In the field, a tear or hole in the netting can easily be repaired on a temporary basis by using duct tape. Place a patch of tape on both sides of the netting covering the hole and the tape will essentially stick to itself through the netting. Try to keep the patch of duct tape as small as possible, because it will have to be cut out later when the tent is repaired.
How to fix your tent netting at home:
For a straight tear, it doesn’t matter how long it is to fix it.
First, fold the fabric in half at the tear like so:
(The wispy edges are the tear)
Second, using a 3 step zigzag stitch on a sewing machine, start an inch or so above the tear and sew along the edge of the fabric using regular sewing machine thread.
The repair is complete!
If there is a hole torn in the mesh, it will need to be patched.
First, cut a patch larger than the hole and line up the grain.
Second, place as many pins in the netting as you need to hold the patch in place. Then, using the 3 step zigzag stitch as shown above, sew around the patch. NOTE: try to keep the corners rounded rather than angled.
After the patch is sewn on, you want to now trim the excess fabric away. Please do this very carefully so you don’t end up cutting the window or door!
Lastly, trim the excess from both sides of the patch.
If the damage is so severe that the entire window or door needs to be replaced, you will have to send the tent in and pay for the repair. To do this, a new window or door netting will be sewn on top of the existing window/door along the seams or edges and then the old one will be cut away. It is not cost effective to replace the window as if new (nearly the entire tent has to be opened up and it would be cheaper to buy a new tent then pay for that sort of repair!).
Congrats! You now know how to fix any damaged netting in your LightHeart Gear Tent!
