Information About Fabric Glue to Mend a Hole in Clothes

Fabric glue can be a real time saver when you need to quickly mend a hole in something, but it can be tricky to apply properly, so I wanted to share a bit of information about it. I also would like to share a bit about my experience with applying fabric adhesive to patch a small hole in a pair of dress slacks, which I documented in the YouTube video shared near the end of this article.

Info about using fabric glue to mend clothes image courtesy of Pixabay

Types of Fabric Glue to Consider

Basically, fabric glue can be permanent or semi-permanent.

• Temporary repairs: If you're trying to mend something you plan to properly fix later, look for semi-permanent fabric glue. It may be labeled semi-permanent or the label may mention that it washes out.
• Repairs that last: If you're using fabric glue as a final repair, or if it's in a spot you don't want to risk tearing out at an inopportune moment, look specifically for the word permanent on the label. 

Basics of Applying Fabric Adhesive

Applying fabric adhesive is fairly simple if the place you're putting it is easy to access. In the video below, I'm applying it to the inner layer of lined dress slacks, which made it fairly complicated.

• Make sure the fabric and patch are both clean and as free of frayed threads as possible.
• Use an artist's paintbrush or cotton swab to apply the fabric glue so you can put it neatly where you need it to be.
• Try to only apply the fabric glue where the patch will be placed because it can leave a shiny, coarse surface if it's exposed, plus it's more likely to peel if it sticks out from under the patch. 
• Apply a heavy coat of fabric adhesive, it may seem like you're just drenching the fabric with this glue, but it's more likely to bond well if you apply a thick coat of adhesive. 
• Check the label of the glue, fabric, and patch to make sure they're compatible. Some fibers simply won't bind well with fabric glue no matter how much you apply or how careful you are when applying a patch with fabric glue.

Video Showing How to Apply Fabric Glue to Mend a Hole in Clothes

With the pants in the pants in the video, I didn't apply nearly enough fabric glue, but I did also do some hand sewing to mend the hole.

The glued patch stayed very well on one side, but it was loose on the other.

I could have reglued it, of course, but I was already planning to sew the frayed ends and the parts that did stick well added enough strength to the pants that there was no worry of the hole getting bigger any time soon.

Here's a link to fabric glue on eBay in case you're interested in finding deals on this product.