I was out cycling last night and took a spill on an invisable patch of ice. Suffered deep road rash to hip and elbow but worse than that was the tear to my shorts. The tear is two inches by two inches and L shaped. Last time this happened all attempts at repairing failed with sewing pulling through the wool quickly.
Any suggestions out there would be appreciated.

My wife suggests that you sew the tear together using a different material for a backing. The backing should keep the threads from coming apart if done on a sewing machine using the right stitch pattern. I don't sew, so I can't be responsible for that suggestion.

What about the iron on patch augmented with sewing?

If you can't find someone local, send them to Kucharik

Aren't those kind of stiff? I leave the mending to the wife. I'll ask her when she gets home from work although I see no reason why they won't work.

Edit: I just got done talking with my wife and she says that the reason for the backing is enforce the stitching at the tear. If you are working with a material where the stress on the tear will cause the stitching at the tear site to fail, you want to use a baking material that will withstand the stress at the tear. She said the iron on patch will work, but make sure that you sew it along with the tear to reinforce the tear site if you want the mend to last longer.