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.

How to Use Fabric Adhesive to Mend a Small Hole in Clothes

While sewing is an ideal way to fix a hole torn in pants, or any other garment, iron-on patches and patches glued on with fabric adhesive are also worthwhile parts of the garment mending process.

Fabric Adhesive to Mend a Hole in Clothes image by Laure Justice

Tips for Using Fabric Adhesive to Mend a Hole in Clothes

Unless the support patch you're applying is a perfect match for the fabric that has a torn spot you're covering, it's ideal to put the support patch on the wrong side of the fabric.

A support patch is just a patch of fabric that's used to strengthen damaged fabric, and if you're using fabric glue, to catch loose fibers around the hole.

The patch in the image below is a bit hard to see, but I'll give you some details...

I applied Fabric Fusion permanent fabric adhesive to a small silk square. I applied a thin layer because the fabric is thin, BUT - it didn't adhere - it needed a thicker layer of fabric glue.

(By the way: That's an affiliate link, which means, if you click it and buy Fabric Fusion through it, I'll earn a few cents from the purchase - BUT - it doesn't EVER affect the price you would pay.)

Glued-on Fabric Patch image by Laure Justice

I kept the amount of glue used to a minimum because I didn't want it to soak through the thin fabric of the pants.

Since a few frayed spots still show, once the glue dried, I used a fine back thread to gently weave around the hole and stitch the patch in place for extra security.

Video Showing How to Apply Fabric Glue to a Patch for Mending Pants

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By: Laure Justice