how to repair ripstop nylon

[badger]

I bought a TNF Nuptse down jacket at a jaw-dropping price, and the reason is it has a 1/2" tear at the bottom of the jacket at the seam.

Currently it has non-sticky tape to hold the down from escaping, but it's definitely not a solution. I've researched a bit and all I get is using the nylon repair tape - in all other colours but what I need, brown. And they say it's not a permanent solution, just a temporary.

Do you have any suggestions on how best to remedy this? I can stitch it, but if it ever gets wet, it's not such a great idea, is it??

[OakLeaf]

Put the repair tape on the inside and stitch around the tear, as well as across it several times.

A bit of seam sealer will also help keep the edges of the tear from fraying.

Or, if you can find some matching taffeta at the fabric store, you could make your own patch with seam glue?

Either way you'll need to stitch around the patch to keep it on, so it won't be completely invisible. But if you wanted perfect you wouldn't have bought the jacket to begin with, right? ;)

[Irulan]

You can't put repair tape on the inside of the tear if it's down, you'll open the jacket up and loose feathers.

I've been repairing out door clothing for 15+ years and in fact am factory authorized by North Face for non-warranty work. So, do not use glue or seam sealers. That makes a really ugly repair that won't last. ( I am factory authorized by several other large companies, and work on referral with several more)

Peel and stick nylon taffeta repair tape or a sewn patch are the only two ways to do this. For a sewn patch, you do a narrow edge stitched hem on the patch, and then you can either sew it on by hand or sew it on by machine. Hand is probably easiest; the machine method is a little tricky to describe. Once the tear is covered, no reason to worry about the patch or the tear fraying.

If you hem your patch there's no reason to glue the edges, although you could hot seal them with a soldering iron or candle.

Your best bet for finding matching ( or close, don't expect exact) match fabrics will be www.rockywoods.com in Colorado. One of the bigger problems in repairing these things is finding the right color fabric. Fashion colors just change too fast.

www.specialtyoutdoors.com/about/whatis.asp if you want to see what I do.

Irulan