Any advice for my partner’s shirt?

[u/gaygirlhelp]

I’m still new to visible mending and embroidery/sewing etc. I’m not sure what the best way to secure this would be—I normally would use an embroidery hoop but with the collar hole and easily disintegrating fabric I’m at a bit of a loss!

Any ideas are appreciated :-)

[u/somuchbitch]

I would suggest stop taking it off by the neck

[u/m3gan0 → u/somuchbitch]

A mercy kill lol

[u/action_lawyer_comics → u/somuchbitch]

Washing it with your pants with the zippers down. All my shirts from my bachelor days are like that and now that I always have all my zippers secured before laundry my new shirts don’t have that problem.

[u/scaptal → u/somuchbitch]

No, they need to stop chewing their shirt, I have a friend who does this and his shirts look exactly like this

[u/Pink_PowerRanger6 → u/[deleted]]

If they iron it onto an adhesive interfacing it might stabilize it and make it able to be sewn as a patch onto another garment.

[u/vestigialcranium → u/Pink_PowerRanger6]

Yeah I was thinking it could be bonded to a backer fabric, but I'm no fabricologist so I'm not sure

[u/Pink_PowerRanger6 → u/vestigialcranium]

The only reason I know it’ll work is because I’ve done it before 🤣 not to fix a mend, but to make an appliqué for a costume I was making for a friend. I printed the images on some cotton printing paper, and I ironed the patches to an interfacing so that it would sit better more like a patch, on the jacket I was sewing it onto. If you use a satin stitch around the edge it can give that old 90s iron on patch look

[u/fruitskeptic → u/[deleted]]

WOAH. OKAY THIS IS SUPER HELPFUL.

[u/thesandalwoods → u/fruitskeptic]

Yeah, I too have way too many shirts like this I want to restore to their former glory 👕

[u/SinceWayLastMay]

[u/FlashesandFlickers → u/SinceWayLastMay]

I can't believe it, this was my first thought, and what I came here to post

[u/MutantChimera]

I think it is time to convert that shirt into a rag

[u/horsegurl2045]

Might be time for that shirt to transform into a dish towel or rag… if you want to preserve the design you could cut that out and add it as a patch to another shirt?

[u/goldchainbbygirl → u/horsegurl2045]

I agree with this! I recently took the graphic off of a shirt that didn’t fit me well and I sewed it onto the back of a flannel. I get so many compliments!

[u/tammigirl6767 → u/goldchainbbygirl]

Genius!!

[u/captainkatepryde]

there’s this guy on ig (i can’t remember) who tries and matches the fabric as good as possible to be a patch from the back and uses a close zigzag stitch (sewing machine) and its looks pretty good and cool

[u/scarybiscuits]

Not worth the time and effort. Cut out the motif if you want to keep it and appliqué to another tshirt.

[u/synchronoussavagery]

I’d cut off the design, glue it to a piece of canvas, and sew it to a jacket. Use the rest for rags.

[u/AtmosphereAlarming52 → u/synchronoussavagery]

I second this! Cut out the design and attach it to something else that your partner loves. Or maybe make a pillow or something that will make it last longer but not add much wear to the existing fabric?

[u/Heni228]

Cut out the design on the chest and save it for a future t-shirt quilt. The shirt itself is not salvageable.

You could go to extremes and fuse it with another shirt but I wouldn’t.

[u/Wetschera]

The real question is:

Is that even a shirt?

[u/Thekittysayswhat]

If you have another torn t-shirt about the same size, you can layer them and mend them together. Should get you kind of a punky look.

[u/histrionic-lilac]

Idk reminds me of this tho https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/s/AxLzlO94vn

[u/Panda-delivery]

A strong breeze could blow it apart. Take the thickest parts of the fabric for scraps and lay this poor thing to rest

[u/TheTheyMan]

Honestly, it’s kind of a look. I would add little scattered embroidery accents all over to suit the desired vibe and leave it at that.

[u/Necessary-Type1008]

i’d wear it like that it looks sick

[u/Jiste]

Could be a good piece to try Sashiko

[u/flyingsqueak]

If they insist on continuing to wear this shirt, there are three options. You can use some scrap t-shirt fabric to under patch the neckline and try some sashinko or other embroidery. This will make our last a little longer, but this fabric is too far gone for this to be a long term solution. But if the feel of the shirt is important to them it could help for a while.

Alternatively, you can get another shirt in a similar color and stitch them together, also using something similar to sashinko on and around the worst damage (and stitching the shirts together at all seams). You also could just cut the image off the shirt and quilt/patch it on to another shirt.

