«Previous    Next»
Tear Mender Patches Fabric, Vinyl and Leather
I’ve always sewn patches to mend jeans, but after trying Tear Mender that’s going to change. I’m not sure what’s in the non-toxic adhesive, but patches placed either on the inside of jeans or the outside held up very well, even after machine washing and drying.
Developed by Val “The Bish” Cismoski in 1932, Tear Mender can be found online and at many hardware, farm supply, and even fabric chain stores. The Tear Mender website sells it for $8, plus shipping. I ordered the premier leather repair kit and vinyl repair kit to test.
The adhesive sticks and holds just as well on an old leather couch that had a couple of sizeable rips. After cleaning the leather with alcohol and placing heavy fabric on the underside of the tears, I squeezed Tear Mender on the fabric and leather. The adhesive is rather runny, and you have to work with it quickly as it dries in 3 minutes.
It has held together very well, even on the armrest. But I can see where it is mended. The kit comes with brown, black and white paints to mix in to help it blend, but I wasn’t successful in trying to match the couch’s maroon tint. Still, it’s a big improvement from the big tears. I think it would work well on small tears on a purse or leather garment. The vinyl kit has big patches that work great to fix tarps, tents and inflatable pool toys.
I also used Tear Mender to glue a loose sole on my husband’s work boot and it’s held together all summer.
I like that it’s acid-free, non-toxic, odorless and easy to clean up. It’s also UV-resistant, water-proof and flexible. Another bonus is that the Tear Mender employs workers at the Lighthouse For the Blind to package and ship products.
Videos on the website show how to use Tear Mender on a variety of fabrics. For me, it’s provided an easier, better way to mend jeans and I can save my sewing machine for better uses, such as creating quilts.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tear Mender (ph 800-542-3697; www.tearmender.com).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2022 - Volume #46, Issue #5