fixing stockings

[wahine]

:wave:
When I wore some old pantyhose the other day I was wondering:
is it possible to repair minor damages in pantyhose or stockings? I mean, fix them yourself?

I know that in the old days, there were professionals who did that for you, you gave them the stockings and paid per loop/stitch.
This service seems to have stopped existing several years (or decades?) ago.
They used special machines for it:



In Germany, the machines used were called "Repassier-Maschinen" (coming from French "repasser", meaning supposedly "to catch runners" although a modern dictionary says it means "to iron"); I don't know the English word for it:


Nowadays, these machines are probably not easy to find and it wouldn't usually pay off to buy such a thing just to fix a few stockings. There must be a way to do it by hand. When you can fix a knitted woolen sock, why not a stocking? If that's possible, I wonder how?

The yarn needed is still being sold:

When looking for "repassier..", you also find very small crochet-like hooks that are supposed to be used:


But: how do you do it? There seems to be no advice on the web.
I do have a tiny crochet hook, I also have special yarn, and I have stockings and pantyhose with holes in them.
Who has the knowledge?
(I found a video on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8SXuULjik], but I can't really see what she's doing)

It's a general question, but I'd like to try it with the only old pantyhose I have. So far, I found out that it's only possible to fix vintage stockings because the new ones are produced in some other way (of course). But, I don't even know how to tell what kind I have. This is the pantyhose I'm talking about:


It's a pantyhose with faux seams, so it can't be too old. but it's not new either, the material isn't very flexible and the leg has a shape, Plus, the runners run horizontally instead of vertically.

Can anyone tell more about the process? :confused2:

if this topic already exists - sorry, I couldn't find it on the board - in that case bartenders, please merge

 

[Isis]

I wish I could. However, I KNOW I have seen pictuires somewhere on how you do it- the question is were... I'll try and find it, if not anyone else know.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Repairs don't work well on extremely sheer hose -- it's almost impossible to repair 15 denier dress stockings unless you have extremely fine thread, an extremely steady hand, and better-than-perfect vision. But it's entirely possible to repair walking-sheer (30 denier) or service weight (70 denier) nylons, or everyday cotton stockings, if you're very careful and the damage isn't too bad. If you have a run going from the toe to the welt, or even halfway up or down the leg, forget it -- you'll never be able to do it invisibly. If it's a small run, though, you'll need a darning egg, a very fine needle, and the appropriate color of mending silk.

First you have to darn the hole that started the run -- stitch over it in a kind of a diamond shape, doing a continuous weaving stitch back and forth and then weaving over and under it up and down. Then weave the finest strand of mending silk you can up the length of the run, weaving over and under the threads going straight across, and anchor it at the top of the run with a fine stitch. Then do the same thing downward, to the point of your darn, and then up again next to your first upward stitch, and then down again, and up again, and on and on until the run has been reasonably filled in.

This repair won't be absolutely invisible -- but if you're careful about matching the color and your hand is steady enough, it'll be reasonably unobtrusive. During the Era it was the rare woman who didn't have repairs in her everyday hosiery, so it wouldn't have been particularly conspicuous or out of the ordinary to be seen with such.

I've never tried to do this with stretch nylon, such as is found in panty hose -- you'd need spandex-containing yarn, and I'd think the stitching would be much too tricky to be especially successful.

 

[wahine]

LizzieMaine, thank you for the detailed advice!
I have some vintage mending silk that's supposed to be used for this job (at least I think it is, judging from the color range). I also have some strangely shaped needles which my aunt claimed to be meant for fixing stockings. I'll try to post a pic.
You never heard of a method using this sort of crochet hook?

Isis, do you remember if the instructions you think of recommended a sewing needle or some kind of a hook?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I never used a hook -- I just use a small darning needle, fine with a large eye. I think it's possible to use a hook if you're trying to recreate the precise knitting pattern of the stocking, but I've never tried to do that -- my eyes don't see well enough for that level of detail.

Remember with mending silk that it's very loosely twisted for a reason -- you're supposed to unravel the threads to get smaller, finer threads for whatever job you have at hand. Don't use it as it comes straight from the spool unless you're doing something really heavy weight.

 

[wahine]

The needles in the left are simply giant sewing needles, maybe for repairing knitted socks?
The ones in the middle are which puzzle me. They have a stub flat point and two holes each. Any idea?

 

[wahine]

I was wondering about the thickness of the yarn. Now I know better. :-D

 

[Miss Sis]

You never heard of a method using this sort of crochet hook?

Yes, I have heard of this, not at home, but in special places, often within Department Stores in the UK where the ladies who worked there would do it like this. I know I have seen pictures somewhere. I will have to go and have a look!

Silk stockings were expensive, so this sort of service was seen as an economy, although I seem to remember it didn't exactly seem cheap when I saw the price in the picture.

 

[Jo Larke]

I'm not sure how to fix them in the way you describe, but I do know that for very small holes clear nail polish is great! I just put a drop on the hole or tear and that prevents the hole/tear from getting any worse and ruining the hose entirely.

 

[C-dot]

All the runs in my lower-denier stockings occur near my toes, or at the top where the garter hooks into them. With my sewing machine, I sew the tear either into the seam across the toe, or in a very neat line if it is at the top. Nobody sees the top, and if a tear in the foot is sewed into the seam, it is invisible. On opaque stockings, runs anywhere can be easily fixed by sewing in a line with matching thread.

If the runs occur anywhere else on my low denier stockings, or if the runs are massive, I throw them out. I don't think I have the patience to crochet them back together lol

 

[wahine]

Jo Larke, that's the method I used so far. But it only helps for a while and I don't think it looks so nice. Plus, I stopped using nail polish (playing strings) and the leftovers are startin to dry all up

C-Dot, I never had the idea to use the sewing machine! Your a creative (and a little crazy) person, simply wonderful! That method sounds definitely worth trying. Not really vintage but surely so much faster than fumbling about with hooks and needles and a magnifying glass, hahah.

 

[C-dot]

Your a creative (and a little crazy) person, simply wonderful!

That's funny, because I thought that the crocheting method was a little crazy lol

 

[wahine]

So we have something in common.
I'm just not sure if it is that we think of each other as crazy persons or if we both in fact are crazy persons. Probably both