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hey, i need to fix up a hole in a (wool/ knit) sweater. the lady at the store i bought the right sort of yarn for it at said i needed to secure/ „catch“ all the stitches/ loose parts so the sweater doesn‘t end up unravelling over time. can you explain how best to do this or do you have any resources for it? i feel very overwhelmed and i don‘t wanna ruin my sweater by doing it wrong

Mending holes in knit fabric

The thing about knitting is that it's basically a collection of loops. If one loop gives in, the rest of the fabric risks unravelling, too. That's why this person mentioned "catching" all the stitches: if you miss one, your sweater might continue unravelling.

(Image source) [ID: a woven fabric (plain weave) versus a knit fabric (stockinette stitch).]

That probably sounds super stressful, but don't worry! There's different ways to fix knitting. Some are easier, and some are harder. Let's take a look.

Swiss darning:

The cleanest and most invisible fix is Swiss darning. This type of mending requires you to thread through the loops of the hole, and use those to knit new stitches. Swiss darning is probably the trickiest way to mend knits mentioned in this post.

If you've got a really small hole, you could also try duplicate stitch which doesn't require threading. This technique can also be used to reinforce worn-out spots in knitting, or even for embroidery.

Check out Patty Lyons' written guides on Swiss darning and duplicate stitch to see how it's done, or these YouTube guides on Swiss darning and duplicate stitch by Heather Storta and Stuart Moores Textiles.

(Image source) [ID: a black and white image showing how to do Swiss darning on a piece of knitting with a hole in it. Threads have been threaded between the loose knit loops, and a tapestry needle is weaving new knit stitches along these threads. Text: "Fig.3."]

(Image source) [ID: example of a hole in a gray piece of knitting that's been mended with the duplicate stitch. Six stitches have been mended with yellow yarn. Text: "Ta Da, a brand new section of knitting with no bulk - Swiss Darning Magic. PattyLyons."]

Woven darning:

If you don't feel like recreating knit stitches, you can also do woven darning on knit fabrics. The technique's the same as you would use for a woven item.

Note that a darned patch like this is not stretchy, unlike its surrounding fabric. You can somewhat remediate this by darning diagonally, but it'll still be less stretchy than actual knit fabric.

(Image source) [ID: close-up on a hole in a swatch of beige knitting that's been patched with a woven darn in light blue, dark blue, red, pink, and yellow yarn.]

(Image source) [ID: vintage instructions on how to darn a hole.]

Knitting over the hole:

You can also knit a patch and sew it across the hole, or pick up stitches around your hole and knit over it. Don't forget to finish off the loose stitches at the edge of the hole on the wrong side. Loop your yarn through them, making sure to catch them all, and secure them.

This YouTube video by VeryPink Knits will show you how to knit across a hole. If you're more of a written tutorial person, take a look at this Berroco article on knit patches.

(Image source) [ID: a gray sweater on which a red knit patch has been added to cover up a hole.]

Crochet:

If you're an avid crocheter, crochet's also an option to fix holes in knits.

(Image source) [ID: close-up on the shoulder of a blue knit sleeveless top with a hood. A hole has been mended with crochet, using red and brown thread. Text: "Cucicucicoo".]

Picking up dropped stitches:

If just one line of stitches was damaged, you could try picking up the dropped stitches with a crochet hook.

Fabric patches:

If you'd rather not knit or crochet anything, you could just sew a patch over the hole. First sew around the hole to stabilise the stitches, then sew a piece of fabric over or under the hole. Sandwich the hole between two pieces of fabric for extra security.

Use stretchy fabric and a stitch that allows for stretch to retain the stretch of the original knit material. If you do use a patch of woven fabric, note that this will effect the material's stretchiness.

(Image source) [ID: close-up on the neckline of a gray knit sweater. A hole has been mended with a green patch of fabric and sashiko stitching in yellow thread.]

(Image source) [ID: close-up on the elbow of a black and white knit sweater. The elbow has been patched with a heart-shaped scrap of red fabric with white polkadots and sewn on with a whipstitch.]

Conclusion:

This list is not exhaustive, but will give you some ideas on how to get started. You can go as visible or invisible as you want with these techniques.

Remember to use a yarn that's similar in weight and fibre as your sweater! If you darn a polyester sweater with real wool, you risk the wool patch felting in the wash, for example.

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