When you know how to sew, you can mend open seams and fallen hems easily with a bit of stitching. If you make your own clothes and save some fabric remnants, you can patch fabric that’s more substantially damaged. Stains that can’t be removed, and snags and tears that aren’t at seamlines, can be cut away and patched with an exact—or close—match.

In decades past, small tears, burn holes, or moth holes could be rewoven, a technique in which a patch of fabric was woven into the damaged area to fill it. That specialty service is practically defunct today. I’ll show you an updated version that uses fusible products and matching fabric. If you have scraps from sewing the garment, you are in luck. If not, consider harvesting patches from internal facings, wide hem allowances, or the area behind a patch pocket. This approach works…