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I keep hearing different accounts about stores repairing or not. I wonder if it depends on each store?
Scarves Tutorial: Repairing pulls in Cashmere/Silk scarves
- Thread starter MSO13
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I keep hearing different accounts about stores repairing or not. I wonder if it depends on each store?
Hello fellow scarfies! I have finally caved in to the cashmeres....and so here is my tale of not woe at the fixes I have done on my "starter" cashmeres. I wanted to share my methods here in case anyone else runs (ha ha) in to serious pull problems and wants an idea.
My first NTM CSGM was Zenobie, and I knew she was coming to me with some pulls, but only one was pictured. However, I knew it was a serious one. And it was. A broken thread. There was 1 more "lesser" pull with non broken threads and those are obviously the easiest to deal with.
(Aside-I have a long background in textiles and have for many years practiced textile weaving and dyeing and have a large floor loom and you can bet dealing with problems that occur while weaving is a skill you have to acquire. It has also helped me with the GM cashmere scarves since they are a fairly loose weave.)
So Zenobie's worst run had a pulled and broken thread.
I ended up using a 10x jewelers loupe to get close viewing and thread a thin needle in the general direction of the herringbone weave (which is angled).
The I threaded the loose end on to the eye and pulled it through. Repeated until I couldn't thread the broken thread any further, which was close enough for me! It doesn't really pose a huge problem in this situation with the fabric, but is a potential future weak spot. To truly fix it I would need to take a small piece from the hem, dye it to match the area, then work it in overlapping the broken ends.
After:
This was the other side of the broken thread pull. I basically worked from both sides to bring as much of the broken thread back in to line as possible and make the ends meet as close as I could.
After
And this one was not too hard. I just used the tip of the needle to create micro-pulls with the thread back in the other direction to make the original loop smaller with occasional tension adjustments and wiggling/massaging.
You couldn't even see this one once I was done!
My first NTM CSGM was Zenobie, and I knew she was coming to me with some pulls, but only one was pictured. However, I knew it was a serious one. And it was. A broken thread. There was 1 more "lesser" pull with non broken threads and those are obviously the easiest to deal with.
(Aside-I have a long background in textiles and have for many years practiced textile weaving and dyeing and have a large floor loom and you can bet dealing with problems that occur while weaving is a skill you have to acquire. It has also helped me with the GM cashmere scarves since they are a fairly loose weave.)
So Zenobie's worst run had a pulled and broken thread.
I ended up using a 10x jewelers loupe to get close viewing and thread a thin needle in the general direction of the herringbone weave (which is angled).
The I threaded the loose end on to the eye and pulled it through. Repeated until I couldn't thread the broken thread any further, which was close enough for me! It doesn't really pose a huge problem in this situation with the fabric, but is a potential future weak spot. To truly fix it I would need to take a small piece from the hem, dye it to match the area, then work it in overlapping the broken ends.
After:
This was the other side of the broken thread pull. I basically worked from both sides to bring as much of the broken thread back in to line as possible and make the ends meet as close as I could.
After
And this one was not too hard. I just used the tip of the needle to create micro-pulls with the thread back in the other direction to make the original loop smaller with occasional tension adjustments and wiggling/massaging.
You couldn't even see this one once I was done!
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And my other CSGM is Cuirs du Desert, and it also came with a problem. I knew there was a run and was prepared for the worst. But, it was actually the best case scenario. Upon inspection, the rather horrendous looking pull was actually not broken at all. It was just a big loop pull. (The actual bad news is it was a 45" pull.... 
)
And there's nothing else for that but sweat and swearing and slowly working it back along the line with a needle. It's not difficult, but is seriously time consuming because you basically have to move the pull slowly back about 1/4-1/2" at a time. I think it took me 2 hours but is like new now. And I really love the old cashmere 65/35 blend.
This is what I saw in pics...
Lawks! It went on and on!
After:
)And there's nothing else for that but sweat and swearing and slowly working it back along the line with a needle. It's not difficult, but is seriously time consuming because you basically have to move the pull slowly back about 1/4-1/2" at a time. I think it took me 2 hours but is like new now. And I really love the old cashmere 65/35 blend.
This is what I saw in pics...
Lawks! It went on and on!
After:
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Thank you! Yes- it is very detailed work, but it is surely doable.
On broken threads. (And this is just MY opinion as someone who weaves.) I would not remove a broken thread from a weave. The way the weaving classes and books have you deal with a broken thread, or any sort of join (like when you have to start a new piece of weft because you ran out) is by overlapping a new thread in to the part where there is an end or break in the case of a warp or snag like in a CSGM. I suspect this is what some of the "repair" places have to do when costly scarves are sent to them. They remove a small piece of thread, probably from the hem because it doesn't need to be a big overlap just maybe an inch each way, then work the piece in to the repaired broken area.
