thread and sew a star stitch.

How to repair a hem on clothing

It's not only holes that you may need to mend. Sometimes a hem may come loose on the seam of a piece of clothing. This is simple to repair.

Iron the clothing first to secure the hem in place. Choose a matching thread so the repair and stitches will be invisible, then secure the thread just to the right of the loose hem seam.

Begin stitching in a blanket stitch until you get just past the loosened hem. If using a sewing machine, use the zig-zag or overlocking stitch. Fix the thread and trim.

Why is mending a good skill to learn?

• Learning a few basic mending skills will save you money and benefit the planet. If you know how to sew a button onto your dress or shirt, or can do a quick-fix for holes or tears, you can keep your clothes in use for longer. This reduces waste and avoids the need to replace items, all of which helps reduce our carbon footprint and landfill.
• Our grandmothers knew how to 'make do and mend', but as society has become flooded with more consumer goods and fast fashion has created clothing fads, we have come to treat our textiles as disposable. Not only does this cause waste, it also requires more resources to produce all the new garments we think we need. From darning socks to taking up the hem on a dress, there is much we can learn from older people who still have these skills.
• Instead of instantly discarding a dress or shirt because it has a hole, unthreaded hem or loose stitching on a button, try to fix it using the techniques we've outlined. Stitching can even be relaxing – sit down with a basket of mending in front of your favourite box set and it'll be a satisfying way to spend an evening!
• If you have a sewing machine this can be a quick and easy way to rattle through fabric repairs. With a range of stitches and needle breadths, most fabrics can be repaired with patches and holes. We recommend that you iron the clothes or fabric before starting any repairs as this ensures the fabric lies flat.

• You can also reduce the amount you spend on clothing by repairing ripped or torn fabrics. Many garments have plenty of life left in them despite a small hole or tear, so it's frugal as well as more sustainable to repair rather than replace.

Stitching for a fashion-fix

Patching and sewing can be really creative, allowing you to customize everything from a natural linen fabric dress or shirt pocket to a special tablecloth. Using bold, contrasting thread and stitching on the right side of a patch can create an eye-catching fashion statement and make a virtue of the fact that there's a repair.

Style-makers know this is a way to appeal to both the fashion-conscious and those concerned with protecting the environment – it's a real win-win!

Once a garment is really beyond repair, cut it into smaller pieces and use it as a simple solution to patch up a tear or hole on other clothing or fabric. Mixing fabrics can work well: for example, adding a lightweight cotton floral patch to a pair of jeans with ripped knees or using cloth patches and bold stitches to fix a woollen garment.

Material mending as heirloom gift

Got a box of baby clothes you can't bear to part with? A really special thing to do with a treasured piece of baby clothing that's past its best is to patch up any worn areas or stains and pass it on to another member of your family. If you can embroider, you could stitch the new baby's name onto the patch, customizing the item.

If you have an old tablecloth that has been in your family for years but is suffering from wear and tear, sew up the holes or patch over any tears, and create a new story for the table. You could sew family members' names into the cloth, or use fabric from other meaningful old garments to incorporate into the mending.

This will be a work of art you can pass on through generations, and that others can add to as the years go on. Choose a robust, durable fabric if you're creating an heirloom piece, and make sure that the fabric you add as patches or stitching can be washed at the same temperatures as the original piece.