Reweaving & Rekitting
Special Notice on Reweaving
In this section of our website, we state that we assign our reweaving and re-knitting work to 2 parties:
“Less complex" re-knitting work is assigned to our in-house reweaver; “more complex” reweaving work (such as french weaves and piece weaves) is sent to an outside individual who performs reweaving work for a very small group of high-end dry cleaners.
Please note that the individual who performed our outside reweaving work has retired and that it is proving extremely difficult finding a replacement who can meet his and our high quality standards.
According, we have suspended our reweaving service until such time as a suitable, technically skilled replacement can be found.
We’d go so far as to speculate that, due to the age and cultural background of most skilled reweavers, the “golden age of reweaving” may be over.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we continue to offer in-house re-knitting services of the “less complex” variety, such as re-knitting holes in sweaters and other knit garments.
Reweaving - The most invisible form of repair available
At RAVE FabriCARE, we offer a reweaving service for rips, tears, and holes in your favorite garments or household textiles. Reweaving is particularly useful for repairing moth holes in fine wools and is the most “invisible” form of repair available.
Each rip, tear or hole must be seen and evaluated by our reweaver to determine what you can and cannot expect of the finished repair.
Please realize that he notion that all reweaves will be “invisible” is, for the most part, a myth.
Accordingly, no guarantee can or will be provided that the finished repair will be completely invisible. For further information, please see “Guarantees” below.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we assign our reweaving and re-knitting work to 2 parties: “Less complex” re-knitting work is assigned to our in-house reweaver; “more complex” reweaving work is sent to our outside reweaver who performs reweaving work for a small group of high-end dry cleaners.
Personal visit required
All reweaves and re-knits must be brought in personally.
This way we can examine the garment or household textile, discuss your options, show you examples of garments and household textiles that have been rewoven or re-knitted and help you assess the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Armed with that information, you’re now positioned to make an informed decision on the result you can reasonably expect and on the economic viability of the project.
This is why we do not accept reweaving commissions sent in through our Local Pick Up And Delivery service, our Nationwide Clean by Mail service or our Worldwide Clean By Mail service.
Our insistence on examining the garment or household textile in your presence and informing you of the likely outcome runs contrary to the manner in which most reweaving and re-knitting services operate.
For example, there are many internet-based reweaving and re-knitting services that will accept all garments and household textiles sight unseen and “complete” the work. Whether the commission should have been accepted in the first place, whether it's cost effective, and whether you'll be even mildly satisfied with the result, is, to put it bluntly, of no concern to them.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we refuse to offer a reweaving or re-knitting service that will not produce a positive outcome.
As a result, we're hesitant to offer a reweaving or re-knitting service that is not economically justifiable because the estimated cost of the work would far exceed the actual value of the garment or household textile.
On the other hand, if the garment or household textiles is of sentimental or historical value, we'll work with you to produce best possible result.
Our right to reject unsuitable candidates for reweaving
At RAVE FabriCARE, we have offered a reweaving service for over 35 years. During that period of time, we’ve been exposed to a few situations where a potential client has insisted that we accept their garment or household textile for reweaving despite the fact that:
- the garment or household textile is severely damaged,
- the very best anticipated result would not meet our minimum quality standards, and
- the cost of the reweave of the reweave far exceeds the actual or sentimental value of the garment or household textile.
Accordingly, RAVE FabriCARE reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to decline a reweaving commission:
- before a garment or household textile is accepted for reweaving, or
- after a garment or household textile has been accepted for reweaving but before commencing any work.
A perfect example of this was a gentleman who purchased a navy Kiton sport coat online at a price that he considered a bargain. The seller noted that the sport coat had "moth damage". Upon examination, we noticed at least 10 visible moth holes. Given the estimated cost to reweave all the holes (relative to our estimate of the possible value of the sport coat after reweave), we declined the commission.
For further information on this issue, please see “Economic viability of reweaving” and “Factors influencing possible results” below.
Pricing
The cost of the reweave or re-knit and the time required to complete the reweave or re-knit will vary according to the size of the damage, location of the damage, type of fabric, type of weave, gauge (“tightness” or “openness”) of the weave and density (“thickness” or “thinness”) of the weave.
