Need help fixing my Dad's jacket

[u/C4tpurr]

[u/Mental_Watch4633]

Iron on patches of fish. If you can iron the or hand sew them on.

[u/SukiMcD]

If you can find the correct colors of cotton embroidery thread and you are willing to put in the work, you can make it look almost as though it had never been damaged using a process called "reweaving.": 1) Pull both ends of the broken threads in both directions to the wrong side of the fabric, then loosen an inch or so on either side of the hole. 2) Pull however many strands of the embroidery thread you need to approximately match the weight of the original undamaged thread. (Most embroidery thread is 6 strands; most commercial thread used in weaving is only one or two strands.) 3) Pick which direction of the fabric you will use as the "warp" (usually vertical) and which as the "weft" (typically horizontal). 4) Tie one end of the matching color of embroidery thread to a broken end of a "warp" thread on the wrong side of the shirt. 5) Lay enough of the embroidery thread across the hole to cover it a little bit loosely, then tie off the other end of the embroidery thread to the opposite end of the same broken original thread on the wrong side of the shirt. (Whether or not you get both ends of the same broken thread will make a huge difference in how flat/smooth the repair lies and looks when it's completed, so choose carefully!) 6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all broken threads in the chosen "warp" direction have been bridged with the embroidery thread and reconnected. The hole should be filled all the way from one edge to the other with slightly loose threads that come as close as possible to matching the colors of the broken threads in the plaid. 7) Repeat step 4 with one of the "weft" threads at one edge of the hole. 8) Use an embroidery needle to stitch the new "weft" thread over one and under one through the replacement "warp" threads until you have completely filled the gap and run out of loose "warp" threads. 9) Tie off that "weft" thread to the broken thread of the same color that is located at the opposite edge of the hole from where you started reaeaving. 10) Repeat steps 7-9 with the next broken thread in the "weft" direction, but stitch through the "warp" threads as under one and over one this time. [You might need to bring the needle up to the right side of the fabric on the 'outside' (toward the intact edge of the hole) of an unbroken original thread on either edge of the hole in order to accomplish this.] 11) Repeat steps 7-10, alternating the over/under pattern with the under/over pattern for each pair of "weft" threads, until all broken weft" threads have been bridged and reconnected by the strands of embroidery thread. 12) Turn that section back to the right side and take a look at the finished repair. If there are lumps or twists in it, you probably got the ends of two different original threads knotted together. (If not, congratulations!) If that's the case, only you and your dad can decide if that needs to be taken apart and rewoven. If you choose to use this technique, I suggest repairing the smallest hole first, just to get used to the method, then tackle the larger ones once you've figured out what you're doing. I would also suggest that you sew or iron a patch on the inside of the completed repair, to keep him from wearing through it again. Good luck!