About reweaving
Reweaving is the process of restoring damage in woven garments.There is no reweaving machine! All work must be done by hand with special needles, one thread at a time. A state-of-the-art microscope allows Phyllis Brown, our reweaver, to view the threads close-up and repair finely woven fabrics.

How does she do it? Two methods use threads from the original garment to match the damaged area. Using a "thread weave" method, each thread is replaced individually. This method can be used if the damage is small--1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. Larger damages can be repaired in coarsely woven garments such as tweeds. Using a "piece weave" method, a square of fabric slightly larger than the damage is taken from another area of the garment and woven into the damaged area (back side shown at left). Provided there is enough fabric available, a damage from one to two inches square can be repaired using this method. We can not reweave damages that measure over 1 1/2 in. in diameter on each side.  

About mending
Mending does not weave matching threads into the garment, but instead makes damage less noticable by bringing the edges of the damaged area together with hand or machine stitching.

This may save an unreweavable garment such as a raincoat.

 

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About reknitting
We can reknit small damage (to a quarter inch fine gauge, to an inch or more bulky) in knitted garments, including patterned knits, cable knits (left), and "designer" knits with good results.

 

Rib knit—can do.

Bulky knit—can do.

Fine knit—can do.

We CANNOT reknit fine rib knits, or silk knit undies.

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About reweavable fabrics
We CAN reweave most woolen fabrics, wool/synthetic blends, napped camel-hair and cashmere coat fabric, and some heavy cottons and raw silks.

Completed reweave on wool herringbone.

Back side of fabric showing pieceweave.

We CANNOT reweave:

• fine silk, lining, lingerie fabric, raincoat fabric, fine cotton, satin, denim, nylon, or rayon.
• thickly napped fabrics such as terrycloth, corduroy, velvet, velveteen, or velour.
• sheer fabrics such as chiffon, net, or gauze.
• non-woven materials—meaning leather, suede, or vinyl.
• printed fabrics, because it would be impossible to match threads.
• embroidery or needlepoint.
  

We CANNOT reweave:

• rugs, wall hangings, tents, sleeping bags, slipcovers, drapes, or upholstery. We don't have the space!
• shoes or handbags.
• vintage garments that are more than twenty years old or judged too fragile to work on.
• damage that has been covered with glue or fusible patches.
• damage so large that there are not enough threads available to cover it, or damage so large that the time to repair it (thus, the cost) would be unreasonable.
• burn damage where the surrounding area is badly scorched or melted.
• damaged areas where the threads are worn very thin.
• soiled garments. They must be cleaned first. And please, no cat hair! We are allergic!

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Will the reweave show?
The results depend upon the type of fabric, color, and size of original damage. Phyllis can accomplish nearly invisible reweaves on wool or wool-blend plain weaves, checks, houndstooth, herringbones, plaids, tweeds, basket weaves, and "designer" weaves.

Completed reweave on a patterned wool.

Back side of fabric showing pieceweave.

Completed reweave on a checked wool.

Back side of fabric showing pieceweave.

Gabardines, which have a fine diagonal texture, tend to show more.

Completed reweave on a gabardine.

Back side of fabric showing thread weave.

Soft textured fabrics show a reweave less than "hard" fabrics.
Darker colored fabrics show a reweave less than light fabrics.

Completed reweave on dark wool.

Completed reweave on light wool.

Microweave, a smooth velvety-textured fabric often used for tailored garments, consists of threads so fine they're nearly microscopic. Luckily, we do have a microscope.We can reweave this fabric, but it's more time-consuming—thus, more costly. Minimum price $65.00.

When Phyllis sees your damage, she can tell you what results to expect.

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About prices
Prices depend on the size of the damage and the size and difficulty of the weave. A fine weave or knit will be more time-consuming to repair than a coarse weave or bulky knit.

The average small damage in woven fabrics costs from $35.00 to $45.00. The average small damage in knits (see left) costs from $18.00 to $28.00.

When Phyllis sees your damaged fabric, she can give a firm price for the repair.

We now accept mail orders.

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About Job Speed
Turn around time for local pickup is about two weeks.

Turn around time for large or difficult jobs may be longer.

We can usually do rush orders if the damage is small.

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