Dave Posted August 31, 2007 Share #1 Posted August 31, 2007 All: I recently purchased a very historical uniform with about a quarter-sized moth hole/mouse bite in the patch pocket. Does anyone have a contact they could suggest who could professionally repair the hole in the pocket? The uniform is historically valuable enough that I am willing to pay well to someone who can do a professional job of it. Thanks! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayg Posted August 31, 2007 Share #2 Posted August 31, 2007 All: I recently purchased a very historical uniform with about a quarter-sized moth hole/mouse bite in the patch pocket. Does anyone have a contact they could suggest who could professionally repair the hole in the pocket? The uniform is historically valuable enough that I am willing to pay well to someone who can do a professional job of it. Thanks! Dave Dave, What kind and period uniform are we talking about? I don't know anyone professional that I can direct you to but I would imagine a call/search to local tailers might produce a competent individual to repair the item. I find that it is not difficult to repair minor damge myself. Of course not major damage but moth holes like you mentioned. I have very little sewning skills but it's surprising how one can do some minor repairs without having professional sewning skills. The best way is to back the hole using the same kind of material as the item's material. In a lot of cases a small amount of material for this can be removed from the item usually from excess material around the seams or other areas where that removal would not be noticable. If no excess material can obtained be from the item you might try a trip to a fabric store to find some similar material that would blend in. Secure the material patch with the same color thread as the material and sew using small/tiny stitches that don't show much. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted August 31, 2007 Dave, What kind and period uniform are we talking about? Ray, thanks for the pointers. This is a WW1 US Army officer's jacket. What (I think) needs to happen is to have a tailor take a piece of the fabric from inside the pocket, and then weave it into the hole on the outside of the pocket. That's about the only way to get it done properly. With this jacket as expensive as it is though, I wouldn't trust it with any local tailor, unless they had significance in re-weaving antique cloth items. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted August 31, 2007 Share #4 Posted August 31, 2007 All: I recently purchased a very historical uniform with about a quarter-sized moth hole/mouse bite in the patch pocket. Does anyone have a contact they could suggest who could professionally repair the hole in the pocket? The uniform is historically valuable enough that I am willing to pay well to someone who can do a professional job of it. Thanks! Dave You want a reweaver and they are a dying breed. There are some on the internet in case you're in an area that has none (and that's most areas anymore). Do a google search for reweaving - here's one example of what you'll find: http://www.fabricmending.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl1944 Posted August 31, 2007 Share #5 Posted August 31, 2007 I've done some moth hole repairs on a couple of my IKE jackets myself. I use a piece of the wool fabric from a similar jacket and sew or glue it in the hole. In 90% of the cases you don't see it at all. This all depends on the size of the hole offcourse. If you have a torn up jacket lying about somewhere it's best do practice some first and then move on to the real thing. Personally I don't trust tailors Best regards Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted August 31, 2007 Share #6 Posted August 31, 2007 Ray, thanks for the pointers. This is a WW1 US Army officer's jacket. What (I think) needs to happen is to have a tailor take a piece of the fabric from inside the pocket, and then weave it into the hole on the outside of the pocket. That's about the only way to get it done properly. With this jacket as expensive as it is though, I wouldn't trust it with any local tailor, unless they had significance in re-weaving antique cloth items. Dave For something like a mothhole they won't patch: they will actually use thread to reweave it. Anyone who is a reweaver can do it: ask to see a sample of their work, but as I understand it, you either know how to reweave or you don't, and if they do know how to, then they should be able to do a good job regardless of the age of the piece. I bought my wife a new wool coat for $350 a few years back and moths got to that. You could not tell where the holes had ben after the reweaver got done with it. I pass on buying (for actuall very low prices) a lot of uniforms with mothing, especially on things like knit cuffs of old flight jackets. I've often thought it might be worth learning how to do it. Has anyone seen a copy of Reweaving For Dummies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigma9r Posted August 31, 2007 Share #7 Posted August 31, 2007 Along these same lines, I have several recently inherited several wool uniforms from the late 1950's. Anybody have any ideas regarding protecting these uniforms from those nasty uniform-eaters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted August 31, 2007 Share #8 Posted August 31, 2007 Along these same lines, I have several recently inherited several wool uniforms from the late 1950's. Anybody have any ideas regarding protecting these uniforms from those nasty uniform-eaters? I use moth traps and once every few months a cedar-scented spray in the room where the uniforms are: that seems to work great. The spray is in an orange can with the brand name SLA: http://www.kilianhardware.com/slamotconspr.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36-tex Posted September 2, 2007 Share #9 Posted September 2, 2007 I have had success is "shaving" some of the jackets fibers and then using a clothing glue to fill in moth holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayg Posted September 3, 2007 Share #10 Posted September 3, 2007 I have had success is "shaving" some of the jackets fibers and then using a clothing glue to fill in moth holes. Good one Tex. I have used that technique also for small holes and it works very well and if done proper you can't tell the hole was ever there. Need to be careful though and not use too much glue, Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted September 3, 2007 Share #11 Posted September 3, 2007 Out of curiosity, who was the owner of the uniform? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 3, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted September 3, 2007 Out of curiosity, who was the owner of the uniform? The one I'm trying to fix? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted September 3, 2007 Share #13 Posted September 3, 2007 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 3, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted September 3, 2007 Yes. It didn't belong to anyone famous per se.... more like to someone from a famous unit. I'll post up the name once I get done paying for it. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted September 4, 2007 Share #15 Posted September 4, 2007 I look forward to it! Thanks! Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armed 2 tha Teeth Posted September 14, 2007 Share #16 Posted September 14, 2007 I have had success is "shaving" some of the jackets fibers and then using a clothing glue to fill in moth holes. What type of glue would you use for this? I have a pair of WWII Marine pants and a Marine jacket each with a hole the size of an eraser head. I was thinking about either "shaving" the garments of taking a bit out of the hem of the pants to fix them. Please enlighten me on how to do this correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bank Vault Posted September 15, 2007 Share #17 Posted September 15, 2007 Any pictures of the jacket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted September 16, 2007 Share #18 Posted September 16, 2007 Dave, I have a "little old lady" who used to reweave for a living out of a local department store. She is retired and doesn't do much work, but I would bet that I could talk her into doing it if the project is important enough. She occassionally does some work for the state historical society, so they think she is as good as I do. Holler at me. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpatrick Posted September 16, 2007 Share #19 Posted September 16, 2007 I would highly recommend Lynn Gorges, the wife of well known Civil War dealer, Will Gorges. His wife is a professional textile conservator. Just go to www.battlegroundantiques.com and browse their site for her contact information. The important thing to consider, is that if the person DOES goof it up, you want someone with insurance coverage. A professional textile conservationist would have such coverage, as well as the skill to undertake such an endouvor. Anyone else??? Well, your just playing with fire. Let me know if you go with this person. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #20 Posted October 18, 2007 Thanks for the help guys... am posting the uniform in the "Latest Finds..." forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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