How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting
By Brookelynn Morris
My favorite sweater is starting to fall apart. The cuff on one sleeve unraveled at the seam, splitting the cuff. It’s simple to repair a wool sweater with a felting needle.
Materials:
2 felting needles (I like star-shaped 28 gauge.)
Foam
Wool sweater needing repair
Step 1: Cut a chunk of foam to fit inside the sleeve.
Step 2: Press the 2 sides of the seam flush against each other, or, if the knitting is fairly unraveled, overlap the 2 sides. Use a felting needle to securely pin the edges of the seam together and into the foam.
Step 3: Use the other felting needle to push one side of the seam into the other. Just press the very tip of the needle into the wool, and try not to push the needle into the foam. Catch the fibers from one side of the tear and then push them into the fibers on the other side of the tear. Blend the fibers of both sides thoroughly together.
Step 4: Felt the sides loosely together, and then go back and spend 5 or so minutes felting up and down the new seam to completely secure it.
Now you’re sweater is done! Easy peasy!
About the Author:
Brookelynn Morris is a craft author and skateboarding flower lover living in Northern California. She is eagerly anticipating May 19th, which will mark the release of her first book, Feltique (Potter Craft), a complete guide to felt-making in all its forms.
8 thoughts on “How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting”
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Hi, I have a very fine Icebreaker wool t-shirt, about 140g/m^2, with a tiny hole, about 1/8th inch in diameter. I thought I could try and use needle felting to close the hole. Will this work for such fine wool? It’s comparable to a cotton t-shirt in terms of thread-strength. What other techniques may be appropriate?
Hi! Yes, you can use a felting needle to repair your shirt. If the sides of the hole will close up with no gap or puckering, try the needle just like in the project above. Because the material is thin, I wouldn’t even push the needle all the way through the fabric. Instead, just barely press the needle on the edges of the hole.
If when you pinch the hole closed with your fingers, it gathers or puckers, I think that there might need to be a patch. Try to find a matching color of wool roving. Take the roving and lay it on the front side of the shirt and work it gently into a patch with just the very tip of the needle.
I am not trying to be offensive or anything but I have a problem with my armpit hair. A wool sweater I wore once gave me an accident and suddenly my underarm hair is brown in color. Can you tell me how to make my armpit hair normal again PLEASE?
Does anybody know where I can buy ‘Iron on patches for a wollen cardigan as I have 2 quite good cardigans except for holes in the elbows.Please e-mail your reply,
Thanking you in advance
Jack