How to mend broken vintage pattern pieces

Everyone who has at least once attempted to sew a vintage style using old patterns probably found themselves in a situation, where they had to repair a damaged piece. Today I will tell you how I mend my sewing patterns. The main problem with repairing these patterns is that they have to remain fit for ironing.

This is a fabulous style with open back but the previous owner decided to make
an alteration and cut the main dress pattern piece.

This is the pattern before mending.

To start with, we need to straighten the crippled pieces using hot iron. I was reluctant to do so initially, especially with printed patterns, but in fact, they are designed to be used with hot iron. Anyway, I had to try with a scrap of the printed tissue paper first before I attempted on the real pattern.

Ironing is OK, but please no steam!

Now we are ready to fix our broken or cut piece. Never use plastic adhesive tape for this. If you do so, you will not be able to use hot iron afterwards. What you can use is a strip of a tissue paper and regular paper glue. I glue them on the unprinted side.

Paper glue does not work instantly, so you have time to readjust the pieces if necessary. They have to match perfectly - if not, the pattern will be disfigured. Compare the edges - they should go smoothly and form one line. If your pattern has printed marks, they are also very useful, like this straight grain line here:

So the bottom line is: keep some tissue paper strips left after cutting your pieces out, because you may need them to mend your broken or cut pattern pieces.