Sewing can be easy with the right tools–especially when all you are doing is repairing a small hole in the seam of a pair of pants. Many sewing machines are available for under $50 and can save you a bundle over the life of the machine. If you don’t sew and prefer to take your clothing to a dry cleaners or tailors for repair, you may end up paying over $7 for what you can do in about five minutes. If you choose not to repair the item and simply buy new pants, you may be looking at spending over $10 each time a seam splits. In the long-run this can cause you to spend well over the cost of owning a small sewing machine. The following will demonstrate how easy a minor hole repair can be.

How to Mend a Hole using a Sewing Machine

Step 1: Locate the hole and turn the garment inside out.

Step 2: Flatten the fabric together at the location of the whole making sure no other part of the garment is in between the layers you intend to sew together.

Step 3: Place the garment in the sewing machine by lifting the foot up and sliding in the material.

Step 4: Begin sewing about 1/2 inch above the start of the hole. NOTE: Prior to reaching the whole (within the first few stitches) reverse the machine to backtrack over your stitching to lock it into place.

Step 5: Sew through the area where there is a whole and past the hole about 1/2 inch and reverse stitch to lock the stitching in place. NOTE: If your fist pass does not seem strong enough, remove the fabric from the machine and stitch another line parallel to the first line. This will reinforce the area where there was a hole.

Step 6: Carefully trim any loose threads from the garment.

Step 7: Turn the garment right-side out and check over the area to ensure the entire hole was mended.

In about five minutes you have saved yourself about $10!

Do you have a basic sewing question? Please feel free to comment we would love to hear from you.