Cost is based on the time spent on the repair and on the complexity of the repair.
For example, the cost to reknit a relatively small hole on a knit sweater starts at $20; the cost to reweave a relatively small tear in a wool trouser using a French Weave or Piece Weave techniques (which, as stated above, we do not currently offer) starts at $100.
Please understand that the cost of the reweave or re-knit may bear no relationship to the original cost or current value of the garment or household textile.
For example, the cost to re-knit a hole in a $500 Loro Piana cashmere sweater will be the same as the cost to re-knit an identical hole in a similarly-styled $50 Target cashmere sweater.
After inspection of the garment by our in-house re-knitter or outside reweaver, we will call you with an estimate for the job.
No work will commence until we receive your approval to proceed.
Our objective is to produce the very best possible results in a reasonable time frame - given the problems evidenced by the garment. Accordingly, no requests for a service fee refund or reduction will be entertained or made based on a client’s expressed “dissatisfaction” with the results or timing of the reweave or the re-knit.
Deposit and Final Payment
Over the past 35 years, a minority of our reweaving and re-knitting clients have failed to claim their garment or household textile for anywhere from 1 to 5 years after the repair has been completed and the client has been informed that the garment or household textile is ready for pick up.
We can only assume that, subsequent to dropping off their garment or household textile, the client decided that they no longer needed or wanted the garment or household textile.
Unfortunately, some clients believe -- we think wrongly -- that RAVE FabriCARE should be held responsible for the long term storage of all garments or household textiles accepted for reweaving or re-knitting until such time as a client decides to pick up their garment or household textile -- irrespective of the time elapsed between completion of the work and pick up.
Accordingly, we'll ask for a deposit equal to 75% of the estimated final cost of reweaving or re-knitting a garment or household textile.
No work will commence until the deposit is paid.
At the time you drop off your garment or household textile, we'll ask you to put a credit card on file with us.
Then, we'll make a ticket for the amount of the deposit and return that ticket together with your credit card receipt to you.
On completion of the work, we'll call, text or email you to let you know that your garment or household textile is ready for pick up.
If you fail to pick up your garment or household textile within 90 days of the completion of the work, we will charge your credit card for the balance owing.
If you have been informed by RAVE FabriCARE that the reweaving or re-knitting of your garment or household textile has been completed and is ready for pick up, and you fail to pick up your garment or household textile within a 90 day period subsequent to being so informed, RAVE FabriCARE reserves the right to dispose of your garment or household textile in a manner that RAVE FabriCARE, in it's sole discretion, deems appropriate.
In the event RAVE FabriCARE disposes of your garment or household textile because you failed to pick up your garment or household textile within the 90 day period identified above, you agree that no claim for compensation (including any refund of the reweaving or re-knitting charge) for the alleged "value" of the garment or household textile will be paid by RAVE FabriCARE.
If the deposit and/or the final balance on any reweaving and re-knitting service is paid by credit card, you must agree to these additional terms and conditions of service:
If RAVE FabriCARE accepts your garment or household textile for reweaving or re-knitting and completes the work to a standard that, in the sole discretion of RAVE FabriCARE, is the best achievable result, you agree
(a) not to dispute or challenge the charge(s) with your credit card issuer and,
(b) not to assert or claim that you were unfamiliar with this term and condition of service.
More specifically, you agree that this term and condition will apply whether or not you assert or claim that you have never visited our website and are, therefore, unfamiliar with these terms and conditions of service
Guarantees
The notion that all reweaves or re-knits will be completely invisible is, for the most part, a myth.
Accordingly, no guarantee can or will be given that the finished repair will be completely invisible.
In the case of reweaves, all work is guaranteed not to come loose for the life of the garment, provided the loose threads on the reverse side of the reweave are not trimmed by you in any way whatsoever.
Reweaving methods
There are 3 reweaving methods:
French Method
Using this method, the weave of the garment is duplicated by hand. The hole is closed by weaving each thread in and out of all other threads. This method cannot be used on large holes or L-shaped tears.
No guarantee can or will be given that the finished repair will be completely invisible.
