Decorative Repair Work

Dirty Hems

Dirty Hems

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Hello everyone!

I have always hoped I would come across a gorgeous 1930s silk velvet bias cut dress in my vintage trawling -- it had become a bit of a white whale for me. But I guess the adage of when it rains, it pours is true because I recently came across two different ones that both fit me like a glove. One is in fantastic shape, all repairs are on seams that are easily mended. The other is a bit more difficult - it is a gorgeous wine colored velvet, with smocked sleeves and a gorgeous drape. The problem is that there are quite a few moth holes scattered throughout. Most are in areas that repairs wouldn't be terribly noticeable (under arms, etc) but there are several on the skirt and bodice. Other than moth holes, the fabric & dress are very sturdy and it's definitely wearable. I love it, and am looking for ideas on how to repair the moth holes in a way that would be decorative and wearable. I recently came across a stash of absolutely breathtaking kimono silk scraps of varying ages & styles -- and am thinking about patching the holes with that and some decorative stitching. I suppose my question is: would this harm the drape? Does anyone else do these types of repairs? I am a big fan of the tattered look, so I'm not too worried about that -- would love some support before I bite the bullet on this & any stories of other such repairs anyone has done.
 
Before you do anything, freeze any garment with signs of moth damage, as you can't see if they are still there or not and you don't want to bring them into your house, or contact with anything else. Many people freeze it, let it thaw and freeze again. (I generally do it overnight each time) This kills off anything that might be alive!

Whether or not you need to patch depends on how large the holes are and how noticeable the placement is. If they are very small you may be able to darn with thread only. Personally I would try to patch from the back for a near invisible finish using small pieces of fabric from the hem or seams where there is enough fabric to spare. Using a different fabric that is slightly off in colour will only draw attention to the repair.
 
Thanks for your reply, Melanie! Ooh, great advice to freeze it -- definitely doing that.

I would normally take fabric from somewhere on the dress that it has to spare to patch, but unfortunately this dress doesn't have anything to spare! It's made with very economical use of fabric. This is why I am contemplating making the repairs decorative, because I know I will never be able to perfectly match the color & fabric and I would rather the noticeable repairs look decorative than just like bad repairs, lol. I think I will try to darn the smaller holes, but there are quite a few that are just too large for darning/reweaving.
 
Can you post some pictures of it? I would look at shortening the hem or sleeves just a smidge if it meant you could use the fabric to repair. I think a decorative repair would only work if it was a scattering of beaded/sequinned flowers across the whole dress which is a lot of work, and generally is a treatment on satin finish dresses, the detail gets lost in velvet.
 
Those dresses both sound wonderful, one of my favorite things in the world is wine colored silk velvet.

I might want to caution you against the freezing thing, unless you do it with great care. Taking the velvet out of the freezer and "thawing" it will lead to condensation which will damage the pile, make fold lines or crushing marks, and it is near impossible to get that back. Especially if you put it in a plastic bag, which will immediately start to produce moisture the moment you take it out of the freezer, and even possibly so while it is first put IN the freezer and while it languishes there.

I personally would not put anything of size that is made of velvet in the freezer. Small items, OK.
 
That's a good point I didn't think of Barbara. I'm trying to remember if I've frozen anything that's made of velvet. Possibly not, I don't think I ever had velvet with moth damage.
What method do you use for velvet?
 
Dry cleaning - that will suck all the moisture out and kill the bugs. But if it has big holes I recommend that you tack patches over them first, to hold it together and reduce damage during the process.

Like Barbara, I just love wine coloured silk velvet too. You're reminded me of a stunning late '30-early '40s dress I bought at the Battersea vintage clothing fair when I was last in London (2005). It was covered in holes but I patched them on the inside using the seam allowance. It still kept getting holes though, perhaps because I would wear it once a week, and eventually it was beyond repair, but I still have it somewhere of course. Old velvet hides patches well, the pile has a lot of life to it.

Dirty hems, the issue with patching is that you ideally need a fabric of similar weight so that it will hang properly - and bias cuts are all about how they hang. A silk might look nice but the dress will hang lumpily. For best results, try a similar weight silk velvet, perhaps in a contrast colour? I would patch from the inside and make a feature of it. Before cutting the fabric for the patches, make sure the grain is lined up properly or it won't work as well - bias cut dresses look much easier than they are, but they're harder than most dresses.
 
You know what I would do? Get some beautiful devorre silk velvet in a delicate floral pattern , and applique cascades of flowers over it to hide the moth holes. I think that could look really neat myself!
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! Good points about freezing the velvet, luckily I had thought about the risk of condensation and held off. But it's fantastic advice for other fabrics!

One of the reasons I chose the kimono silk is because the scraps I have are more "weighty" than normal - I tried a patch on the skirt and it didn't seem to effect the drape any, so here's hoping! But if it starts effecting the drape, I am definitely going to get my hands on some silk velvet -- this dress is too gorgeous to waste!
 
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