Meet Lambie. She’s the well-loved Lovie of one MissPrincessZ. She carries Lambie around by her ear, twirls her ear and rubs it on her nose while sucking her thumb. As you can see below, she was in need of some repair – the lining of her poor little ear has been twirled/sucked/rubbed away. I admit that I left her like this for quite some time, hoping that MissZ would be okay with it. We have a backup Lambie, but I really wanted to save her for the moment when Lambie is lost/damaged beyond repair. One night MissZ woke crying saying that Lambie was very sad and broken and needed a “BooBooBaid” (translate: BandAid). I soothed her back to sleep telling her that we’d make a BooBooBaid for her in the morning – and you can bet that she popped up in our bed as soon as the sun was shining asking to fix her Lambie.
So – I got to work. This method works no matter the size of repair, and you can use it wherever fabric is missing. The key to this method is to have enough fabric for the repair to have a fold, and that there be a little fabric you are able to fold on the edge that your repair piece will touch.
First, I let her pick the BooBooBaid, and she jumped up and down when she saw this fabric in the box. MissZ is ALL ABOUT the polka dots. (As an aside, sorry about the picture quality, I had to use my cellphone at the time).
Lay out your area to be repaired and trace around it. Be sure to give yourself generous 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowances. I used a pencil here. Note that if your area has curves, cutting a bit on the bias will help you work the fabric around the curves. After you’ve traced it out, carefully cut out the piece and audition it to make sure you like the finished look.
Now it’s time to gather your supplies. You’ll need a hot iron, needle and thread, and your patient. I would suggest that for this part that you keep your child’s temperament in mind. My little one was not happy to see Mommy poking her baby, but once I explained that it didn’t hurt her and let her sit next to me and hold Lambie’s hand the whole time, she was okay.
Next take your repair piece and iron under your seam allowance. Really set the fold, as it’ll help you get the stitching in cleanly and easier.
Using a ladder stitch (or blind stitch), stitch the pieces together. The key to the ladder stitch it to take small bites of fabric on one side ON THE FOLD and to do the exact same is the SAME place on the other side. When you pull the stitch tight, it will bring the two folds together and the stitch will disappear.
Work all the way around, and VIOLA! One happy Lambie!
I hope this helps you out, and please feel free to drop me a line if you have an questions.