As winter approaches, I’ve pulled out all the sweaters that have been languishing in the back of my closet for months. But while I keep them pretty well, along with the cedar and lavender, I always find a few sweaters with holes made by moths.
That pesky moth likes to eat wool and always looks for cashmere first, so it seems expensive. After finding several holes in one of my favorite sweaters, I discussed what to do. Gimme? Looking for an overpriced service that can ruin it?
Then I did a bit of internet research and found a do-it-yourself solution. All I needed was a magic powder that cost less than ten bucks.
How glue fixed my sweater
When I first found this video (Opens in a new tab) I scoffed as I explained how to fix sweater holes with powder. Certainly, this was one of those “hacks” (the kind that fills TikTok these days) that actually turned out not to work.
Readers, it actually worked.
What was the worst that could have happened, so I decided to give it a try. Sweaters could not be worn already. If you mess it up even more, you can donate it or even use it as the most expensive household mop ever existed.
So I bought the Bo-Nash 2-Once Fusible Bonding Agent ($8.78, Amazon (Opens in a new tab) ), with convenient instructions. After reading them and watching the video again, I gathered tools: scissors, iron, small plates, parchment paper.
Now, the user manual and video recommend using a glass fiber iron plate, but I did not intend to purchase it, so I used parchment paper.
Once everything was in place, we started repairing.
How to Fix Sweater Holes with Fusing Powder
The first step is to cut a small amount of sweater. Turn the sweater inside out and inspect the seams. You should have extra fabric, but be very careful while cutting it. I don’t want to make another hole myself! If the hole is small, a tone is not needed.
Next, cut the fabric into smaller and smaller pieces with scissors. Then mix the fluff with a small amount of flour.
(Image courtesy of Kelly Woo/Tom’s Guide)
Insert two layers of parchment paper into the sweater so that it is visible from the other side of the hole.
Then place enough powdered lint to completely fill the hole. Place another two layers of parchment over the hole.
Apply a very hot iron (mine is on the wool setting) for 5-7 seconds. Lift the top parchment to ensure the fabric is fused. If not, heat for a few more seconds.
Once the fabric is fused, the holes need to be filled. Perhaps that area will look slightly darker and more luminous than the part of the sweater near it.
Carefully turn the sweater inside out. Rearrange the parchment and iron the outside of the sweater again for a few seconds.
Now we need to fix the hole!
(Image credit: Kelly Woo/Tom’s Guide)
My sweater has been saved!
As you can see, my sweater no longer has visible holes. The fix isn’t perfect, but it’s almost undetectable.
This method may not work especially for patterned or textured sweaters. It looks best with a plain solid sweater. If you look closely at my photo, you can see that there is a gravel texture on the arms of my purple sweater. If one of the arms was punctured, I don’t know if the fusing agent could have invisibly repaired it.
In this case, the magic dust made my sweater wearable through at least one more cold winter.
