How best to repair fleece

[LuvOrlando]

With things so tough to replace I find myself keeping and repairing way more often than donating these days. I ended up bringing the jeans I asked about a week ago to Nordstrom, which did an amazing job of reattaching the hem for $20, so worth it since I'm sure I would have ruined them.

This time I removed a unwanted logo from a nice vest. It was embroidered so I followed a suggestion to use a disposable razor to slice the fibers in addition to my stitch remover and tweezers. Overall it went great but one letter was really tight so in that one spot it thinned so much there is now a hole, it's mostly covered but it's there. I was thinking stitching it might bulk it weirdly then thought of using that melty hem adhesive stuff. Anyone with experience?

 

[QueenIsabella]

I used to shop at the LL Bean factory outlet. You could get fabulous deals on things that were monogrammed incorrectly. I would rip out the offending monogram, then cover the spot with an inoffensive patch. If that won't work for you, I would try stitching versus gluing. I'm not a fan of fabric adhesives--I find they don't hold long-term. YMMV.

 

[Sinder]

OP have you checked out any Youtube videos? I find them so helpful and there are usually enough where I can pick one that works for my issue. I'm about to replace a zipper on my favorite jeans and I found a great video that I know I can follow as a first time try.
I've repaired holes by stitching but it is definitely noticeable so if it's large it may stand out.
I've used the no sew hem for other projects and it holds up nicely so that may work.
What if you try it on a scrap of fabric to get an idea of how it will turn out.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I used to shop at the LL Bean factory outlet. You could get fabulous deals on things that were monogrammed incorrectly. I would rip out the offending monogram, then cover the spot with an inoffensive patch. If that won't work for you, I would try stitching versus gluing. I'm not a fan of fabric adhesives--I find they don't hold long-term. YMMV.

That's a smart idea to replace the logos, we just have nice things from old affiliations and with things tough to find I'm less inclined to let go but your idea is a good thought. I think I'll try this with very thin thread, the more I think about it the more likely it seems it could be a big mess. Maybe it's best to make a sort of loose crisscross catching the loose loops than a tight stitch, I suspect the loose loops can open over time if I leave them be. I never took any classes about this sort of thing so I'm always winging it.

OP have you checked out any Youtube videos? I find them so helpful and there are usually enough where I can pick one that works for my issue. I'm about to replace a zipper on my favorite jeans and I found a great video that I know I can follow as a first time try.
I've repaired holes by stitching but it is definitely noticeable so if it's large it may stand out.
I've used the no sew hem for other projects and it holds up nicely so that may work.
What if you try it on a scrap of fabric to get an idea of how it will turn out.

Good thought, I was wondering if the iron heat that usually melts this stuff might melt the fleece too, I have ruined so many things with heat in a dryer so I'm anxious.

When I'm stuck I do google but everyone who does this stuff on the internet seems so advanced that things end up looking deceptively easy. Love when I hear, "you just..." meanwhile the workroom shown is seriously committed and they have a lifetime of gadgets while I'm here with a meager stash of this and that.

Please share what happens with the zipper, I ended up losing my nerve and paying someone for the jeans but I still have hoodies to the side and am waiting on getting some supplies in the mail.

 

[bcla]

There's really not much you can do about it. At least with ripped jeans, that's somewhat fashionable and patching from the inside works pretty well. There's almost nothing that can be done once there's a hole.

I do remember ads in the late 70s or early 80s for some sort of miracle vinyl patching substance that could supposedly even fix leather. Not sure how good it looked in person rather than on SD television. They also had some sort of fabric repair glue with a press that sort of made it look like fabric. Seemed kind of like hair flock. But it will be next to impossible to fix polyester fleece.

I'll just say that I had a problem with a Therm-A-Rest sleeping pad for my wife. They sold a patch kit that contained this sort of glue along with different colored patches that matched their standard colors. Really just hot melt glue in a tear pack that melted by boiling in water, since these are mostly used by backpackers who might need a field repair. Their recommendation was to use heated cookware to press the patch. However, they didn't have the same color as this one that had a hole. I called in and they mailed me a piece of the material that I could cut into a patch. So long story short - maybe getting a piece of the material to be sewn in could be the best that can be done.

 

[NotUrsula]

Glue is your friend on this one; fleece will melt if you attempt to use any kind of iron-on solution.

What you want to do is get some very thin stretch fabric the same color (very best option is polyester stretch mesh, but swimsuit liner or fine synthetic t-shirt knit works, too; you could get a same-color shirt from a thrift shop if you don't have fabric lying around.)
Get a tube of E-6000 FabriFuse glue. Cut your patch to size with about a 1" margin all around the size of the hole.

