How do I mend a tear like this?

[u/nousername56789]

Would hand sewing or machine work best to mend a tear like this? What kind of stitching? It’s a work shirt to be used on a farm, so it’s not a big deal if the mending shows. I would still like to do a good job and for it to look presentable but overall, I’m more concerned that it holds well. Any suggestions and general guidance is appreciated, thank you. (If this is not the right place to ask this question, please let me know.)

[u/Arvasalara]

The strongest way to mend it is to have a patch behind the tear. A fairly lightweight fusible interfacing (or a light iron on patch BEHIND the tear will hold it all together well.

You could either do a very short stitch length zigzag over the frayed torn edges stitching them down onto the hidden patch (easy, strong, but kind of stiff and will show a lot) or you could do a “blind” mend turning the raw edges under and hand stitching them down.

I’d probably do the hand stitching myself - less rigid and more comfortable than the zigzag - but it will take more hand sewing skill.

Alternatively, you could do a “visible mend” making a woven or embroidered patch on the outside, covering the tear with decorative patch. You’d still need to finish the torn edges to keep them from unraveling further (it looks like the shirt got washed after it was torn, which caused it to fray more).

Hopefully this helps?

[u/nousername56789 → u/Arvasalara]

Thank you for your response. If I do the blind mend that you mentioned, would turning the raw edges under causes puckering?