How to darn(repair) a Smartwool t-shirt (base layer)

I love my Smartwool microweight t-shirt.  So much so that I have worn it until it got some holes in it.  Its an older, well loved and worn shirt that I think I got my money's worth out of.

Now were this one of my gazillion cotton t-shirts I've collected over the years, I would have thrown it in my wash rag box in my garage.  But this is not one of my cotton t-shirts.  Its is my favorite technical t-shirt that, quite frankly, cost me some serious cash...for a t-shirt.  And while worth every penny (see my review here).  In fairness to the product, I have gotten a fair "lifetime of the product" out of this shirt and don't feel right sending it to Smartwool for a replacement.  I was not about to throw it away, or recycle it without a fight, so I decided to fix it.  

After Googling "how to repair a smartwool sock" I was introduced to the world of darning.  Now if you're not familiar with darning, here is a nice article that shows how to darn a thick, wool sock.  Needless-to-say, doing a thin micro, or even midweight Smartwool base layer piece took some modification to the process, so I decided to post a tutorial for those who live for the truly-tedious.  As a warning, this is something that takes much dexterity, and patience.  It's not something I would expect a lot of people to do, but I do know that outdoor gear junkies are some of the most MacGyver-like folk out there.  So, once your system has been detoxed of all caffeine, you're ready to get started.

STEP 1 - Get the right supplies (Figure 1).  To do this right, I recommend a small embroidery hoop, sharp scissors, a regular sewing needle, and good quality polyester thread.  I chose polyester because its a cheap alternative to wool tread (which is near impossible to find locally) and the polyester thread doesn't hold water like a cotton treaded weave might.  Depending on the weight/thickness of the piece you're repairing, determines the thickness of the thread.  For the micro weight t-shirt, I used standard spooled thread.  For a mid weight piece, I might find a tread/string that's a little thicker.

Figure 1- Note, I used a single-threaded needle technique.  Make sure you hold the short end of the thread when pulling, otherwise the thread will come out

STEP 2 - After securing your t-shirt in the embroidery hoop (don't over stretch the shirt, but make sure its not too loose either), start by taking some running stitches around the hole in the solid part of the fabric. (A running stitch is just "in, out, in, out" with the needle).  I know it may be hard to see in the pictures below since I'm using a tread color that matches the shirt, but if you look closely at the next three pictures, you can see how I encircled the hole with the running stitch.

STEP 3 - Run parallel stitches across the hole, about a needle or two thickness between the strings.  I like to do this along the shorter dimension of the hole.  Also, make sure that you start and stop each parallel stitch outside the running stitch you did in step 2.

STEP 4 - Once you've completed all your parallel rows, now begin to work perpendicular to those rows, weaving in and out of those parallel rows (Figure 2)... like weaving a paper basket, but on a much, much, smaller scale (Figure 3).

Figure 2 - Make sure to do your best job alternating over-and-under each row, but you don't have to be perfect.  You'll do enough weaves to make up for any missed stitches.

Figure 3 - Notice that the rows in this weave pattern is closer than the first set of rows you sewed in STEP 3.  

Figure 4 below shows what the completed weave looks like

Figure 4 - You can see the the weave looks more like a 'net' than a dense t-shirt weave

STEP 5 - Because you have a loose, net-like weave, double and triple back through your pattern (Figure 5) using the net-like weave to support your work.  Again, your over-and-under pattern does not have to be perfect because you'll do enough rows to make up for the occasional missed stitch.

Figure 5 - For added strength I reworked the weave in both directions, perpendicular to each other.  This part also goes much faster than STEP 2 and STEP 3 above as you are building up, and reinforcing the weave pattern.  Keep building up until you get a thickness consistent with the rest of the base layer.

And Voila!  Below is the finished repair.  While not perfect, if you pick the right color, you'll hardly see it, and for me, I didn't even feel it.  Also, if you build up the weave enough, its much stronger than the shirt itself.  I hope this is clear, and if you have any questions, feel free to email me or post them and I'll try to be more clear where I am not.  Good luck!