I mentioned in my last post that I’d spent some money on having a couple of holes in my new suit repaired by a reweaver.  I got some questions about that, so I thought I’d elaborate.  It’s not uncommon to find nice clothes in thrift stores that have condition issues – rips, holes, etc.  Usually, that’s the whole reason the items were donated in the first place.  While that usually renders a garment unwearable and you should refrain from buying, sometimes it’s worth picking up the items and having them repaired.

Reweaving is more complex than a simple patching or darning job.  A skilled artisan takes threads from elsewhere in the garment, like an inside seam, and actually recreates the weave (or knit) of the cloth, filling in the hole or stitching the edges of the tear back together.  If the reweaver is really good and you have a pinch of luck, the repair is more or less invisible.  If you look really closely at the pictures of my suit below, you can just barely make out the two cross-shaped repair sites about an inch below the white threads.  Once I pulled the white threads out, they pretty much disappeared.

Reweaving is expensive, as you can imagine, since it takes such skill and is very labor intensive.  These two holes cost me $88, and that’s astoundingly cheap for this level of work.  So, most of the time, it won’t be worth the investment.  But if you have a beloved suit or sweater that falls prey to moths, or if you come across a multi-thousand-dollar suit that fits perfectly, like I did, sometimes it’s worth the investment.

Repairs done by Fabric Reweavers USA.