Spons' Household Manual / A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management

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Patching

Patching.—When a large hole or thin place makes its appearance, it must be mended by a patch, matching exactly in texture and pattern. The fresh piece should, if possible, be slightly worn, to prevent a too great strain on the old, causing the tear to start afresh. Hence the importance of storing up odds and ends. A careful housewife has always a good stock in her piece-bags, one of which she reserves for white, the other for coloured scraps. In repair, and with a plain material, patching is comparatively an easy matter; but stripes, checks, and brocades call for some ingenuity in arranging the design so well that no break is perceived. When the fabric is cut on the bias, the renovating piece must correspond, though as a rule patches are either square or rectangular in form. Squaring corners constitutes the chief difficulty of patching. To manage these perfectly, they need mitreing or nicking as the case may be, and both piece and hole have to be sewn even to a thread. Garments, specially children’s, occasionally require mending at the elbows and under the arms. To prevent an unsightly repair, it is necessary to rip up the seams, and, having sewn the patch in neatly on either side of them, to join the sleeves or armholes again. In articles too shabby to be worth very careful doing up, the added piece may be slip-stitched on, provided it follows and never breaks the seam. Judgment is likewise requisite in the choice of cotton and needles, both as to colour and size. If too coarse, they draw up the threads, and the cotton if too fine breaks away from the stuff altogether. The easiest way of patching is to fix the fresh piece on the right side before removing the old. There are three different methods of doing this, viz. counter-hemming, slip-stitching, and sewing and felling. These are by some considered best for new materials.

Counter-hemmed Patch.—This could be utilised for almost any repairing, except that it takes such wide turnings. For its execution, cut out a piece of material considerably larger than the hole or worn part, and turn it down all round about ¼ in. Place it smoothly over the decayed fabric, taking care not to strain too much, or the stuff underneath will set in rucks. Tack and hem down neatly on each side, letting the stitches be extremely close at the corners. Turn the work on the wrong side, cut out the worn part, and make a hem on the patch itself.

Slip-stitched Patch.—Proceed as before, but, instead of hemming, slip-stitch neatly on the right side. The result will be a very tidy patch, specially suitable for cashmere, silk, merino, and other fine materials that do not wash. Slip-stitching also answers remarkably well in home contrivances, such as recovering ball shoes when faded, and thus utilising scraps of silk, &c., to harmonise with the toilette.

Sewn and Felled Patch (Fig. 161).—Crease the material on the right side at about 2 in. beyond the thin place. Cut a suitable patch straight to a thread, allowing ¼ in. turning all round for the wrong side. Tack or pin it upon the fabric, and sew regularly; flatten the seam, and turn the work. Lastly, remove the worn place, and finish off the patch by a narrow hem on the under surface. If necessary, make a tiny slit at each corner to keep the fresh piece square. More experienced menders prefer to cut away the threadbare portion first, and then let in the patch. This is decidedly the best way, though it makes the management of the corners more tiresome; however, a little practice soon overcomes the difficulty.

161. Sewn and Felled Patch. 162. Sewn Patch.

The Sewn Patch (Fig. 162).—Remove the worn part entirely, and nick the corners of the hole for the turnings. Cut out the patch ¼ in. wider all round. Crease the edges of both hole and patch, and tack them together on the wrong side. Mitre the corners of the piece to make the repair set well. Sew the four sides neatly and closely, taking the stitches only one or two threads into the stuff, and fasten off securely. Fell down the turnings, or only overcast them if mending a woollen, silken, or extremely stout fabric, such as coutil, &c. When completed, flatten the seams by the thumb-nail or thimble or, if necessary, press with a hot iron.

163. Run Patch.

The Run Patch (Fig. 163).—Prepare the hole exactly as for the sewn patch, and crease down a turning as a guide to the stitches. Cut out a fresh piece to fit, allowing ¼ in. on each side. Fix it in place, and run carefully on the wrong side, taking care not to pucker in the least, and letting the stitches be closer together at the corners. Make the seam neat by felling which will set without mitreing the corners.

The Darned Patch is frequently employed, when short of scraps, for mending or strengthening play-room knickerbockers, carpets, or any rough fabrics. The small bit, or even a piece of another material, matching as nearly as possible in colour, may be placed under the hole, then secured, and almost concealed, by rows of neat darning.

The Seamless Patch is very similar to the preceding, but the darning, instead of covering the weak part, merely surrounds the edge. The repair often appears in sheets, towels, &c., wherever, from scarcity or frailty of stuff, a seam is undesirable. Cut a piece of the same material a little wider than the hole itself; tack it upon the wrong side of the fabric, letting the edges of piece and hole overlap. When both have been pared, secure the patch to the stuff on the right side by darning backwards and forwards about 6 stitches in height. Leave regular loops, and see that the needle takes in both upper and under surfaces. The darning crosses at the corners, thereby giving them additional strength. With the exception of the corners, neither rows nor stitches should be as close together as in ordinary mending.

The Buttonhole Patch surpasses the seamless patch in neatness and flatness, and is reserved for the best linen in cases of accidental burns, stains, &c., where the damage cannot well be rectified by darning. The patch is very valuable in stockings, and has recently suggested an excellent plan for seaming petticoat bodices without the slightest ridge, thus facilitating the perfect fit of the fashionable corsages. To make it, cut out the worn part and prepare a piece, identical in material, and of the exact dimensions of the hole; work separately the edges of patch and hole in close buttonhole stitch, with embroidery or flourishing thread. Secure the piece to the fabric by 2 or 4 pins at the corners, and sew it on by passing the needle from the loop of each stitch over the opposite one.

The Flannel Patch.—There are three ways of mending flannel. In the first fix the piece exactly like the seamless patch, then herringbone all round on the right and wrong side, letting the upper row of stitches exactly cover the under one. For the second process, commence as for the run patch, but, instead of felling, herringbone the turnings. In the third and lightest method, crease the 4 sides; manage the corners as already described; set in the patch so that the former exactly correspond with those of the material; then herringbone the edges of the renewed part and hole together. Flannel patches are equally well adapted to the repairing of old quilts.

164. Flannel Strengthening Patch.

Flannel Strengthening Patch (Fig. 164).—This repair, as shown by the illustration, is in frequent requisition for thin places round the armholes, &c. Cut out a piece of fresh flannel the desired shape, tack it upon the material, and herringbone all round. The stuff, being so apt to stretch, needs the hand to be held rather loosely in working.