Top-sewing in a patch (fig. [53]).—To do this, the edges of the hole and of the patch, must first be turned in, and either overcast or hemmed, to prevent their fraying, after which, sew the two edges together. The raw edges may also be turned in with herring-boning as in fig. [39], putting the needle, only through one layer of stuff.
Fig. 53. Top-sewing in a patch.
Drawing in a patch (fig. [54]).—Take a square piece of the original stuff, 5 or 6 c/m. larger each way, than the hole it is to fill, draw out threads on all the four sides, till the piece exactly matches the hole, and tack it into its place. Thread a very fine needle with the two ends of a thread of silk or Fil d’Alsace D.M.C No. 700, run it in at the corner of the stuff, and draw it out, leaving a loop behind. Into this loop, slip the first of the threads, which as it were, form a fringe to the patch, and tighten the loop round it, and so on with each thread, alternately taking up and leaving threads in the stuff, as in ordinary darning.
To put a patch into a thin material, in this manner, you must darn in the threads, a good long way, into the material, in order that the double layer of threads may be less visible.