How to Hide a Tear in a Cloth

Clothing Tears

• 1

  Hide the tear by making it look intentional. This is perhaps the easiest way to deal with torn clothing. For example, incorporate torn jeans in a punk-rock style outfit, rather than pairing them with sophisticated tops.

• 2

  Layer torn shirts strategically. If your favorite lace camisole suffered a rip, hide it by only wearing it under other shirts. The layering look is consistently in style, so that little rip never needs to see sunlight again. For a distressed look, wear a torn shirt over another tank so the bottom shirt’s color shows through. Choose colors that go well together to pull off this look; for example, wear a brightly-colored tank top underneath a torn black shirt to make the color pop.

• 3

  Repurpose clothing that is severely torn. If the rip is extremely large or located in an area that is difficult to hide, it might be a lost case. However, severely torn clothing can easily be repurposed into washcloths, bandanas and quilt material, among other uses. Get creative with your scraps of fabric.

Upholstery Rips

• 4

  Rearrange your sofa cushions to hide a tear in couch material. If possible, simply turn a torn cushion over to display the intact side. Alternately, place a throw pillow over the tear to keep it away from the eyes of company.

• 5

  Add a decorative item to torn upholstery in order to disguise a rip. Choose a throw blanket in a color or pattern that complements your furniture, and drape it artfully over the torn area. If the rip is especially difficult to hide, invest in a slip cover to hide it and protect your furniture from further rips.

• 6

  Purchase seat covers for torn car seats. You can pick solid color covers to minimize the cover-up, or go all out and decorate your car with patterned or brightly-colored covers. Either way, this idea has the added benefit of protecting your seats from additional tears while also covering up the offending rip.