Repair

Hands with knitted woolen gloves

A hole in a nice sweater isn't the end of the world

When a fine wool garment is worn year after year, sooner or later a small hole may appear—from moths, from a bag that’s rubbed against it a little too much in one spot, or from a day spent in the brambles with the dog. That’s part of owning something for a long time. It rarely means the sweater has to be thrown away

In most cases, a hole can be patched without leaving a visible mark. And if it’s large, or if you don’t mind the repair being visible, it can still be fixed in a sensible way.

How to patch a small hole yourself

For holes up to about 5 mm, you can do the work yourself. You will need:

A thin darning needle with a large eye
A small amount of yarn in the same quality and color as the garment—preferably the repair yarn we include in our shipments, or from a yarn shop that carries cashmere or other fine wool yarns. You’re also welcome to contact us to see if we have any leftover yarn of that type.
A small cardboard disc or a sponge ball to place under the hole

Instructions:

Turn the garment inside out and lay it on a table.
Place the cardboard disc under the hole so that you have a flat surface.
Thread the needle and start about 1 cm from the edge of the hole. Sew small vertical stitches across the hole, keeping them parallel and close together.
Now turn the needle 90 degrees and make horizontal stitches across the vertical ones. This weaves a small pattern into the hole.
Finish with a knot on the wrong side and trim the ends short.

The result is a small, tight stitch that closes the hole and prevents it from getting bigger. With matching yarn, it becomes almost invisible.

If there are moth holes: freeze the clothes for 24 hours first (in a sealed bag) to kill the larvae before sewing.

Visible darning — another way

In recent years, visible mending has emerged as a deliberate aesthetic choice, inspired in particular by Japanese craft traditions such as sashiko (geometric stitching) and boro (patched textiles). The idea is simple: instead of hiding the repair, you make it part of the garment’s look.

A visible mended hole can be a contrasting-colored weave, a small embroidered motif on top, or a simple row of stitches that follows the fabric’s texture.

It’s an attitude toward clothing that we can relate to: things become more beautiful with use, and signs of wear aren’t something you need to hide.

If you prefer professional help

For larger holes, or if you’d like a completely invisible repair, we recommend taking the garment to a specialized tailor. In the Greater Copenhagen area, there are several Danish artisans who specialize in delicate knitwear repairs:

Delicate Knits — has experience with cashmere and fine merino, and makes sure the patches are as invisible as possible.
HulHul — specializes in mending holes in knitwear; prices start at 250 DKK per hole and 150 DKK for hand-woven patches.
FRB Tailor & Dry Cleaner (Frederiksberg) — hand repair of cashmere and knitwear using the "invisible mending" technique.

Please write or call in advance, and feel free to show us the clothing before you make your decision—the price depends on the size and location of the hole.

Our ambition

We are working toward offering repair services through our manufacturers in Mongolia—especially for our own clothing, where we have access to the original yarn. It’s not quite in place yet, but it’s a direction we believe in: that part of selling durable clothing is helping it “through its life,” not just through the purchase.

In the meantime, feel free to contact us if you have any questions about a repair. We and our suppliers know the clothing well and can often help you find the right solution—even when it comes to determining whether an item can be saved or not.