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SubjectFree lesson

CARE OF FAMILY CLOTHING - REPAIRS

ClassNotes Team 3 MIN READUPDATED 5 JUL 2026

HOME ECONOMICS J. S. S TWO FIRST TERM

WEEK TEN

THEME: FAMILY LIVING AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/ CLOTHING AND TEXTILE

CARE OF FAMILY CLOTHING - REPAIRS

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

  1. Demonstrate clothing repair

CONTENT

Clothing Repairs And Maintenance

Repair and maintenance of clothing ensure that the clothing article will be useful and durable over a longer period of time. Clothes like any other articles need care and maintenance, which if properly carried out provides better service to the user. Clothing repairs involve mending tears, replacing lost buttons, stitching loose seams, darning or patching tears and holes on clothes, replacing spoilt zippers, slacked elastics, among others. It is very necessary to mend clothes as soon as the tear occurs for it saves time and energy. There are different methods of mending or repairing clothes which include the following: darning, patching, re-stitching and re-placement of loose fastenings.

1. Close Split Seam

    1. Turn the wrong side of the garment.
    2. Cut off any loose threads.
    3. Replace the seam line stitches with his back stitches or machine stitches.
    4. Sew through the original holes.
    5. Press the seam back to its original position.

2. Replacing Buttons

    1. Thread your needle and double it over.
    2. Start on the back of your fabric where the button will be placed.
    3. Pass through the button several times with your needle and thread.
    4. Make the final pass through the back of the fabric.
    5. Make sure that knot is tight against the fabric. Tie the thread.

3. Repairing A Zipper

When the runners slip off the teeth, take the following steps to repair:

  1. Pull the runner down to the button, cut the zip tape between the teeth on the disengaged side.
  2. Pull the runner up pass the cut in the tape, working the teeth into the runner above the cut.
  3. Just above the cut, sew overcast stitches to hold the two sides together and form a new button stop.
  4. Darning

This is a method used to strengthen weak or worn out areas of clothes, fabric or household linen. Darning is mostly used in knitted fabric e.g. Sweaters, Cardigans, Stockings, Towels, Akwete Clothes, among others. It can also be used to amend tear in household articles or garments which are torn by objects. For all types of darning, the thread used must be of the same fabric, colour as the article to be darned. Darning can be carried out by hand or using the sewing machine. Note, darning is mainly carried out on a knitted fabric which is difficult to patch.

Types Of Darning

There are different types of darning which include the following:

  1. Hedge tear darn
  2. Hole darn
  3. Cut across darn
  4. Stocking darn
  5. Machine darn
  6. Hedge Tear Darning: This is mostly caused by accident either through contact with a very sharp object like a nail. Such tear does not have a weak area surrounding it.
  7. Hole Darning: This is done on a clothing article that has a hole as a result of a tear.
  8. Cut Across Darning: This method can be used on table linens and towels.
  9. Stocking Darn: Stocking darn can be done on all fabric types.
  10. Machine Darn: Machine can be used in darning. There are special machines for darning. However, the straight sewing machines can be used in darning with care by running several lengths of stitches on the area to be darned either in one direction or both depending on the types of tear.