Last summer, while I exited the yard carefully squeezing through the gate to not let a dog out of the yard, I snagged the side of my favorite summer pair of Bermudas, leaving a small hole. I was heartbroken! These pants are light and airy and on hot summer days keep me cool. I just couldn't part with them and they wound up on my mending pile that seldom is touched.
After pondering how to repair my beloved pair of pants for a year, I got an idea. Why not embroider over the hole and save the pants? A small, dense design would be ideal! So I spent a month deciding on the design. I know that is a lot of time, but I am OCD when it comes to doing sewing, embroidery, knitting, etc. It has to be perfect!
I found on the machine the perfect item under the designs that came with the machine and uses an FA10 hoop. The design was slightly larger than an inch by an inch and while somewhat lacy, the center of the design has dense stitching. Perfect!
I used a stick-on embroidery stabilizer that I had to hoop, then tear away the paper protecting the sticky from drying out. I found a piece of fabric of the same texture (cut from another pair of pants because I have to hem all long pants since I'm 4'9") and stitched out the design. I then laid it over the hole to check to see if it would work. It was perfect.
All I had to do now was take a tiny piece of the sticky and place it over the hold in the already hooped stick-on stabilizer. I cut a 2" by 2" piece and pressed it over the hole.
Next, I carefully centered the hole in the pants in the hoop by using the provided template. Getting it all under the embroidery foot was tricky, but managed to do so. I placed a thin cover of wash-away stabilizer over the top of the fabric and began stitching. It is exciting to me to know that I can get another couple of years out of my favorite pair of pants.
