A hole in a sweater is one of the worst things to have happen to a beloved piece of clothing, especially if it’s a handmade sweater from someone you love. You can either buy a patch to cover it or use a more ancient mending technique, darning. This involves weaving yarn over the hole and makes it look as if it never existed in the first place. It is the only way to truly mend a knit sweater without replacing it entirely.

If you’re unsure how to repair the hole in your sweater, it’s a good idea to take it to a dry-cleaner or tailor that does “reweaving.” They should be able to do it for a relatively low cost. However, if you have the time and skill set, it is not hard to do yourself. First, you’ll want to make sure that the hole is completely surrounded by yarn on all sides. Then, you can anchor the thread to the fabric with backstitches in a nearby seam. This will help prevent the hole from further unraveling while you work on it.

After you’ve anchored the thread, start on the right side of the hole with a flat ladder stitch around the perimeter of the hole. If you don’t have a ladder stitch needle, you can use a regular sewing needle and yarn that matches your sweater. Just be careful not to catch any of the yarn from the inside of the sweater or it will pull out. Once the flat ladder stitches are finished, you can begin to weave horizontal and vertical thread lines across the sweater.

Start by taking a straight stitch that goes into a single layer of the sweater and up under a row of stitches close to the hole. Pull the thread taut, but don’t overdo it. Make the stitch as long as you can without it being too obvious. Continue to make these passes in-and-out of the sweater, each one being perpendicular to the previous pass.

For the vertical thread lines, take the needle down into a row of stitches at a forty-five degree angle from your last stitching. Then, bring it up through a few rows of stitches in the opposite direction of where you started. Then, repeat the same process of going under each of the adjacent threads to create a woven patch that covers the hole.

Once you’ve finished weaving the horizontal and vertical thread lines, it’s time to tie off the loose ends. You can use a small knot or you can cut the ends off and use them to stitch the beginnings and ends of the horizontal and vertical thread lines to the surrounding yarns.

Once you’ve secured the loose ends, you’re done! You’ve successfully mended a hole in your sweater! You can now wear your favorite piece of clothing and show off the amazing work that you did to make it look perfect. You should be very proud of yourself!