Wednesday, June 26, 2013

An Overview Of The Techniques Used In Reweaving

By Lana Bray


Reweaving damaged garments is a notable skill used to repair holes, tears and ripped parts. In the process, thread strands are woven by hand in the damaged area of the fabric, creating repairs that are almost invisible. Each weaver wears a magnifying glass plate and works with a tiny needle and threads in order to sew the damaged areas. Stitch through to stitch, the reweaver replicates the original structures of the garments in a way that the torn area is invisible.

This process is especially useful for repairing moth holes that appear in fine wool. A worker must examine and evaluate every rip, hole or tear to figure out what can and cannot be gotten from the completed repair. However, there is no sure guarantee that that the completed repair will be totally invisible.

There are several distinctive reweaving methods. On a basis of the condition and size of the torn area together with the fabric being worked on, any of the three methods can be applied. The French reweave is also referred to as an invisible reweave. The technique is applied to selected fabrics having small holes, tears and burns. Invisible strands of thread from unseen areas are in the real sense woven together using hands, such as an inseam or cuff.

Since this technique closes the tear, it creates a new garment, while it is almost impossible to distinguish the repair from the enclosing fabric. In the case of some garments like gabardine, the resulting repair is not always completely undetectable. This technique cannot be used on large holes as well as L-shaped tears.

The inweaving technique is another method that can be applied where large tears cannot be repaired by a French reweave. In this method, the worker takes a small piece of hidden garment and sticks it across the damaged area in manner that the fabric pattern is matched. The repaired edges are impossible to see with the naked eye. This technique can be applied for repairing any size of hole or tear, as long as there is sufficient fabric to cover it. The garment must match exactly on patterned or plaid fabrics. It will be possible to see a minor outline of the garment.

Another technique almost identical to the French reweave is the reknitting technique. In the process, unseen strands from pullovers, wool and double knits are used, knitting them onto the damaged area. Care should be exercised to ensure the knit patterns and styles of the garments are a match. How visible the repair is depends on the type and color of the knit together with the tear size.

In case someone plans to reweave a tear in a fine wool fabric that is suspected to be as a result of being eaten by moths and other insects, cleaning it first is advised. This is because most of reweavers can only work on cleaned garments. Additionally, the full extent of the tears may not be fully detectable until cleaning of the fabric is done.

Reweaving happens to be a slow craft that utilizes labor together with high-intensity lamps, magnifying glasses, and a worker with enough skills. In that respect, the completion of a particular repair would take four or six weeks.




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