You should always assume that an outline of the hand reweave will always show.
Piece Method
Using this method, a piece of material is taken from a non-visible part of the garment and the ends are woven into the garment, thereby closing the hole or tear.
This method can be used on any size hole or tear as long as there is sufficient fabric to cover the hole or tear. On patterned or plaid garments the fabric must match exactly.
If you’re planning to reweave a hole or tear in the jacket/blazer or trouser/slacks of a two piece suit, it’s best to bring in both pieces. More often than not, the best place to source a matching piece of fabric is the hem of the trouser or slacks.
No guarantee can or will be given that the finished repair will be completely invisible.
You should always assume that an outline of the inserted fabric will always show.
Re-knitting Method
This method is used on knitted fabrics only.
Visibility will depend on the fineness/courseness of the knit, the type of the weave, the color of the knit and the size of the damage.
No guarantee can or will be given that the finished repair will be completely invisible.
You should always assume that an outline of the reweave will always show.
Clean before you reweave
If you are considering reweaving or re-knitting a hole (or holes) in a fine wool garment – a hole (or holes) that you suspect might have been caused by moths or other insects – we strongly suggest that you dry clean the garment prior to attempting a reweave.
Why?
For 2 reasons:
- our in-house re-knitter and outside reweaver will only work on garments that have been dry cleaned or hand washed subsequent to the last wearing.
- the full extent of the moth damage may not be fully visible to the naked eye until after the garment has been cleaned.
It sounds more complicated than it is. So we’ll explain…
The female adult moth will only lay her eggs in areas where there is nutrition for the larvae to feed on when they hatch.
Wool garments stored without first being cleaned contain all the nutrients necessary to sustain life for those larvae when they hatch. These nutrients include proteins, mineral salts, vitamin B complex and cholesterol that accumulate on garments from perspiration, body oil, food or beverage simply by virtue of the fact that the garment has been worn.
The problem is that the larvae will often feed on the inside of a garment, on the surface of a garment, or on certain threads in a garment. This reduces the thickness or strength of the fibers in places. So, when the garment is tumbled in a dry cleaning machine during the cleaning and drying process, more holes may open up.
In other words, only after the garment has been cleaned will the full extent of the damage be known. Only then will you be able to assess the economic viability of reweaving the garment.
Economic viability of reweaving
Reweaving is a disappearing art form. Reweaving is not cheap.
Accordingly, not all garments are suitable candidates for reweaving.
The following factors will, hopefully, guide you as to whether a particular garment might be a suitable candidate for reweaving:
- The garment is relatively new.
- The garment is a bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, hi-fashion, specialty or couture garment.
- The garment was relatively expensive.
- The garment is part of a two or three piece outfit.
As we have indicated, not all garments are suitable candidates for reweaving. So it’s important to weigh the relative cost of reweaving against the value of the garment.
The following extreme – but common – example illustrates the point:
A client purchases a gently-used wool suit from an online consignment store. The suit is sold with the full disclosure that there are some “small moth holes that require repair”.
Based on the photographs provided, the client believes that the suit represents a bargain and that the suit can be transformed to near original condition by a small, additional investment in reweaving and cleaning.
In our experience, the client invariably underestimates the cost of the reweaving and fails to understand the degree to which the reweave will still be visible.
All of which brings us back to the original point: Before you conclude that reweaving is a viable option, it’s important to weigh the relative cost of reweaving against the the actual or sentimental value of the garment.
Factors influencing the possible results
The notion that “reweave” or "re-knit" means “invisible” is, for the most part, a myth.
Accordingly, no guarantee can or will be provided that the finished repair will be completely invisible.
Nonetheless, there are some rules of thumb that you might want to consider when contemplating reweaving or re-knitting a garment:
- The finer the weave, the more likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The lighter the color, the more likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The less “busy” the design, the more likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The more “frontal” the damage, the more likely the reweave or re-knit will be seen by others.
Conversely,
- The courser or bulkier the weave, the less likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The darker the color, the less likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The more “busy” the design, the less likely the reweave or re-knit will show.
- The more “hidden” the damage, the less likely the reweave or re-knit will be seen by others.
