BLC Day 21: Autumn Sweater Repair

Do you have that one garment in your closet which is your all-time favorite?  For me, it's my Autumn themed sweater which I bought it a Kohl's department store about 10 or 12 years ago.  I remember it was Spring and I was there undoubtedly purchasing something for my daughter - probably for Easter - when I spotted it hanging on a clothing rack marked 90% off.  Being a Michiganian, I appreciate and love being able to experience all 4 seasons, with Autumn being my favorite.  So, when I spotted this sweater priced at $3.90, I thought it was the score of the decade.  Imagine, then, my distress when I discovered a hole on its left elbow.

I decided to repair the sweater by adding elbow patches to each sleeve with a leaf motif applique using leftover fabric from the chocolate faux suede skirt I recently made.

Additional supplies I used included two printed leaf images, tracing paper, a pencil and fabric glue.

I sandwiched the tracing paper between the leaf print and fabric and used a pencil to draw the image outline and veining on the fabric.

I cut each traced image and placed in position on the damaged sleeve elbow to test coverage and motif scale.

I thought it would be wise to underline each patch so it could anchor onto something other than the sweater knit, so I cut two over-sized polyester fleece squares.

I used a pin to locate the hole's mirror image location on the opposite sleeve...

...applied fabric glue around the hole's perimeter on each sleeve's wrong side and pressed down the fleece underlining.

I then found the hole's mirror image on the right side of the opposite sleeve...

...applied fabric glue to each patch's underside and pressed in place on the sweater's elbows.

The traced image from the tracing paper was a little to faint so I outlined it with an ultra fine point Sharpie pen to make its lines more pronounced. 

I sewed a zig-zag stitch around each motif's outline...

...trimmed the faux suede patch very close to the stitch line, and loosely around the fleece underlining.

I outlined the leaf veining again with the marker, and stitched a fine zig zag line with an accent thread color to give the motif definition.

And, here's the final result...

I was amazed at how well this repair job came out, and I'm sure I'll get another 10 years out of this sweater.

Be blessed!

Aisha