[u/YunJingyi]

Just let it die, please. You can keep it as a kitchen rag.

[u/Prestigious_Night523]

get another shirt in a similar size and shape and sew em together

[u/missplaced24]

The fabric is too far gone. You can see signs of stress throughout the shirt. Any hole you mend is going to cause another to from.

If the shirt is sentimental, you can use part of it as an applique on another shirt/garment.

[u/indieOsam]

He definitely bites his shirts

[u/why-bother1775]

Get a new one! Sorry I know that’s not what you want to hear. But from the way it’s wearing that is the only option you really have. That’s the problem with this type of material, shrub or slub?

[u/[deleted]]

Use it to make fabric scraps, and if it's got a graphic, turn it into a patch on something else. That neckline is wrecked, but you could always just take scissors to it 🤷🏻

[u/0hGeeze]

Cut out a patch of jersey knit fabric (like from another T-shirt) and fully coat with fabric glue, press to the inside back and let dry.

It needs this so the fabric doesn’t continue to disintegrate. Do this to every spot with a hole or where the fabric is weak for reinforcement.

Then stitch over it as you like :)

[u/FixergirlAK]

I'm using a shirt like that (my husband's shop shirt) to practice mending. I'm just trying every known technique on all the different holes. It doesn't matter how it looks and in the end either he'll get another year out of his shop shirt or I'll have some really cool cleaning rags.

I also use the dead shop shirts to patch the living ones. Zombie shirts!

[u/tammigirl6767]

Other people here will be able to give you better advice than I can about the visible mending. Some people make it into art.

But I can tell you to use a product called Fray Check as soon as you see a problem and the problem will never deteriorate further. I get it at Walmart or Michael’s.

[u/EricksAmazingShop]

I would personally repair this using another tshirt with some kind of adhesive spray and then zigzag stitch it down to secure ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[u/that_toof]

Post it in wastelandweekend and see if anyone wants it. This kind of weathering is gold. Otherwise I would attempt to patch first…somehow.

[u/bluespacecadet]

A lot of comments suggesting it’s game over, but just wanted to add something encouraging that there’s no harm in trying! I’ve done similar repairs on the partner’s and my shirts; I find that a hoop would be more annoying than helpful actually. You can consider using a black to match the design and go full visible mending, could give a cool style to what will look - if you’re anything like me - like a “well worn and loved” (we’ll say lol) big run of just basic embroidery stitches. Even being no seamstress, they hold up despite the laundromat

[u/SpicebushViburnum]

Safety pins.

[u/No_Square8192]

Cut the design and put it over a boring but comfy tee. The scraps you can make into scrunchies or braided wristlets, a small gift for your partner

[u/Zaeliums]

Cut out the pattern you like on the front and stick it/sashiko it on a new shirt

[u/Quail-a-lot]

I would carefully take that collar all the way and sew it back on, just a bit lower down. This will make the neck hole a little larger, but you could make a larger binding instead if that is a problem. You will need to unpick the existing twill tape, but it is for sure a good idea to either put it back on after or replace it with slightly wider twill tape, because it clearly needs reinforcement here! You are basically just doing the same thing as when the shirt was made, so how=to=sew-a-t-shirt tutorials are your friend. You could do a bias binding too, which honestly would be the easiest by far, but it might not be a look they are into.

Here's a sample blog post with decent explanation, but there are lots of videos too: https://www.pincutsewstudio.com/blog/2021/4/26/how-to-sew-a-knit-neckband-a-no-fail-method

[u/Altruistic-Bee8569]

All the people on here acting like the partner is gonna let you toss this shirt. 😭😭 the whole point is they won’t stop wearing it !!! 😂

[u/MzPunkinPants]

There are some items that are okay to recycle. All things have a life span. <3

[u/deshep123]

Trash can?

[u/Kaig00n]

That fabric is just gonna continue to deteriorate. When it gets like that it makes for good shoe polishing rags.

[u/Sagaincolours]

The fabric is worn so thin that I think it is a goner. If he really loves it, then frame it.

[u/DalbergTheKing]

I've got a t-shirt that's just like that. I put it on to the soft sound of tearing every couple of years, just to remember the good old days, then take it straight back off & put it back in the drawer. I last wore it a full day 21 years ago.

[u/Livid-Molasses-4131]

I don’t sew or mend— but I am a problem solver! Could you add something as an anchor below the holes then stitch that to the collar to close it up?