I always say that if you want to save money by sewing, you should practice mending. Because it reduces the need to buy replacement items, mending saves money, and since it often just takes a moment or two, the return on your time investment is fabulous.
And that’s all before we even talk about the fact that mending extends the usable life of items and keeps them out of the landfill.
(Yay!)
I did some mending this past week, and I thought I’d share because sometimes seeing other people’s done tasks is motivating for me.
So, here you go!
I bought this fleece years ago for a dollar or two at Old Navy, because the shoulder seam is sewn on slightly wrong.
Long-time readers might remember it from this 2008 post, actually!
Anyway, the trim on the top of the collar was coming apart, so I sewed it back on.
It’s not perfect, but I don’t really care, because by this point, it’s a fleece that I just I throw on with my PJ pants. It doesn’t need to be a top-notch mend job.
Moving on…
When we got our new table, we bought placemats to protect it, and one of them recently began coming apart at the seam.
So I sewed it up. Super easy!
Yet another dishtowel was coming apart at the hem. Do your dishtowels do this too? I feel like mine come apart at a surprising rate. And this one was only a few months old!
It’s good as new now.
And lastly, Zoe’s little Calico Critter vest lost a button. This is a tiny, tiny button (see the dime for scale.)
At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d even get a needle through those tiny holes, but luckily, I had one with a very small top, and I was able to sew the button on.
Phew.
Zoe was quite pleased when she found the mended vest. “So much better, Mom!”
Sometimes, it’s literally the small things that make children happy. Ha.
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Glory Lennon
Thursday 3rd of March 2016
I did some mending of towels this week too, plus other sewing. I always forget how much I like to sew until I actually get time to do some and then I wish I could do more than just mend things!
Ruth
Wednesday 2nd of March 2016
I don't think this quite counts as mending, but I have a scarf that has a pattern I like and is a scarf that ties. I prefer infinity scarves since I never know how I should tie the other ones. Someone recommended that I sew the 2 ends together and turn it into an infinity scarf. So easy! (How did I not think of that?) And now I like the scarf a lot better and get much more use out of it. Win!
nicoleandmaggie
Wednesday 2nd of March 2016
I need to start teaching the kids how to do this, especially for the little stuff. I was much better at tiny stitches when I had smaller fingers and better eyesight. I taught DH how to mend after we got married so he mostly does his own mending now. :)
be
Wednesday 2nd of March 2016
As another plug for mending, which I think I'm up to date on. I consider it no risk sewing. I figure the item is a small hole, rip, or other problem away from the toss heap. So if I'm able to fix it -- a big pat myself on the back moment but if I can't fix it -- no great loss.
Now I'll confess, the only reason I'm up to date on mending is I'm still working on sewing reusable cloth gift bags to use for CHRISTMAS. My hope is if I start this early, they'll be done by this Christmas. They're all cut and just have to be sewn.
Kristin, You inspired me to make reusable cloth gift bags. I saw a sale for material for $1/yard and thought of your post. So, I bought several yards. Now I just have to make them. But after I do, I won't have to individually wrap gifts for these people ever again. It's for my family, so I'm going to tell them if they return the bags, I'll put next year's gift inside. If it were me, I'd untie the bag, take the gift out, and return the bag immediately.
Kristen
Wednesday 2nd of March 2016
Such a great point! What's the worst that can happen? It'll be messed up, which is how it ended up in the mending pile anyway.
Yay about your gift bags. Such a smart idea to start now.
JD
Wednesday 2nd of March 2016
I like to mend and don't take time to do it often enough. What I don't mend, though, is a zipper. If one pulls loose from the seam or breaks and needs to be replaced, I react to it as if it's a cobra. I don't know why zippers scare me so, but they do. Nearly every piece of clothing I've made is pull on or button. Now is that silly, or what?