Repair a rip/tear in a dress

Please check that the garment is clean before you commence your repair.

Always use greaseproof/silicone paper on both sides of the repair where possible.

Alternatively you can use ordinary writing paper if the fabric is not delicate.

Place your paper onto an ironing board. Turn the shirt inside out.

Put your rip back together as best as you can. Now you may wish to press into position with a hot iron before you commence your repair.

Sprinkle the Supermend over the top of your rip, covering a slightly larger circumference area.

Place a backing patch on top of the powder. Hold down with fingers and blow away any excess powder.

Cut the backing patch a bit bigger than the rip.

Some tips on backing patches. You are going to make your own from a fabric with a similar texture to the one you are repairing. The reason for this is to keep your fabric repair soft. It does not have to be from the same fabric that you are repairing. You could use an old piece of handkerchief / bed sheet. Etc. For silk or chiffon shirts and blouses use stockings, tights, net curtains, netting or a fine nylon fabric. Or if you are lucky enough you can use another piece of fabric from a concealed part of the garment. That way you get an invisible repair both sides.

If the rip doesn’t quite go back together without leaving a gap, take the time to get a similar colour fabric and use this for your backing patch. This should help to give you an almost invisible repair.

Now simply put your paper over the top and press with a full cotton temperature iron. If it is a fine fabric, use three to four layers of greaseproof/silicone paper on both sides. This will enables the safe use of a linen/cotton temperature setting.

Supermend will melt to fix all the fibres together and the job is done.

All effective repairs can be washed boiled and dry-cleaned, over and over again.