How to mend a tear or hole

On a patterned fabric, like a floral, a stripe or a check, it's possible to mend a hole almost invisibly, simply by using a patch made from the same fabric and matching the pattern.

1 Cut a square hole in the fabric, removing the damaged area. Make a small (3mm) snip diagonally at each corner of the square.

2 Working on the wrong side of the fabric, turn back the the raw edges of the hole by 3mm and press them flat.

3 Cut a piece of matching fabric that's 5mm larger than the hole. If you don't have any spare fabric, try making the patch from a spare piece fabric from the hem of the item, or another unseen area. Try to match the pattern or stripe as closely as possible. Tack into place on the wrong side using contrasting thread.

4 Using a small blind hem stitch, sew the patch into the hole sewing through the patch and catching the turned over edges of the fabric beneath.

5 Make sure your stitches do't show through on the right side of the fabric - keep turning your work over to check. Finish by tying the thread neatly and trimming away any excess thread.Once you've finished sewing, carefully remove the tacking stitches and press the repair flat.