How to Invisibly Mend Moth Damage in a Wool Coat

By: Lynn Rademacher

Updated On: September 28, 2017

needle image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com

The mass production of clothes has diminished the thought of mending a hole in garments. Instead, people usually just replace the piece of clothing. But for a fine wool coat, repairing a small moth hole may be worth the effort, especially if the garment has special meaning beyond just fashion. Mending wool is a skill that requires some practice, time and patience to do the job well.

Use the scissors to snip away any fuzzy thread ends around the edge of the hole.

Thread the darning needle with a thread of darning wool.

Position the darning needle an inch from the side edge of the hole. Line the needle up so that as you weave across the hole the first darning thread will cross the bottom of the hole. Insert the needle into the weave of the fabric and follow the weave of the fabric by raising the needle over and under the threads. When you reach the edge of the hole simply pull the thread across the open area and continue weaving on the other side of the hole until the darning thread has been woven into the fabric an inch past the hole on the other side. Repeat this process until there is thread spread across the entire hole in one direction.

Position the threaded darning needle an inch from the bottom of the hole and begin weaving through the fibers of the fabric. Continue to weave the pattern through the threads that are stretched across the hole opening. When you reach the other side of the hole, continue to weave the darning thread through the wool garment until approximately one inch away from the edge of the hole. Repeat this process until darning thread has been woven across the entire opening of the hole.

Tug on the garment gently in different directions to help the newly woven threads to blend with the older threads. The tugging will help to stretch the threads a little and allow them to lie more naturally.

Use the scissors to snip the ends off of the darning thread. Cut the threads as close to the garment as possible without cutting the garment. This will allow the ends of the added threads to hide in the weave of the garment.