How to fix a hole on the shoulder line on a t-shirt

Did it ever happen to you? To buy a nice piece of clothing come home and discover it has a hole somewhere?

It did happen to me! I bought a t-shirt for my mom. A nice, simple and comfortable t-shirt. 100% linen. If it was some synthetic, I probably would not have felt so guilty. Brand new piece and it’s broken. Well, I’m going to fix this and I’ll show you how.

Before

After

Needed supplies

Let’s get started

You’ll be needing decoration trims (one that matches great with your t-shirt) and a piece of fusible interfacing and usual sewing stuff (matching thread, sewing machine, etc). And a cat. The cat is optional, of course! Basically, we will cover the hole. But with some secure measurements.

Preps

Before any other movement

Press the shoulder seams and the trims. Then. cut a trim piece for one shoulder. Note that it has to be a bit longer than the shoulder length on the t-shirt. For symmetry, we’ll decorate both shoulders, so cut the second trim piece, same length.

For fusible interfacing, we need to measure the distance marked with the red segment. Now cut two pieces (for both shoulders) with the length measured above. The width should be a bit bigger than the trim! And we’re done prepping.

Apply fusible interfacing

Got to the ironing board. The interface must be placed on the inside of the shirt. It must cover the hole. Why are we using fusible interfacing? To stop the hole from getting bigger. Now press. Depending on the fusible type, you may need a wet scrap of cotton fabric on top.

Sew trims

On the inside, the shoulder lines are covered with fusible interfacing. Turn the shirt. On the right side, we’ll be sewing trims to cover the hole.

Get one piece for one shoulder (I had to ask permission – tummy rubs). Place the trim along with the shoulder seam to cover the hole. The ends of the trim must go beyond the edges of the t-shirt. You can pin the trim or hand-baste. I ran straight to my sewing machine. There are two stitches to be made – red arrows show where. The small hole is hidden between those two layers. Do the same for the second shoulder.

Finishing

Attention to small details makes it stand out. We need to hide the trim ends. On the neck side, there is one topstitch, so I do the same – one small stitch on the trim only. This stitch must catch the floating end we turned inside. On the armhole, there are two stitches.

When done, turn the t-shirt inside-out. Trim ends may still be too long. So, cut them. Just a touch of the steam and iron, and we’re done.