How to Sew silk and temporarily repair underwear - then buy new silk underwear for men and women. Undress 556.

 I have much loved, favourite, well-worn nightdresses and underwear. Eventually anything knitted grows thin, especially in certain areas, such as near seams and in gussets, or under arms, or along skirt and night dress hems, and develops ladders or holes.

In theory you can cut out the parts with holes. A night dress could be made into a skirt or bolero or camisole Then use the remaining small strips or squares for scarves, spiral roses as decoration, hair bands, pockets, bags, purses inside tote bags. Maybe save the small pieces as lining for other thin areas, or simply scraps waiting for a later use..

I had a two pairs of pants (Americans say underpants) needing repair, one cotton, another lightweight silk.

Cotton Underwear

 I cut out the part with holes and wondered what to do. 

First, I seamed together the pink cotton. Across the gusset. Would it feel uncomfortable? No.

Silk Underwear

Then I looked at the silk underwear. I tried the same trick. What about silk thread? 

You are supposed to use silk thread to sew silk. The colour will probably be a better match. 

Firstly, it looks better. Secondly, it has the same amount of stretch when dry. Thirdly, when you wash the garment, water and heat will not make the seaming cotton tighter because it shrinks a different amount, leaving a puckered seam.

So I looked for silk thread. Somewhere, some time ago, I had invested in buying a reel of silk thread. But where? 

A place for everything and everything in its place. When I find it, I shall keep a swing room page in my FIND IT notebook. I shall make a box labelled SILK.

Without silk, what should I do? In theory I could have pulled a thread from the inside hem of a silk pillowcase. Or risked pulling a hanging silk thread on my already disintegrating underwear. 

Temporary Silk Repair

It was late and I was tired. I tend to sew late at night when I am too tired to work but too awake to sleep. I just took a piece of white thread and sewed up to see if it was practical to sew a seam around the cut, without cutting the framing elastic. It worked!

My first running stitch left an untidy jagged edge. I went over it again with an oversewing stitch. I thought of a blanket stitch, but was afraid that would leave an irritating line along the edge, rubbing my skin.

The rough hand sewing looked good enough. The test was wearing it. Would it stay tight? Would it be comfortable?

Although I am a sensitive soul, like the Princess and The Pea in the fairytale who felt a pea through 21 mattresses, I completely forgot about the seam.

I took the garment off at the end of the day. The seam was still firm. I had regained a favourite garment. I had saved money. I had saved cluttering up the house by not buying more clothes. I had a new skill, sewing silk and repairing underwear. Now if something tears on holiday I know what to do.

Hand-sewn quick repair of underwear. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

What is the lesson for you?

Lessons Learned

1 You can cut out a section of a gusset which is stained, faded, laddered or torn or in holes and leave two neat straight edges or an oval. No embarrassing shabby, odd-coloured underwear or bedraggled, torn clothes.  

2 You can quickly sew the edges together with a running stitch and then oversew to make the join firmer and to look neater.

3 You can sew silk garments with cotton if you are going to hand wash in cold water.

4 Having practised on unseen knicker gussets, you can then proceed confidently to repair or alter silk clothes which are seen, such as tight shirts which need inserts to expand armholes or mending.

5 A repaired garment is cheaper than a new one, especially if it is silk, which is hard to find and not necessarily the fabric you like.

6 You have a temporary fix on holiday, or in quarantine, until you can buy a replacement, reach your sewing machine at home or get a repair from a seamstress.

7 If the fabric is thin, it is likely to tear again along the sewn edge. However, you will get a day or two's extra use whilst waiting for new silk underwear which you can order online. I am hoping for more reductions on silk, and silk blended with other materials, in the January sales.

Useful Websites

Patra

Silk mix clothes from Patra (they have clothes for men and woman and silk pillowcases and bedding). The website includes an end of season clearance page and multi-buy page.

https://patra.com/category/sale/women-s-sale?sort=price-low-high

I have bought a lot from Patra in the UK, new and secondhand on ebay.

SILKY SILK

From silkysilk, high waist in red and other colours

10 % off for giving your email

In the sale about (less five pence) twenty pounds for one pair, 40 for 3, and 45 for 4. postage

https://uk.silksilky.com/collections/panties?page=2&sort_by=price-ascending

On ebay from China with free postage, red silk.

Compare these prices with five pounds or 5 dollars for one piece not silk, nor even cotton but synthetic, in Singapore from a supermarket large branch or Mustafa's. In Marks & Spencer in London you would pay a minimum of ten pounds for a four pack of assorted colours, not silk.

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