"Oh, no! I tore my sheet!" I hurried to grandson Alex's room to find him upset over his torn Mario sheet. Can it be repaired? It's Mamaw to the Rescue! "Darn It!"
Alex is a Mario Super Fan - with everything Mario! Of course it was easy to understand why he was upset when his sheet ripped. It was "Sheet Washing Day" at the Justice house, and his bottom sheet got caught when he tried to remove it from his mattress. It was a bad tear in an "L" shape, but I was confident that I could repair it by darning.
When darning, I usually put fabric under the tear for more stability. On heavy weight fabrics like denim, I have used an iron-on patch on the backside first. Sometimes I iron interfacing underneath on lighter weight fabrics, but not in this case. These sheets are made from microfiber, and microfiber sometimes melts or crinkles when a hot iron is applied.
I cut a piece of bias tape the total length of the tear with 1 inch extra. From the top, I pinned the bias tape to the sheet the total length of the tear with the extra bias tape evenly on each end.
I turned the sheet to the back side to make sure that I had pinned it evenly. It looked good! I turned the ends of the bias tape under so that no frayed edges would show.
On my sewing machine, I used a zigzag stitch to sew the edges of the tear to the bias tape.
Again I checked the backside of the bias tape, this time to make sure that the stitches were holding the bias tape in place. Doing good - so far!
And now for the darning...
I opened the left side of my sewing machine to adjust the thread tension. I moved the dial to change the tension from 3 to 1. This will allow the fabric to move more freely when darning.
Ms. Nancy's Note:
Please refer to your Sewing Machine Guide for adjusting the tension on your sewing machine.
From the topside of the sheet, with hands on both ends of the tear, I sewed while I guided the sheet back and forth repeatedly, allowing me to "darn" the gaping hole.
I continued darning until the entire tear was covered in stitches. Finally, it is done!
Again, I checked the back, and it looked great! This job is done! I then applied "Fray-Chek" to the edges of the fabric to keep it from fraying.
Don't forget to clip any stray threads and change your tension back!
Alex was very happy! He is so proud of his Mamaw!
I know the thread wasn't a perfect match, but it is close. And besides, that part of the sheet goes on the side of the mattress on the backside and is not visible when the bed is made.
So, the next time you hear, "I tore my ________!", don't scream or yell! Just
"Darn it!"
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| The Mario sheets are saved! |
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