Put the inside-out fleece on an ironing board with some non-stick parchment paper or similar underneath to catch excess glue. Thinly coat the true-color side of your patch fabric with Fabri-fuse and place it gently over the hole on the WRONG side of the garment. Quickly smooth it down with your fingers, then slide the fleece off the board, turn it right side out, slip it back on the board, and very gently push the margins of the hole toward one another to minimize the gap as much as possible without creating a fold. Hold it for about 2 minutes to let the glue set. You may wash it after the glue cures for 48 hours. This glue sets very quickly, so make sure you will not be interrupted while you are working on it.

 

[LuvOrlando]

There's really not much you can do about it. At least with ripped jeans, that's somewhat fashionable and patching from the inside works pretty well. There's almost nothing that can be done once there's a hole.

I do remember ads in the late 70s or early 80s for some sort of miracle vinyl patching substance that could supposedly even fix leather. Not sure how good it looked in person rather than on SD television. They also had some sort of fabric repair glue with a press that sort of made it look like fabric. Seemed kind of like hair flock. But it will be next to impossible to fix polyester fleece.

I'll just say that I had a problem with a Therm-A-Rest sleeping pad for my wife. They sold a patch kit that contained this sort of glue along with different colored patches that matched their standard colors. Really just hot melt glue in a tear pack that melted by boiling in water, since these are mostly used by backpackers who might need a field repair. Their recommendation was to use heated cookware to press the patch. However, they didn't have the same color as this one that had a hole. I called in and they mailed me a piece of the material that I could cut into a patch. So long story short - maybe getting a piece of the material to be sewn in could be the best that can be done.

Those leather patches from back in the day were ok if it was black or beige but reds or blues were a no-go. Boy, do I have a bunch of bad infomercial stories.
It's wonderful that the company was willing to help by sending you a bit of fabric, that's a good find. Most manufacturer contact info now just goes into a black hole, they open and shut like shady contractors so one that helps is a gem.

Glue is your friend on this one; fleece will melt if you attempt to use any kind of iron-on solution.

What you want to do is get some very thin stretch fabric the same color (very best option is polyester stretch mesh, but swimsuit liner or fine synthetic t-shirt knit works, too; you could get a same-color shirt from a thrift shop if you don't have fabric lying around.)
Get a tube of E-6000 FabriFuse glue. Cut your patch to size with about a 1" margin all around the size of the hole.

Put the inside-out fleece on an ironing board with some non-stick parchment paper or similar underneath to catch excess glue. Thinly coat the true-color side of your patch fabric with Fabri-fuse and place it gently over the hole on the WRONG side of the garment. Quickly smooth it down with your fingers, then slide the fleece off the board, turn it right side out, slip it back on the board, and very gently push the margins of the hole toward one another to minimize the gap as much as possible without creating a fold. Hold it for about 2 minutes to let the glue set. You may wash it after the glue cures for 48 hours. This glue sets very quickly, so make sure you will not be interrupted while you are working on it.

I did the stitch thing but if it doesn't hold up I'll go with this but it's tough to match because this is a gray heathered Patagonia.

After I did the stitching the vest was a bit bubbly in the spot, I think I stretched the fibers inordinately while working on the area. My MacGyver solution was to pour boiling water over the area thinking it might shock the threads to recoil. Then I pulled it a bit taught to force the fabric back in place and let it air dry. Right now it looks ok and the inside isn't too marred so fingers crossed.

Thanks so much for always responding, I suspect that darning and fixing are going to become more necessary as time goes on because many things are now irreplacible. BTW, you were on point with Nordstrom, the fix is imperceptible, excellent recommendation.

 

[bcla]

Those leather patches from back in the day were ok if it was black or beige but reds or blues were a no-go. Boy, do I have a bunch of bad infomercial stories.
It's wonderful that the company was willing to help by sending you a bit of fabric, that's a good find. Most manufacturer contact info now just goes into a black hole, they open and shut like shady contractors so one that helps is a gem.

Therm-A-Rest is part of Cascade Designs, and their customer service is first rate, although this was back around 2008. And it was my wife's sleeping pad in pink. I guess back then they figured women would prefer pink. I had a matching one and it was orange. Go fig. I still ended up buying a repair kit, but they only sent me the fabric piece for free. It was moved around the house and got caught on a piece of metal that punctured it. It doesn't look great, but it works. I think they still manufacture in the US. I have a lot of their equipment, including from MSR and Therm-A-Rest. I kind of like their creativity too, such as the filling in their pillows being reused out of the little bits that are taken out of their sleeping pads, which intentionally come out to reduce the weight and reduce the insulation value.

Not sure about Patagonia. They supposedly have their own suppliers for their clothing, but it's almost all offshored now. I've got Capilene thermal underwear made in the US, but that's maybe 15 years old now. They charge premium prices and supposedly have excellent customer service. I might just consider asking what they could do. Anything that gets returned is likely to be recycled, but they may very well be willing to replace it. They get a lot of customers who customize their gear with company/organization patches or embroidery, so maybe they're used to dealing with it. I wouldn't be surprised if they were willing to replace it for a nominal price.

https://help.patagonia.com/s/