Personally I love visible mending such as embroidery, as I think it gives character and history to a well loved garment.

I would suggest putting leather under the tear with glue to strengthen the area, and then do some decorative stitching over it for added security and design!

I've been making travel versions of Tak and Hnefatafl, both chess/checkers-like games. The idea is to embroider or quilt the gameboard on a circle of fabric which can be sinched into a pouch that carries the pieces. If the pieces are heavy enough, they won't blow away :)

That's the goal anyway.