How to Fix a Hole in the Seam of your Clothes

Hello my friends and welcome back to the Pindrop Shop! This is Episode 2 of the Basic Alterations Sewing Skills Series. In this series, I am going to show you how to do some basic alteration and repair skills that you can use on your everyday clothing.  With these techniques, you can get those pieces in your closet fixed up and ready to wear again.  Today we’re going to repair a hole that has appeared on the side seam of a stretchy shirt.  This fix will work on almost any type of garment, stretchy or not, as long as the hole has appeared because the stitches have broken and started opening the seam where two fabrics had been sewn together.

You will need:

Thread that matches your garment

Sewing pins

Scissors

A sewing machine

Your garment

The first thing we will do is flip the item inside out and get to the seam where the hole is located.  Lay the seam so that the two layers of fabric are on top of each other and mostly to your left, and the seam we’re going to repair is on your right.

Cut off any threads or fraying fabric first.

Then align the two pieces of fabric as well as you can at the right side edge where the hole is.  Place pins to keep the layers aligned.  If your seam is all wrinkled here you can iron it at this time to help you align the two pieces.

Now that it is lined up and secured with pins, we can thread our sewing machine with the matching thread and stitch the seam.  To select a stitch, first determine your fabric.  If it is not stretchy, you can use a straight stitch.  If it is stretchy, opt for a zig zag stitch, overcast stitch. or other stretchy stitch.   

I’m going to go with the overcast stitch.  It makes a straight line on the left side, which will help the seam look more secure from the outside.  The zig zag pattern the stitch creates to the right will help wrap the seam in thread, making it more secure and professional -looking.

Determine where the manufacturer’s stitch left off.  Find the last point the stitch looked fully intact, and position the fabric under the presser foot so that your needle will begin sewing at least a half inch before this point.  Begin with a back stitch, then begin sewing forward.  

To maximize the effects of the overcast stitch, widen the stitch so that when the needle jumps to the right to form the point of the zig zag, it goes all the way to edge of the fabric, actually just a little over the edge.  This will ensure the whole seam is wrapped up in the threads of the overcast stitch.

Sew until you have passed the hole, and until the original seam looks fully intact again.  Sew another half inch, and then end with a back stitch.  Clip your threads.

Now it’s time to turn your garment right side out and admire your work!  Your hole should now be closed!

If you find you still have a hole in the seam, this is because your fabrics were not properly aligned, and the needle did not actually pierce through both layers.   Try again and make sure the edges of the two fabrics are aligned and secured with plenty of pins.

I hope you enjoyed Episode 2 of the Basic Alterations Sewing Skills Series.  If you did, please give my video a Like.  If you tried this, leave me a comment.  I would love to hear how it went.  And to make sure you don’t miss next week’s episode, Subscribe to our Channel! I’m putting out a new episode every week with a sewing skill that will help you fix different problems with your clothing items, so you can get back to wearing them.  Thank you for tuning into the Pindrop Shop, and until next time, happy sewing!