To repair holes in the arms of coats, jackets and jumpers, buy leather or suede elbow patches that sew or iron on.
To patch a ripped hole in fabric, follow these steps.
HOW TO PATCH A HOLE Photo Gallery
1 Trim frayed edges from the hole with sewing scissors and cut it into a square or rectangle shape.
2 With scissors, at each corner clip a tiny slit 0.5 centimetres deep at an angle of 45 degrees.
3 Find a piece of fabric of matching weight to your garment to be the patch. Cut it to match the shape of the hole, leaving a 3-centimetre margin on all sides.
4 Before securing the patch to your garment, stitch the edges of the backing piece using overcast stitch to prevent them from fraying.
5 Place the patch behind the hole with the fabric right side up.
6 Pin the patch to the garment. Use a basting stitch to secure the patch round all four sides.
7 Turn the 0.5-centimetre edges of the garment neatly under so they create a frame round the patch, then press into place.
8 Backstitch the turned edges all the way round.