How to Fix a Hole in a Sweater in Only 4 Steps.

In this post, I will show you how to fix a hole in a sweater. It doesn’t matter if it is a small or very large hole. 

Having your sweater ruined by a hole is an unfortunate thing, even sadder if is a sweater you have an attachment to.

But not only that, leaving a hole in a knitted or wool sweater without mending it will only make it more prominent with time.

That is why I want to show you how to fix holes in your favorite sweaters so you can keep using them for a long time!

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I found a hole in the armpit of my sweater.

As it turns out, I found this super lovely fabric on sale the other day. It was something like five bucks in the yard.

I am sure you know that you just don’t find sweater fabric at those prices, so I didn’t even think about it and went ahead and bought about 5 yards.

I decided I would make a sweater with our Lulu Sweater Sewing Pattern.

When I was done with it, I went to my mom’s house to show her my new making, and what was my surprise when she told me I had a big hole in my armpit.

You see… What happened was that when I tried it on, I actually somehow could only blame it on my “confident” sizing choice.

I went on a diet a while ago, and it suffices to say that I am not where my mind thought I was. LOL. 

The other reason I can blame it on is the fabric…

Only a little bit of tension, and the chains were broken?

I mean… It was that cheap for a reason, maybe.

Whatever the case was. I had a large hole in my sweater that needed to be mended. I really liked that sweater, so I wasn’t about to go and throw it out.

Mending holes in sweaters is actually an effortless thing to do. Here is the scoop.

Can you Fix a Hole In a Sweater?

You can fix a small hole in a sweater quickly. Small holes are not a problem because you can make an invisible stitch, and they will barely get noticed.

But if you have a medium to a large hole, then you need to use mending techniques, like darning or making a patch.

What Materials do I need to Repair a Hole in a Sweater?

To repair a sweater hole, you first must determine if it is a small or a large hole. If it is a small hole, you can easily fix it with thread and needle only.

If you want to secure it better, you can press a small piece of fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. 

On the other hand, if the hole is larger, you will need some mending tools like a darning mushroom, which is essential for mending knitted clothes.

The darning mushroom will create a smooth surface to help you create a woven patch.

The best material for these sorts of repairs is yarn, but if you don’t have that, you can also use embroidery floss thread.

What can you do about a small hole in a sweater?

To fix a small hole in a sweater, you will need a medium-sized hand needle and a color thread matching the one in your sweater. 

Make a knot at the end and insert the needle near the hole edge.

Make a knot (as if you were ending the seam), and then make a ladder stitch to create an invisible stitch.

Pull the thread up and make a knot to secure it.

This is a great and quick “fix a hole in sweater hack,” You can do it pretty easily anywhere you are when it happens.

How to fix a large hole in a sweater with thread?

When a hole is large, you can’t just pull the edges together like in the option above.

We must create “new fabric,” also known as mending or making a woven patch with thread.

To do this, we sew the thread on lines vertically and then weave it horizontally.

I will show you step-by-step how to do this now.

How to fix a hole in a sweater?

1. Make a knot.

Locate the hole and turn it over so the fabric’s wrong side faces you.

Then, use your threaded needle to make a knot.

Pass it through the right side of the fabric and turn the sweater over again.

This time, the right side of the fabric will be facing you.

Put a piece of cardboard of a contrasting color between the layers of the garment so you can see better what you will be working on.

This is also a great way to avoid accidentally getting the wrong layer sewn.

2. Frame the opening.

Now, you will make a “frame” with stitches around the hole.

Push the needle up and down the fabric and ensure that the stitches are close enough to the edge of the hole.

But make sure they are not as near as the broken chains of the fabric. 

If you sew too close to the broken part, your patch will fall off when that part of the sweater breaks again because it wasn’t adequately secured.

3. Horizontal weave. 

You will make a flat ladder stitch over the hole following the shape of the frame you made in step 2.

Insert the needle up the right side and pull the needle and thread.

Then, take the needle at the same height as the last stitch but now on the left side of the hole.

Insert the needle up and pull the thread tightly.

You should end up with something like this.

4. Weave the vertical stitches.

Finally, start weaving vertical stitches the same way you did with the horizontal ones, but this time, you will pass the needle over and under each one of the horizontal thread lines.

This will create a woven patch of thread.

Once you are done with this, finish your seam with a knot on the wrong side of the fabric.

Other Ways to Fix a Hole in a Sweater.

Of course, these are not the only ways you can fix a hole in a sweater. You can actually get a lot more creative and give your sweater a w-Hole new look (haha, got it?).  Here are some ideas: 

1. Sew Thread Patches with different colors

You can follow the tutorial we gave you here, but instead of using a matching thread, you can use contrasting fun colors. This will create a very interesting look you can show off.

2. Press on an iron-on patch

If sewing is not your thing, then pressing a fun patch with a figure can be a good option.

Just use a hot iron to press it on, and it will stick to your sweater, covering the hole.

3. Sew a piece of lace or fabric underneath

Another exciting look to take advantage of a hole is to put a beautiful piece of fabric or lace under it and sew around the hole to secure it in place.

It looks pretty good and different.

4. Make more holes!

This option is clearly not for everyone.

But right now, holes are “IN.”

You can see stores charging crazy prices for clothes with holes, so why not make your own?

I hope this tutorial will save many of your sweaters.

Let me know how you have gone with this or if you have any questions.

How do you fix your sweaters when this kind of thing happens? Do you have a unique technique? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

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