I've just repaired 40 moth holes in a jumper.

[TheClitterati]

I have a few good quality merino wool jumpers, and a gorgeous wool shawl that got very moth eaten a few years back when I lived in London.

Discovered this amazing way to repair jumpers using old felting technique. It really is ridiculously easy. I chose a contrasting colour repair but you can colour match as well. The wool fluff I was supplied will do many many repairs as you only use a wee bit.

Sharing here as I don't know why we all aren't doing this.

I ordered this kit from Netherlands but there must be people doing this style of repair in uk? Is it a lost art? You need the carded wool, bit of firm foam and felting needle.

www.woolfiller.com/index.php?lg=en

Wasn't too sure about things in the link, but the jumper and shawl you have repaired looks very cool. Really like it!

What a good idea.
I would think felting supplies from craft shops would be the easiest way to get the right colour.
I personally like darning but this is a great idea if you don’t.

I'm doing a mending table tomorrow, and I have some felting wool from a previous project, so I'll be adding this to my list of things I can teach people to extend the life of their clothes

Sorry I also meant to say thanks @TheClitterati xx

@user1493494961

It all looks very neat but have you tried to tackle your moth problem?

Yes I did tackle the moth problem. And I no longer have moths. I've been hanging onto these for ages. The grey jumper is quite expensive merino one and I probably would have felted it and made wrist warmers or something.

@StillWeRise

I like the grey jumper OP

Thanks 😊. My kids are horrified 😂

@KatyMac

I'm doing a mending table tomorrow, and I have some felting wool from a previous project, so I'll be adding this to my list of things I can teach people to extend the life of their clothes

Super cool! The supplies are fairly basic so if you can access them it's a really easy fix.

The needles are long, quite thick at one end but super sharp at the pointy end. I guess they are Specialised for felting? I've seen a lot of felting art online

Felting needles and foam.

Oops hers the pic

I'd like to get hold of some natural Undyed raw wool.

@Ariela

I've done this but years ago - perfectly possible to use same colour thread if you can find a wool that is the same colour and quality. It involves visiting lots of wool shops and picking one or more possible colours and then shredding and mixing them to match the hole as near as possible.

The problem nowadays is there are so few wool shops about, and many don't have 100% wool but synthetics.

Interesting idea to reverse engineer the wool. Thanks.

Try worldofwool.co.uk or Wingham Woolwork for raw wool. Or try and find a farmer- they are pretty much giving it away this year, in some cases actually doing so because the price offered by the wool board this year doesn’t even pay for the petrol to get it there.

Ooh this is a great idea, thanks!

I do darn my jumpers but I have one which keeps coming out in big holes round the wrists which is a real pain to mend, it looks like this would strengthen thin worn patches too.

@TheClitterati , needlefelting isn't the best occupation to go with watching films! You can do yourself a mischief with those needles. I like your orange patches.

The needles are long, quite thick at one end but super sharp at the pointy end. I guess they are Specialised for felting? I've seen a lot of felting art online

The needles have a row of tiny barbs running along them. So if you stab your finger they will go in easily but be harder and more painful to pull out.

You can get natural, raw wool on eBay usually. There's also a wool mattress and duvet company that sell leftovers, baa something, but I've seen people recommend them on MN, so maybe someone will come along and say! They're in Wales.

I am fortunate enough to live right by a wool shop

My bank balance isn't so pleased....

It's needle felting op, look it up on YouTube if you like the stabby aspect, you can create all sorts of stuff. It's great for making soft toys!

I was very excited to learn about this last week in a darning workshop run by my local council's recycling service and a mail order clothes repair company.

Personally, anything precious, I get repaired by British Invisible Mending, who do a far better than I ever could, but this sounds like a great idea for fixing less expensive casual items that are too good to throw away. I think darning with wool or cotton is probably more "invisible" though.

The company that ran the workshop is The Clothes Doctor and they have tutorials on their website if you sign up to their mailing list. I haven't used their service or bought any of their products so I can't vouch for them but their tutorials are great!

Looks terrible! Why on earth use a colour that does not match.I would rather darn than use this method

@TheClitterati I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS ❤️❤️❤️❤️ looks so great and lots of fun to do

I realise it's not to everyone's taste but....the visible mending movement is sooooo important! It normalises the repair of consumer goods!

Sorry to ask a boring question, but how did you get rid of your moths?! My DM has them and she seems to be struggling.

@Ariela

I've done this but years ago - perfectly possible to use same colour thread if you can find a wool that is the same colour and quality. It involves visiting lots of wool shops and picking one or more possible colours and then shredding and mixing them to match the hole as near as possible.

The problem nowadays is there are so few wool shops about, and many don't have 100% wool but synthetics.

You'd have to make sure not to get washable wool. Even if it's 100% wool, if it's been treated to be machine washable, it won't felt.

I tried needle felting once years ago and could not get it to work and kept stabbing myself in the fingers - most frustrating craft ever!

I use the Yarn Harlot's method of darning...hold the offending item over a bin while saying "darn it!", then throw it in!

stupid question, could you cannabalise one wool jumper to bond bits of it to another one (saving just one jumper from its holes). Or do you have to buy "raw"wool. I guess stuff blowing down road from local sheep in field is too raw? Wool irritates my skin so not sure why I'm asking, tbh.

This is very impressive! Thank you for sharing.
Needle felting is a lot of fun, I imagine this would be quite satisfying.

There’s no reason in theory why you couldn’t do it with bits of wool from the hedges if you washed it carefully first in warm water and soap to get out the suint, lanolin and general muck.
As for using another old jumper, it would need to not be superwash wool, so you would need the right sort. Also some wools felt better than others.
I have considered using one worn out cashmere cardigan to patch another since one is getting to the stage where it’s more darn than cardigan in places.