Last Monday I spent some time working through a stack of mending that I had been holding off on. It was finally time. I had my sewing machine out and a great book from the library to assist me; Mend it Better. I must have lived a previous life in more frugal times because I can not part with things that just need a little TLC to make them as good as new again.
In my stack of mending I had several tank tops that were too long (I am vertically challenged so this is often the case), a couple of sweaters that had been visited by a moth or two in storage) and a pair of my husband’s jeans that had several tears.
I had patched his jeans once before but there were additional tears so I both patched and added some decorative top stitching.
After years of owning and never using a walking foot for my sewing machine I finally gave it a try too and fell in LOVE with it! I hear some people say they don’t really think it makes much difference but with my machine and fine/knit fabrics it made for a fantastic modification! I breezed through he knits without any stretching or shifting of fabrics.
Finally I tried my hand at darning on the fine moth holes on the 2 sweaters and found the process quite easy and a handy skill to know. I wouldn’t want to do a lot of this but the process involves a type of needle weaving through the knit structure and having a good working knowledge of both types of textiles I found pretty easy to understand how to stabilize the fabric around/over the holes. It doesn’t necessarily make the holes invisible, just keeps them from spreading further.
There are certainly times that tossing or donating is more appropriate but I’m working on improving my mending habits by adding a few new skills as I go. Do you mend things regularly, pay someone else to do it or just get rid of things that need a bit of TLC?