March 29, 2026, 10:56 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Everyone knows it: You get caught on something, or the washing machine’s spin cycle is set too high, and suddenly there’s a hole in your shirt. Sometimes it’s simply the moths to blame. Other times, we haven’t been careful enough with our clothes. But that doesn’t mean your favorite top has to end up in the donation pile. With simple tricks, they can be repaired and stay with us a little longer.
Avoiding Holes in Shirts
Before sewing, it’s advisable to wash and possibly iron the garment so you can clearly see the hole in the shirt. When sewing, you stitch into the loops around the hole to catch them. Coming from below, the thread is guided into the loop above to bridge the hole. The hole is always pulled closed from the left. Alternatively, a darning mushroom or darning egg can be used, usually made of wood or plastic. With this method, you pull the garment over the round head of the tool to keep the hole open. Then, the loose threads are woven under and over the longitudinal threads until the hole is completely hidden.
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For both methods, it’s important not to knot the thread at the end, but rather sew it in. A knot would only add bulk and make the repaired area visible. And that’s how you quickly counteract holes in shirts!
When Sewing No Longer Helps
For larger holes in shirts, you can try darning the damaged area with a thin thread. However, this repair is often quite noticeable. It’s better in such cases to use decorative patches or appliqués. Sewing the patches on makes them last much longer than just ironing them on. First, position the patch on the desired spot and then sew it to the underlying fabric at regular intervals. For better adhesion to the hole, you can iron it on beforehand with the usually included adhesive fleece and then secure it with small stitches. This way, even large holes can be covered—and stylish patches are back in trend these days!