History Man Posted February 7, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 7, 2011 I have won the lottery in the military collecting world. I found a guy who owns a 40,000 sq ft warehouse packed with vintage uniforms. i am pulling out uniforms each week but one problem: mothing. for some uniforms it is slight but for some horrible. i am pulling out beat to hell uniforms hoping to bring them back and restore them. it is a matter of letting them get destroyed or helping them. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix moth holes? I heard of one technique which is a powder you mix with the cloth then iron them. I just want to stay away from tailors so i dont spend $100s for a couple of uniforms. alsois there a way to determine the exact shade of the uniform or just try to match it as best as possible. And lastly, is there a store that sells wool or should I just take uniforms that have no hope and use them to fix the color and wool problem. thanks and PM me if there are any types of WW1 - Modern Uniforms you are looking for. I will keep that in mind when i go. thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceGI Posted February 7, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 7, 2011 I have won the lottery in the military collecting world. I found a guy who owns a 40,000 sq ft warehouse packed with vintage uniforms. i am pulling out uniforms each week but one problem: mothing. for some uniforms it is slight but for some horrible. i am pulling out beat to hell uniforms hoping to bring them back and restore them. it is a matter of letting them get destroyed or helping them. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix moth holes? I heard of one technique which is a powder you mix with the cloth then iron them. I just want to stay away from tailors so i dont spend $100s for a couple of uniforms. alsois there a way to determine the exact shade of the uniform or just try to match it as best as possible. And lastly, is there a store that sells wool or should I just take uniforms that have no hope and use them to fix the color and wool problem. thanks and PM me if there are any types of WW1 - Modern Uniforms you are looking for. I will keep that in mind when i go. thanks for the help. It will be virtually impossible to find any modern wool fabrics on the market that will match vintage uniforms. What I would suggest is using some of the worst garments for donor fabric to repair the better ones. You can often "steal" enough patching material from hidden seam allowances in thedamaged garment itself. I was able the restore a very moth-eaten F-1 heated suit using only fabric from inside seams. If you don't have the sewing skills to do it yourself you'll pay some money. Patching from behind the hole gives the cleanest look. It will be delicate work. Watch the grain of the fabric and align your patch with it. Keep your stiches small. A company called Gutermann has a decent array of 100% cotton thread in colors that are good matches for WWI & WWII era stuff. What types of uniforms are you hoping to reair? I've never heard of any miracle iron-on moth repair. I honestly can't imagine something like that not looking like crap. HTH Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmdo Posted February 8, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 8, 2011 :think: It would be nice to see some pictures of the warehouse and uniforms. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted February 8, 2011 I will. I am trying to refirbish a St Johns Military School tunic which is complete with all patches, ribbons and lanyards. also a WW2 US navy Commanders mess tunic, ww2 3rd army air core overoat, WW2 navy pilots tunic. i will pst some pics of the tunics tonight. I am also refirbishing an Aussie made US overcoat. patches just came in the mail for making it the 2nd bombartment group. thanks for any info and i will post pics of the warehouse when I go this weekend.I am letting the members know that sent me a list of what they are looking for. i am making a list that I will bring with me so if you are looking for something its probably be there. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted March 15, 2011 i posted pics of various items in the latest find and acquisitions forum if you want to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted March 15, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 15, 2011 The only way to seamlessly fix the mothing is reweaving and that is almost a lost art and not cheap when you find someone who can do it. Search google for reweaving los angeles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted March 15, 2011 thanks for the info :think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2reproductions Posted March 15, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 15, 2011 A good traditional tailor would be able to fix the holes..Its not cheap but results are good. Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted March 15, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 15, 2011 Where are the pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted March 16, 2011 the pictures are in the Latest Finds and Acquistions forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36-tex Posted March 24, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 24, 2011 For smaller moth holes, you can try the "shaving" method. This is where you carefully "shave" some fibers off of the jacket you are fixing. Use the shaved fibers, mix with some clothing glue and apply to the holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainofthe7th Posted May 20, 2011 Share #12 Posted May 20, 2011 In the past I have cut out a swatch of scrap wool and sewn it into place (quarter sized moth holes and smaller), stitching in the same direction as the weave and just working the material in. It's tedious but not as tedious as reweaving. I've also used the method that 36-tex mentioned and it works great. Here is an example on a smaller hole. Granted it's not perfect, but from a normal viewing distance it looks pretty slick. BEFORE! AFTER! What makes it difficult are the inconsistent edges and different runs of fabric. It's like a puzzle where none of the pieces fit and the colors don't match. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 20, 2011 Share #13 Posted May 20, 2011 the pictures are in the Latest Finds and Acquistions forum. Couldn't find any of the warehouse in there...we're hoping that you found something that looks like this: (from: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...howtopic=21007) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted May 28, 2011 i sadly couldnt get any pics of the massive piles yet. its not even that neat and cleaned up. there are piles about 12-15 feet tall with piles everywhere that are so thick that you can walk just fine on top its unbelievable what you see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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