Secondhand Sisters: How to Repair a Ripped Jacket

Secondhand Sisters helps you navigate the dos and don’ts of thrifting and upcycling. We’re two sisters — Char and Sophie — who share a love of fashion and the planet. Check out more here!

I found the perfect racing jacket for a bargain on Facebook Marketplace, but there was one problem: it had a huge rip on the front. If you found a unique garment or have an existing piece that you love that has a rip, fear not. Follow this tutorial to fix it! 

Difficulty: 1/5

What You’ll Need 

• Scissors
• Fusing fabric
• Iron
• Thread
• Hand-sewing needle

1. Cut any loose threads around the rip. Be careful not to cut too much or pull on them; this is simply to tidy up the rip. 
2. Cut a piece of fusing large enough to fit underneath the rip. Slip it inside the jacket between the outside and the lining. Adjust it to make it lay flat, with the rough side against the rip (aka, rough side facing up). 
3. Adjust the rip to cover the fusing, and lay it as flat as possible. 
4. Iron the area. I recommend ironing it from the inside, however, the lining on this jacket will most likely burn/warp against direct heat, so I very carefully ironed on the outside, ensuring there is no fusing peeking outwards and coming into contact with the iron. 
5. With matching thread and a hand-sewing needle, sew the rip closed. Take a tiny bit of the fabric on one side, then a tiny bit on the other, and so on. Go over the rip a few times until the fabric is secure and won’t move. 

Notes

• I used step 5 to fix the interior pocket and small rip in the lining. 
• My jacket had contrast topstitching, so I hand-stitched a straight running stitch in matching thread, then doubled back over the running stitch, sewing the inverse of what I had just sewn. This makes the stitch look like one continuous line similar to a machine stitch. 

Read about Sophie’s hunt for a vintage racing jacket of her own on eBay.