Repairing holes in cotton velvet gown

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heleni13

Registered Guest
Hi all, my grandma left me a dark blue gown that I'd like to fix it up and wear to a wedding! The drycleaner told me it's cotton velvet; I'm guessing it's 1940s or 50s vintage and the brand name is "Nona" (New York). Here are its issues, all with the skirt:
  • Pile is missing in spots (each about 1" square)
  • What look like a few moth holes going all the way through
  • A small tear with missing fabric, about 3" long and 1/4" wide
I was thinking of a few approaches, including ironing a backing fabric to the inside for support, gluing small velvet patches into the moth holes, and tackling the bald spots with a fabric pen. I also came across a type of powder glue called SuperMend, which you can mix with the dress fibers then iron over to incorporate into the fabric.

Has anyone had experience with this?? Thank you all in advance for your wisdom :)
 
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Hope these help! I put a white cloth behind the tear to try and give a better sense of the shape. For the bald spots, it almost looks as if wax dripped and burned off the pile...
 
Gorgeous dress! I'd try to stay away from super mend and or ironing on any backing patches as I think this will affect the way the velvet hangs as sometimes those patches create a stiffened area. Could you try a fabric marker on a less conspicuous area to see how well it blends with the velvet?
 
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