So much mending…
It has been a very long while since I mentioned any of the mending that I have been up to, and I HAVE been mending. None of my mending is anything grand, but then my mending never really is. I’m sure there are many grand mending projects like The Second Empire Strikes Back on YouTube, but mine don’t fall into this category. My mending is much more humble in origin but important for me all the same. Among other things mending items helps to encourage more care to be taken in caring for belongings, keeps items out of landfills (at least for a longer length of time), saves on using new resources, and saves me money.
Grey & White Project bag
Usually, when the project bags start to fail it is at the top of one or more of the side seams. This bag started failing at the bottom of the seam. I found this to be a much more troubling failure point because it allowed items to fall out the hole. Losing stitch markers is frustrating enough, but loosing a set of circular needles would be enough to stop a project in it’s tracks. I don’t know about you but I don’t need any assistance in slowing my projects down. Repairing this bag saved me buying a new one for $1.99
501 Jeans patch-up
These jeans have seen lots of use, and not gentle use either. The fabric gets then and holes start to wear through. When doing my repairs, I endeavor to up my repair game. My favorite repair channel on YouTube is Learning a Craft. I have not perfected invisible mending techniques shown on this channel, but I keep practicing. These pants have been relegated to the yard/garage work clothes pile. Mending these have saved purchasing a new pair of pants at the cost of $79.50
Plush Boar Dog Toy
This poor piggy was maltreated by Miss Pixie. It is one of the few toys we allow the dogs to have that have stuffing. Most of their toys are flat (for lack of a better way to describe them), without any stuffing at all. Pixie patiently picked out the seam to get at the stuffing, which she rapidly started pulling out and dispensing all over the living room. :-/ After collecting it all up and returning it to the inside of piggy, it was an easy fix with heavy duty apolstry thread. Saving the purchase of a new toy plush boar with squeaker for $6.37
Cloth top Victorian Button Boots
These are my frequently worn “Manhattan” button boots, by American Duchess. I have been wearing AD button boots of one kind or another since 2015. One of the things that I’ve noticed is that repeated use of the button hook can pull open the shank of the button, allowing the button to slide out of the thread that attaches the button to the boot. As long as I manage to keep from loosing the button, it is an easy fix to replace the button and tighten all the button shanks. For this fix I had the button and the tools needed to tighten the shanks, so the repair cost me nothing. Had I lost the button, I wouldn’t have purchased a new pair of boots, but I would have needed to purchase a new button. Lucky for me, American Duchess sells replacement buttons. A set of 6 costs $3.00, with shipping it would cost $7.96
Vintage Blue Silk Sweater
This lovely blue silk vintage sweater was something that was given to me by my grandmother. it is delicate and has dainty blue beads. Sadly it also has little holes here and there, probably from moths. This picture is of me repairing one of these tiny holes. There is no way I would have been able to find thread in a matching color, let alone in the same weight of yarn. My solution was to find a thread that matched as closely as possible. Thinking back I should have mirrored the knit stitches, but I didn’t think of it as the time. For this repair, I picked up above the last healthy stitch, then chain stitched up to the next healthy stitch. I repeated the procedure in each vertical pattern of knit stitches. It is not a perfect repair, but perfect enough. This allows me to use this pretty vintage sweater again. This particular sweater is not replaceable. I was able to find similar sweaters with comparable amounts of beading for a little over $60.00
There were other repairs that were not documented at all. I don’t always think about taking photos before jumping in and finishing a mend. I do specifically remember being all proud of myself for all the righteous mending that I had been accomplishing when I put my hand into my coat pocket…
Wool Coat Pocket Repair
When I rudely discovered a hole in the lining of the pocket. Good news is I have job security. Bad news is mending is one of those jobs that is never done. Got to keep using my wool coat and saved purchasing a new one for $139.99 (on sale).
Total cost savings $295.81
That’s a clever idea checking how much you would have spent, very motivating to keep going with the mending!
You are truly amazing! I see bits and pieces of some of the repairs you do and know the high quality!!! It’s fun to see it in more detail.
Thanks Barb! 😊