How to Repair: Hems, Zip Pulls and Belt Loops
At Messina Hembry we don’t just believe in recycling clothes, but fixing them rather than replacing them too. We love giving advice and providing you with short and sweet guides on how to best preserve your designer vintage clothing to prolong their life with you - or any item of clothing for that matter!
This month, we’re giving you three guides on how best to repair a fallen hem, a zip pull and a belt loop so hold onto your hats because here they are!
How to Repair a Fallen Hem
What equipment you’ll need…
- Hemming tape
- Medium heat iron
- A damp cloth
Although a fallen hem can look like a nightmare, it’s pretty damn easy to fix! There’s no excuse for uneven bottoms here… Especially with our quick and easy handy guide!
First thing’s first…
Cut a piece of hemming tape the length of the fallen section of hem before placing the hemming tape inside the hem between the folded section and the body of the garment - ensure it is straight and in line with your garment.
Next, lay your piece of beloved clothing to be hemmed on your ironing board, inside out and arrange the hem so that the width matches the rest of the garment hem.
Hemming tape is adhesive on both sides so once you are happy with the positioning of your garment, you can place your iron on it. Don’t move it around - just hold it down for around 30 seconds. If you’re using this technique on fabric that’s delicate, we recommend dampening a clean tea towel and place this on top of the garment before ironing it.
Whilst this way of fixing a hem will withstand washing, if you’re looking for a more secure fix, take a matching, single thread and make some invisible, loose stitches on the inside of the garment.
How to Repair a Broken Zip Pull
What equipment you’ll need…
- A paper clip
- Wool
- A large needle
- A pair of scissors
First things’ first…
Just because your jacket zip pull is broken does not mean you need to give up on your jacket! There are several ways to fix this and we’ve chosen to tell you one of the easiest ways… Simply feed a paper clip through the hole by the zip pull - just make sure it’s plastic and waterproof too!
Next, thread the wool through your large needle and cut it so you leave two matching strands, tie a knot in the doubled wool and continue to tie knots (as though you’re tying your shoes) until you have a string of knots. For the final knot, tie a sideways knot using all four strands together and hey presto! Make sure you trim any excess wool and you’re done.
How to Repair a Ripped Belt Loop
What equipment you’ll need…
- Scissors
- Needle and matching thread
- Heat bonded fabric tape
- Medium heat iron Pin
- An un-picker
This is slightly tricker than our other two guides but pretty simple nonetheless.
First thing’s first…
If your belt loop is still attached, start by unpicking the last threads where it has torn – it should still be attached to the garment but only by the undamaged end. Then, remove loose threads from the inside and outside of the garment before pinning the loose belt loop back on itself so it won’t get in the way of the area you’re working on.
Next, cut a piece of your heat bonded fabric tape, ensuring that it’s twice as wide as the hole or tear. Place this inside the garment with the shiny side facing the fabric, put the garment on the ironing board with the right side up so that you can make sure the tear is properly closed before you iron - you don’t want any of the patch to show through and stick to your iron!
Make sure you check that your patch hasn’t moved and is still covering the inside of the hole before carrying on and remember that if you’re working with a fine fabric, take a clean tea towel and dampen it and use it to cover the section you’ll iron, otherwise press down with your iron on medium heat without moving the iron around. Hold the iron down for 30 seconds and do not use any steam.
You then need to check the inside of the garment that the patch has stuck fast, if it peels away slightly then repeat the ironing process until it sticks properly. When the patch is secure, unpin the belt loop and realign it so that it covers the tear - pin this down so it doesn’t move around as you’re sewing.
Take your needle and matching thread and tie it in a double knot. Once this is done, you can sew the belt loop back down, following the holes in the belt loop from the original stitching and finish it securely!