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And my other CSGM is Cuirs du Desert, and it also came with a problem. I knew there was a run and was prepared for the worst. But, it was actually the best case scenario. Upon inspection, the rather horrendous looking pull was actually not broken at all. It was just a big loop pull. (The actual bad news is it was a 45" pull....
And there's nothing else for that but sweat and swearing and slowly working it back along the line with a needle. It's not difficult, but is seriously time consuming because you basically have to move the pull slowly back about 1/4-1/2" at a time. I think it took me 2 hours but is like new now. And I really love the old cashmere 65/35 blend.
This is what I saw in pics...
View attachment 4532770
Lawks! It went on and on!
View attachment 4532772
After:
View attachment 4532771
BunnyCat you are amazing!
Many thanks for these detailed photos. I have to ask; as a person who works with textiles, how does someone, like myself who knows nothing, know which direction to work on the pulls? I have jardin leila that has a pull but since the design is monochrome, I can't tell which way to pull the loose thread. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Bunnycat-can I send two of my shawls to you for repair work too .... please please . Just kidding. (Very) good job !! Thank you for sharing.
P/s: I won’t be able to do what you do as I have poor eye sight and do not have steady hands like you.
P/s: I won’t be able to do what you do as I have poor eye sight and do not have steady hands like you.
BunnyCat you are amazing!
Argh- that is indeed the hardest part, and with something with few color changes you just have try easing it a little bit with the tip of the needle (pick a side to work on) and see which direction it goes. If it starts to cinch or tighten more, you probably need to go the other way instead. Just don't try to do more than about 1/2" ( about 10mm) as you start to work on it so if you are going the wrong way it is easy to undo what you did. Sometime you can tug a little on the bias on either side of a pull and see which way the thread wants to move. (If you are very lucky you can sometimes work them back in this way too.) I did some of this working with these pulls. Work on small amount->tug on bias a little to see if it falls in to place->work on another small amount->tug on bias again to shuffle the thread around....and so on. I have (heavens help me) another coming in and I'm sure there will be something to fix so I will try to do better pics if I have to fix a pull. The pics the MS013 did at the beginning probably do a better job of showing this than I can do though so you might look back at those and see if it helps.
Or maybe post a pic here? Maybe we can all sort it out by looking at it?
lol- trust me, I do not have good eyesight either or a steady hand but a magnifier or 10x loupe (hello Amazon) will fix that quick.
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Thank you bunnycat for the detailed pics before&after and your advice. I have a jewellers loupe and you inspire me to use it. I will start with my LV shawls because my Hermès CSGMs are still pristine 
Thank you so much for sharing! I am so impressed. You are so incredibly creative and talented. I wish I had your skills.
Mostly you just need a steady hand, a magnifier and an "I'm-not-going-to-let-this-piece-of-silk-win" attitude.
Thank you so much. It is so nice of you to take so much time for the step by step explanations and even the photos. This is most helpful, too.
Amazing.And my other CSGM is Cuirs du Desert, and it also came with a problem. I knew there was a run and was prepared for the worst. But, it was actually the best case scenario. Upon inspection, the rather horrendous looking pull was actually not broken at all. It was just a big loop pull. (The actual bad news is it was a 45" pull....
And there's nothing else for that but sweat and swearing and slowly working it back along the line with a needle. It's not difficult, but is seriously time consuming because you basically have to move the pull slowly back about 1/4-1/2" at a time. I think it took me 2 hours but is like new now. And I really love the old cashmere 65/35 blend.
This is what I saw in pics...
View attachment 4532770
Lawks! It went on and on!
View attachment 4532772
After:
View attachment 4532771
I am reviving this thread in the hopes that either the OP or someone who has had success with this can help. I am NOT a seamstress by any means, so I feel a little out of my element. However, I just bought a CSGM on eBay that is sold out in the boutiques, but is the color way I've been searching for. Unfortunately, it has a snag. I don't want to take it to Hermes to see if they can fix it since I am not the original purchaser. So I'd like to take a stab at fixing it myself once it arrives.
I am trying to follow along with the photos from the original post. I am a bit lost, however. Does one have to use the needle to actually sew the "loop" from the pull back into the shawl, or use it just to pull the thread back into place? Any help would be appreciated - sorry I am really out of my element here!
I am trying to follow along with the photos from the original post. I am a bit lost, however. Does one have to use the needle to actually sew the "loop" from the pull back into the shawl, or use it just to pull the thread back into place? Any help would be appreciated - sorry I am really out of my element here!