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Thread a circular sewing needle with your thread. Pull the thread through the needle so that it is doubled, and knot the threads together at the end. I prefer to work with one foot of thread on the needle at a time as if the piece is too long, you will have more problems with tangled thread.
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Starting at one end of the rip, insert your needle on the inside of the tear and pull the needle through. This will hide the knot on the inside of the fabric so you cannot see it.
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Using a weaving motion, sew the rip by first inserting the needle into the rip and poking it through the fabric on one side, pull it through and then insert it through the rip again poking the needle through the fabric on the other side. Your sewing pattern is very much like lacing a shoe. Remember to make tiny stitches.
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Continue sewing your rip to the end, making as tiny a stitch as possible. When you are done, pull the thread tightly and make one last stitch, this pulling the thread through the fabric a couple of inches from the tear. Then cut the thread as close to the fabric as possible.
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Pinch the fabric where you cut off the thread with your fingers and pull the fabric so that the ends of the thread disappear into the sofa.
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