I've put simple applique designs close to the waist of a favourite t-shirt to extend its life. Nothing too eye catching though - don't want to draw attention to my tummy!

been there done that - in my case it was a little tiny dent in the washing drum that caused the holes, washed Ts and delicas in nets after locating the dent. Machine was old, got a new one by now.

Try some Fray Check to stop the hole from getting bigger or running.. I have had this happen with bleach. Since the tee is blue I doubt it was bleach. Manufacture defect perhaps?

My solution - back to the store and make it the manufacturer's problem.

Sarah, I would check the label,then same in store and see if they are there prior to purchasing. If so talk with them. If not any others found, try some moth balls or crystals in cupboard. You'll need to fix holes because the knit will only get larger. Embroidery and yet another embroidery on shirt somewhere to compliment the low one. Fray chk as someone else has said or iron on patching in back of holes. I would rather it be manufacture's problem than a moth so she could be compensated. Good luck/ Lillian

This has happened to mine too, just below the waistline. At first I thought my belt buckle was catching but I have had it on newly washed tops I have not worn yet. I now suspect it may be from a machine used to fold the tops after they are manufactured.

I have stitched them closed but after reading comments here I may even try fray check or iron on interfacing on the back.

K in West Aust

It's not the store's fault...it's the manufacter's fault. I would show it to the store mananger, explain I was expecting no refund, but thought they'd like to know the quality wasn't up to their par! Maybe then others may not be faced with this mess? Let us know how you solve it!

you can use some iron on interfacing .. works great for stuff like that very lightweight..

Hmmm, I see you think you know what you are going do...I might iron on a piece of the no show knit interfacing (like Cloud) the same thing I use to back the embroidery so the embroidery will not by scratchy...and then perhaps a small flower design if necessary to cover up the holes...even if it was a mono-tone to match the shirt...it probably wouldn't show very much...can't wait to see what you do!

I think I would use some iron on at the back and embroider a design like this border design over it : it's from Cute see link , you can even embroider it diagonal or two times after each other as a long diagonal border over the shirt.

This has happened to a number of my tops too and It is always in the same place, right above the waist. I have no idea what causes this because I don't wear belts and the washer wouldn't target the same spot every time. I usually end up putting them in the rags because embroidery wouldn't look good there and would just draw attention to a spot I would rather hide. I did save one by scattering stars across the front.

Sad story - seems it happens to all of us from time to time.... My daughter has a lovely dress (jersey) with a crocheted neckline - all of
same colour. Some holes were detected much to our regret in the jersey. I have embroidered tiny lace flowers and we sewed them scattered all over the dress and added also little beads. Looks like designed on purpose - maybe an idea for you?

Or find matching fabric and cut off the faulty and replace with contrast colours and THEN embroider something in the contrast colour fabric in the suitable places of the tops. I know it will be work but maybe also fun idea
Good luck and Happy New Year inspite of the trouble - Maria <3

Do you have another t-shirt that you want to recycle? I've cut off another contrasting color shirt just above the problem and stitched them together.

a row of something you like that is a design of rw on your sewing machine with some thing under the hole close to the same color and fabric .this will sew up quickly for u and look nice hugs

Ah shucks! My most used repair for these holes is to barely catch the hole edges in a couple of places to secure the integrity of the hole, using a thin needle with matching embroidery thread to avoid stretching or puckering the hole. After the edges are eased gently together I dab a very sparse amount of Fray Check and gently press with a finger to lay flat. Mostly rely on the Fray Check for the repair.

In order to save the shirt , can you embroider over the holes or maybe an applique to cover them up? At least try to save it! Kay

It looks more like a fault which occurred in the manufacture of the actual fabric which only became apparent after it was washed.

Hi I really feel for you. That just happened to me too last week. I was embroidering 6 matching shirts for someone with a large wine design and 1 came out of the dryer with holes like those in the picture. I was so mad since I had to go to Kohls and get another shirt to embroider. and embroidered 7 instead of 6 shirts. I have not thrown it away because I was thinking of embroidering something over them but I am not ready to face the darn shirt yet again. Sorry it happened to you too. Hopefully that's all for us for holes this year. Sincerely, Carol

Thank you, thank you - what a response. I have had a look on the Internet and it seems to happen all over the world - the same small holes in the same position. I still think it is some sort of moth that likes 100% cotton. I always fold my T shirts, like they do in the shops and the lower folded edge is exactly where the holes are. I refuse to throw the T away as worn once and washed once. I have found a design in my stash which consists of decorated circles. A very low stitch count. I will have a placement fiddle and see what happens. I will be doing no sewing for a couple of days as we are having a heatwave. Being by the coast we have extremely high humidity. I just cannot sew in this type of weather. Thank you again all you wonderful ladies for your help. Flowers for all.