Sailor Pants moth fix?

[tdogchristy90]

So as I was getting back into this hobby I pulled my grandpas navy stuff out. He was a master chief who served as a salvage diver during korea. I noticed that on his pants a group of holes are present on the front near the crotch. I know in some cases these are unfixable and it's all determined on size. Any thoughts on fixing these? This uniform is just my own joy and as such is not needed to be wearable or museum quality. I'm just looking for a fix that is as clean and nice as possible so as to repair the sight of holes.

 

 

thanks.

[RustyCanteen]

I don't know, I've seen some people carefully sew the smallest holes shut and take spare materiel from a ruined 'donor' pair and use it to patch the larger holes.

 

I wouldn't try it as it wouldn't be worth it, however since it's a family piece it can't be replaced.

 

RC

[tdogchristy90]

I was thinking the fiber/glue method or the patch behind the holds, again was just looking for advice from those wise in the repair department.

[ludwigh1980]

Hello, unfortunately this is a common problem with uniforms I collect; pre-ww1 U.S. Army and Marine. I abhor the use of glue on a vintage garment. It is typically perminate and will start to dis-color the fabric after several years. I seen this done on a rare uniform. Common uniforms today are the rare artifacts of tomorrow. Any restoration should be done where it can be reversable. I do quite a bit of garmet restoration. I keep my eye out for cheap dark wool flannel work shirts or even mothed out ww2 navy uniforms. After buying them I try to salvage as much of the wool as possible. Color does not have to be an exact match just close. For an area of several moth holes I back the area with a panel of wool. Now the next step, is determinate on how much you want to do. I will stitch each moth hole to the panel. When done the repair is hard to see from a distance and looks pretty good up close.

 

Terry