How To Fix A Hole In A Rayon Dress
Rayon is one of the most comfortable fabrics you can wear. It is highly absorbent and lightweight. It is appropriate for all types of summer and sporting clothes. From time to time you may unknowingly get a hole on one of your rayon dresses. To fix a hole in a rayon dress is easy and there are different methods you can use.
How Do You Fix A Hole In A Rayon Dress?
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You can choose a sewing or a non-sewing method to fix a hole on your rayon dress. You can use a sewing machine with sharp needles, polyester threads, and small stitches to fix a rayon dress.
You can also sew it by hand. Thread a needle with polyester thread and use the best stitch you know to mend the hole in the dress. This is the fastest and easiest method to fix a hole in a rayon dress. Fix the hole and wear the dress immediately.
For a non-sewing method, you can use a patch to fix a hole in a rayon dress. Buy an iron-on patch from a sewing craft shop. Iron it onto the hole in the dress to seal it. Find a patch that is similar in color to the dress you want to fix.
Method 1. Using A Sewing Machine
Step 1. When you are working with rayon, the first thing you need to do is wash the fabric or dress before you sew. Washing it in cold water to prevent it from shrinking. If you wash it after fixing it, it may cause the sewn part to distort the dress due to added stitches.
Step 2. Once you have washed the dress, air dry it for a while. Iron the dress to remove any wrinkles and to dry it off completely. For the best results, iron your dress while it is slightly damp.
Use medium heat while ironing on rayon. Overpressing rayon can sauce the fabric to shine. Also, remember to cover the rayon dress with another cloth as you iron it to prevent the color from running. Or, if it’s already dry, you can spray water on it as you iron it.
Step 3. Your dress is ready for sewing. Before you bring it to the sewing machine, prepare the sewing machine to mend rayon. First, make sure that you have a sharp needle on your sewing machine. Sharp needles are the best to use while working on a rayon dress.
Secondly, use a polyester thread. It blends in well with the rayon fabric. When you have threaded your sewing machine, set your stitches to about 2mm. Also, thread your sewing machine with thread the same color as your dress. Smaller stitches will be invisible and are the best when sewing on a rayon dress.
Step 4. Your dress is ready for sewing. Bring it to the sewing machine for sewing. If your dress has a large hole, you will need to use pins to hold the dress together before you have started sewing. Since it is a slippery fabric, pins prevent the fabric from moving around as you sew.
For smaller holes, bring your dress to the sewing machine and start sewing. Seal the hole firmly. Your dress is ready to wear.
Step 5. Confirm that the hole has been properly shut and that there aren’t traces of mending since you used the same color of thread. If there are smaller gaps you can make final sewing on your sewing machine.
Method 2. Using A Patch
Step 1. Prepare your dress for repair, Wash, dry, and iron it. This ensures that your dress doesn’t have any wrinkles on it. Using a patch to repair a wrinkled fabric or garment may cause unwanted shrinkage on your garment. This may make it impossible to wear or tear it further once it is washed again.
Step 2. When your dress is ready, lay it on your working surface with the hole exposed. Measure the length of the hole. This helps you to identify how large of an iron-on patch you will require to fix the hole. For the length of the patch you need, add at least ? inch on both sides of the hole.
Step 3. Cut the length of the patch that you need. Make sure that your patch is the same color as the fabric. If you can’t get the same color patch, get one that will easily blend in with your dress and will not be visible when fixed onto it.
Step 4. With your dress properly laid out on your working surface, bring your patch and fix it right under the hole. Spread it out as straight as possible to cover the hole on your dress completely.
Step 5. Get a cover cloth and lay it on the dress. Switch on your iron and set it to medium heat that is suitable for the rayon fabric. Now iron the patch onto the hole. Iron-on patches have a heat-activated glue on their surface. Once ironed, the patch sticks onto the surface where the patch is placed. For this case, the patch will fuse with the hole on your dress.
Step 6. Confirm that your patch is properly fixed in place. Turn your dress inside out and touch the patch. If it is properly fixed, you have mended the hole on your rayon dress without sewing. If the patch is not properly fixed, iron it for a few more seconds for it to have a better grip on your dress.
Method 3. Repair By Hand
Step 1. Prepare your dress for repair by washing, drying, and ironing it. Rayon fabrics should be washed in cold water and with a mild detergent to avoid shrinking or running colors. It is best if you hand wash your rayon dress. Further, air-dry it. Machine drying will shrink and spoil it.
Rayon is best ironed when damp or wet. You can spray water onto the garment while ironing or iron it just before it is completely dry.
Step 2. You will need a sharp needle and a thread the same color as your dress. Thread your needle with a long piece of thread so that you won’t need to stop before you are through to thread your needle again. Make sure to use a thin thread. If it’s possible, you can split your thread into a single strand to make thin stitches on the rayon fabric.
Step 3. Turn your rayon dress inside out. This is the best way to sew by hand. It hides your stitches from view on the right side of the dress. To fix the hole, make your stitches just slightly away from the hole. This ensures that you have a stable stitch. Stitching directly on the hole can cause your stitches to hold loosely and come off.
Step 4. Sew to the end of the hole, making small firm and tight stitches. In the end, finish sewing slightly beyond the hole to make a firm knot with your stitches.
Step 5. Confirm that you have properly sewn the hole in your rayon dress. If this is so, cut off the excess threads if there are any. This helps to keep your dress neat and repair stitches invisible.
How Do You Fix Shrunken Rayon Clothes?
Rayon easily shrinks when washed. This is why it is best washed with cold water and by hand. It also requires a mild detergent to wash. You may unknowingly machine wash and dry your rayon dress which causes shrinkage. How will you unshrink it?
You will add a tablespoon of baby shampoo or hair conditioner to about a liter of water. Soak your shrunken rayon garment into the water for up to 30 minutes. Get it out of the water then leave it to dry. For the best results, let it air-dry.
While the garment is still damp, try and stretch it back to its original size. Then leave it to dry completely.
Once it is dry, confirm that it is back to its original size. If it isn’t, you will have to steam iron it. This will help to reduce the remaining shrinkage and get it back to its original or near the original size.
Does The Rayon Fabric Stretch?
Technically, rayon doesn’t stretch, It is, however, affected by moisture and humidity. Rayon easily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere which causes it to become longer. Later on, when it is dry, it gets back to its original size.
The humidity or moisture from the atmosphere once absorbed by the rayon fabric causes its fibers to lose their tensile strength. This causes the perceived stretch of the fabric.
However, rayon does shrink. Especially if it is poorly handled while being washed. If you wash and dry it in the machine, it will shrink. It may also be difficult to get back to its original size once it shrinks due to washing.
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