I can’t imagine how it could be repaired. But you could hide it with a throw over the arm or pillows to hide it. Also trim the longer snags of material

an upholstery guy/gal could probably make it less noticeable. (or do the throw or a pillow to camouflage ) I wouldn't purchase a new sofa just because of that. Now if you want a change, by all means.

Thanks @Beth H. : im actually the one doing the buying. Found a very nice deal on FB Marketplace with the caveat being that slight damage.

I would not purchase this.

You need someone (an upholsterer) to make all new piping for every cushion and all around the entire piece, and then take the cushions apart and sew the new piping in.

Also, since you don't have the original fabric, you would have to buy the fabric as well.

This is a few hundred dollar job, because it is very labor intensive.

And here is another reason not to buy this.

There is a tear because someone's watch or bracelet caught on the piping, so the material of this sofa (or sectional or whatever it is) is of a loose weave and this will happen again somewhere else, even if not on the piping. I promise.

Now if someone was giving you this for free and you had a relative that was an upholsterer or a tailor, that's another story.

Burt I suspect that's not the case, because if so, you wouldn't need to ask us.

RUN. FORREST. RUN.

@loobab well they have dogs too so?

Oh my goodness, I didn't think of that. I thought this was a store sample.

Well, you may not have those claws.

But it doesn't change the repair cost.

What you could do is take in a photo of the whole thing with measurements to a good upholsterer and get an estimate, knowing that the estimate won't include the cost of the fabric, and the estimate won't be binding.

(Ha-ha, sewing joke!)

I think a small patch would give it character, and reflect well on yours! My granny could have found a way to neat it up, as she was quite good with needlework. I’d probably do something wacky with it, like find a preying mantis pin and put it over the spot.

PS: probably underneath the sofa or underneath the pillows around the frame there is enough “hem” of the original fabric to cut off a square and stitch it over the spot. But you need to be talented and patient to make things like that work. I don’t think my granny could have made it invisible, but it would have been a very neat patch you didn’t notice unless you looked, or that was so nicely done it looked better than the rest of the upholstery.

A tailor can likely reweave it easily. I used to do it with clothing that got torn. Find a tailor that advertises reweaving, send them a pic and ask.

If the tear was in a more inconspicuous location, and you were getting a great deal, it might be worth trying to repair it. But since it's right there on the arm, which gets more use than anywhere else, I would pass.

My niece would stitch that up fairly inconspicuously in about 5 minutes.