a pretty patch

I like my flannel nightgowns, and I got a funny tear on one of them. In front of the underarm, near the seams. A funny place, and the rest of it in good condition.

First I cut a piece of cotton and pinned it below the tear, intending to reinforce the whole thing and do some sashiko type stitching all around it. It was awkward trying to finagle it - I wasn't able to get the torn edges to meet back together again, but I stitched the piece with white thread all the way around the tear, and then did some reinforcing stitches in light pink, in three rows. I didn't think to take a picture, but here's the back:

You can see some of the stitches here.

When I finished the hand stitching, I still had the patch fabric showing through in the center - not that I minded that, but it was a thin piece of stuff, and I didn't think it would hold up to wear. I decided I had to make a patch to go on top.

I found some white sheeting and cut a larger triangle than the area I was patching, then pressed each of the sides under. I basted it on and then chose burgundy thread and a scallop machine stitch.

I'm all for making patches look obvious!  Here you can see just where it is on the nightgown -

So it ended up covering my hand stitches, but it's a learning process. I think I needed both a bottom and a top patch to keep the whole area strong, so all's well that ends well. I hope it holds up.