How to mend holes or tears on a mesh fly sheet

A fly sheet can be a wonderful thing in the summer.  Ours was quite effective while allowing fresh air through its mesh.  We used it for maybe two seasons and it seemed pretty durable.  After washing it, however, I noticed a few holes in the mesh...

Holes :(

Well, the holes were not that big, and I noticed that the mesh was not fraying wildly (like a knit sweater would), so I tried my hand at mending it the old fashioned way -- with a needle and thread.  When I say "old fashioned", an image like this pops into my mind.

How to darn stockings
by Elizabeth Rosevear, published 1894

I saw something like this when I was around seven years old and the image always stuck in my mind.  It was a section in a book about how to darn socks of all things.  Why I was reading this book I cannot explain (I guess I was bored), but you can at least get the gist of my approach.

Okay, so on to the mending.

First, I wanted extra assurance that the torn edges would not fray further, so I touched them up with Fray Check.  I picked out a strong yet thin synthetic thread that I already had and a basic sewing needle.  Then I began darning, trying to create a neat grid stitches.

Smaller Tear ready to be darned

Larger Hole Fray Checked and ready to be darned

Well, a few stitches into the process I realized that in order to preserve my sanity I was going to have to abandon Elizabeth Rosevear's vision of a neat grid of darning.  In hindsight I probably should have cut the holes into more regular shapes first, but instead I tried to pull the torn edges together as if I was a surgeon stitching up a wound.  Unfortunately for me though, these stitches are not going to dissolve!

Here is the result of my several minutes of labor.

Larger hole mended

Smaller tear mended

The hole and tear are closed up, but this was not exactly the look I was going for...  I overdid it with the stitches and pulled a little too tight in some places.  In any case though, I think the fix will hold up.  

So was it worth a few minutes of effort to get more time (maybe a whole season, maybe more?) out of a $150 fly sheet?  When it's fly season, I would say Yes.  Flies are just... YUCK.

Not so unsightly in the scheme of a horse-sized sheet, right?
Right???