What To Do If Your Sweater Gets A Hole In It

When your most beloved cardigan or cute oversized sweater gets a snag or hole in it, the world stops for a brief second. But before you doom it to the trash bag, learn what to do if your sweater gets a hole in it! Even if your craft skills are in the negatives, there's still hope!

I've had my very favorite cardigan since I was fifteen, and found it at a thrift store in Austin, Texas. I was shooting As the Bell Rings at the time (anyone remember that silly little Disney show?), and used my one day off to dive into the epic thrift and vintage scene in that area.

I was in denial when I first noticed a hole on one of the sleeves about a year ago, thinking it would just go away if I ignored it. #WorstStrategyEver. The hole got bigger and bigger through the course of a year until my elbow was basically exposed and I knew I either had to suck it up and try to fix my cardigan or just toss it immediately. Thank god I chose the second option because my sweater has since recovered fully from it's first hole disaster and now I have no fear when it comes to fixing any cardigans.

Learning DIY cures for your clothing is empowering, budget-friendly, and honestly, just really fun! Here are three ways to fix a hole in your sweater without a sewing machine:

1. Thread

With a needle and thread, you can easily close up a small hole and no one will ever notice.

2. Fusing Powder

Beryl Nash created a great tutorial for how to use fusing powder on a more expensive sweater where a simple stitch would be impossible to blend. All you need is Fuse It Powder, scissors, and an iron.

3. Yarn

If you've got a cable sweater made of thick yarn, the strategy for closing a hole is slightly different from a smaller thread-based cardigan. This video uses white yarn to close the hole on a black knit sweater so you can see exactly what the stitching pattern is. Could it get any easier?

Good luck and stay warm!