If you’re not into handsewing like I did with the baseball stitch or don’t have access to a heavy duty sewing machine, there’s another way of fixing tears in horse blankets. Fusible or iron heat bonding materials can get the job done quickly. It may not be an absolutely permanent fix, but it will certainly see you through until you can get the blanket sewn. It’s also an easy way to affix a patch before you sew, so that it doesn’t slide around while you work on it.
Iron-on heat bond comes in different strengths. Some of it is made for home sewists doing decorative sewing. The stuff I used is extra heavy duty. It’s thicker and makes a very strong bond. Besides the heat bond material, you’ll need a few more things:
1. Sharp scissors or rotary blade and cutting mat 2. Iron 3. Pressing cloth --any piece of cotton or poly/cotton will do 4. Chalk or fabric marker 5. Patch material
You’ll probably want to buy a fabric patching material close to the same color as your blanket. Or, you could be creative and turn your horse’s blanket into a coat of many colors. Just be sure that whatever you use, it can be ironed at high heat. Some fabrics melt when heat is applied. Good old poly/cotton is easy to work with and find, ironable and comes in lots of colors. The downside is that it won’t be waterproof over the tear. That might not be a big deal depending on where the tear on the blanket is. And, if you’re not patching a gaping hole, not a lot of water will seep in once the edges are fused down. You could also spray the patch with waterproofing once you’re done. You might try materials like waterproof canvas, heat-resistant vinyls, some ripstop nylon fabrics or even old blue jeans.
Test your horse blanket for heat resistance too. Try a tiny corner with the hot iron, and if it looks like it will pucker or singe easily, you may not be able to use heat bond. You can also try using a pressing cloth between the iron and the blanket. You certainly don’t want to melt more holes in your blanket.
Lay your horse’s blanket out flat, and bring the edges of the tear together as best you can. Sometimes there are holes ripped right out, and the edges of tears don’t always meet perfectly. Do the best you can to get it put back together neatly.
Now, take your heat bond, and cut a piece so it covers the tear or hole with a few inches to spare around all sides. Follow the instructions on the package, and iron the heat bond down until it is well bonded to the horse blanket. You’ll notice I don’t suggest that you seal the heat bond to your patch material first. This is because when I press the heat bond, I want as few layers as possible between the hot iron, and the material I’m bonding to so I get the best adhesion.
Now, carefully peel the paper off the heat bond. If you're doing applique on your jeans with heat bond, you probably won’t care if you rip the backing paper. But, for this repair, you’ll want to use the backing paper as a template to cut your patch material from. Lay the paper on your patch material, and trace around it with the chalk, or just cut around with the scissors or rotary cutter. Now lay the patch material over the heat bond already on the blanket. Press it on, again following the instructions on the package. Let the whole thing cool. If you pick at the edges before it’s cooled off, you might ruin the bond where you pull it up. Once it’s cooled, it’s ready to use, or be reinforced with stitching.
Heat bond comes in handy for lots of things. You can use it to personalize blankets and pads too. If you have a home die cutting machine the sky's the limit for embellishing blankets, pads and other gear. But even if you ever use it to do quick repairs, it’s worth having a roll handy.
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