Repairing Ripped Cloth with Running Stitch

1What kind of damage is it?

• A split seam: the old stitches have broken, but the cloth itself is fine. This is the easiest to mend.
• A tear: the cloth itself is ripped, often in a straight line or an L shape.
• A small hole: a few threads of the cloth are worn or broken.

All three can be mended with running stitch. Choose thread the same colour as the cloth, so the mend hardly shows.

2Mend a split seam

1. Turn the clothes inside out, so you are working on the back and the mend will not show.
2. Pin the two edges together along the old seam line, with the pins across the seam.
3. Start about 1 cm before the gap, on the old stitches that are still good. Knot your thread and make a small backstitch to fix it.
4. Sew small running stitches along the old seam line, across the gap. Small stitches (about 3 mm) are stronger than big ones. Pull each stitch firm, but not so tight that the cloth wrinkles.
5. Finish about 1 cm past the gap, on good stitches again. Make two small backstitches, cut the thread and take out the pins.
6. For extra strength, sew back along the same line, filling the gaps between your first stitches.
7. Turn the clothes right side out and check the seam from the front.

3Mend a tear with a patch

1. Trim off loose threads around the tear. Do not cut the cloth itself.
2. Cut a patch from a scrap of similar cloth, about 2 cm bigger than the tear on every side.
3. Put the patch behind the tear, on the inside, and pin or tack it in place.
4. From the front, push the torn edges together and sew rows of small running stitches across the tear, a few millimetres apart, through the cloth and the patch. Start and end each row on good cloth.
5. Sew a line of running stitch around the edge of the patch to hold it flat. Finish with small backstitches on the back.

If you like, use a bright thread and make the rows neat and even. Then the mend becomes a decoration you can be proud of!

4Mend a small hole

Sew rows of running stitch across the hole in one direction, very close together, starting and ending on good cloth. Then turn the cloth and weave your needle over and under those threads in the other direction, like weaving a mat. This is called darning, and it is how people used to mend socks over a wooden egg.

5Look closely

The American painter Mary Cassatt painted this picture of a mother sewing by hand about 125 years ago.

• Why do you think she is sitting next to a big window?
• Look at her hands. How is she holding the needle and the cloth?
• She is sewing a white cloth. Why would she choose white thread for it?

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.