Tag Archives: mending

Ready to Wear

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Yesterday I mended a woollen pullover. I bought it last year at the op shop. It is 100% merino wool and looked to be in perfect condition when I purchased it.

When I was hanging it on the clothesline a couple of days ago I noticed a hole on the front – not far from the armhole or shoulder seam. The hole did not look like moths had eaten but more like I had caught it on something although I have no memory of doing that.

Anyway, I decided to darn the hole with my limited darning skills. Fortunately, I had some darning wool that was a very similar colour so I am pretty happy with the result.

A close-up of my handiwork.

It is definitely not perfect but will work OK especially since I mostly wear the pullover with a scarf and/or coat. The colour is reasonably accurate in the first photo although the blue is even a bit brighter..

Patchwork Prep

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Now that the last quilt has been completed and is with its new owner, it is time to show you my future patchwork plans.

I have been cutting out blocks ready for a quilt that is predominantly pink. It will be an 18th birthday gift for our elder granddaughter at the end of next year so I have plenty of time. I have about two-thirds of the total number of squares required. These all came from various pieces that were in my stash. Now that I have sorted out exactly what I have I know what I am looking for as I peruse fabrics and garments in the op shops. I am looking forward to getting started on sewing some of the blocks. However, unlike previous patchwork projects, I have decided that I am not going to actually start sewing until I have cut out all of the blocks I need.

Meanwhile, I have begun assembling some fabrics for another possible project. This is not much more than a vague idea at the moment but I am thinking of red, black and white.

Of course, my sewing is not limited to the patchwork. I am generally tackling several sewing projects concurrently. I also have socks to mend, a pair of denim shorts to modify slightly and several linen tops/dresses which I plan to refashion for summer. My other goal is to make some fabric tote bags to donate to our local community pantry for people to use when collecting groceries.

A Spot of Sewing

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Food preparation and cooking has been my main focus for the past few days as we prepare to host a birthday lunch for GMan on Sunday. There will be more details about what is on the menu in a future post.

Today I managed to do a bit of sewing in between the cooking. I had noticed that the covers on a couple of the spare pillows were looking a bit stained and generally less than ideal. So, I decided that it could not be too difficult to replace them.

The first step was to carefully slit the end of the cover and remove it. The inside of the pillow is simply no more than a compressed bundle of microfibre filling in the appropriate shape.

I used the old cover to cut a new piece of fabric from some offcuts of sheeting in my stash and stitched 3 sides before carefully replacing the pillow inside.

The end was then pinned.

Finally, I stitched and finished the seam with bias binding.

The 2 revamped pillows in their pillowcases and back on the bed.

A Dog’s Day

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During the past few days my time has been consumed by some admin work I am doing for a local community group so it has not really been suitable material for a blog post.

However, today I got back to some serious mending and it was all about our dog. She is now nearly 4 years old and has lost many of her destructive tendencies but a few persist.

We bought her a small foam couch 12 months ago when we moved here and it had remained intact until a couple of days ago. She was in the sewing room in the sun when GMan discovered her latest antics. A significant piece of the fabric had been destroyed and there were several small pieces of foam being chewed off. I was not pleased at this apparent brain snap. Anyway, I have hand-stitched a decent-sized denim patch to cover the damaged area and I hope we do not have a repeat performance any time soon.

The other project was to revamp her bed which was definitely looking much the worse for wear.

That is actually the second version in almost exactly 2 years. You can read about the first one here.

It is just as well that my fabric stash includes a number of quite heavy upholstery fabric pieces so it was a simple matter of finding another suitable piece to make yet another new cover.

Here it is – ready for bedtime.

Monday Mending

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I chose to begin 2024 with a spot of mending.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the sheets on our bed were beginning to look a bit threadbare. I have 4 sets of QS sheets which I rotate for our bed and also the guest bed. Naturally the ones on the guest bed don’t get a lot of use. They are top quality pure cotton sheets and have lasted very well. In fact, I could not remember when I had last bought sheets. After doing some detective work I discovered that they would have been one of the sets referred to in this post from June 2011. Over 12 years is not bad.

However, I was not quite ready to throw them out. The top edge of the top sheet was literally disintegrating so I removed it and replaced it with a strip from a KS sheet which I bought recently from the local op shop. I used some of it for the backing of a quilt but there was plenty left for other projects.

Then I turned my attention to the bottom sheet. This had 2 small splits amid a larger very worn area. You can see the splits on the wrong side after I had placed a patch on the right side.

I use double-side fusible interfacing to secure the patch before sewing it. This also helps to reinforce the worn area. I used a piece of very similar fabric for the patch.

I know it probably doesn’t look particularly comfortable, I will be able to place the sheet so that the patch is near the foot of my side of the bed and my feet barely reach that spot.

I don’t know how much these repairs will extend the life of these sheets but it was a relatively easy fix and a worthwhile one in my opinion.

The other two jobs were alterations rather than mending. I had bought both of these tops at op shops recently and while they are in very good condition the sleeves were too long for me and the grey striped one was much too long in the body. I have adjusted them for a better fit and they are ready for wearing during the cooler months.

Deconstructed and Reconstructed

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I knew that the collar of my rugby top was wearing out but when I was folding the washing I noticed that it was really in need of some repairs. The top is 24 years old but still in surprisingly good condition apart from the collar. It has faded but is excellent quality so I decided to replace the collar.

Past generations would have simply unpicked the collar from the collar stand before turning and reapplying it. Because it was so worn I chose to make a new collar using some remnants of a hotel-quality bed sheet which is a super strong cotton fabric.

As I was unpicking the collar it became obvious that the collar stand was also worn-out as it began to disintegrate. The job became a little more extensive. I had the collar made and decided I could go no further until I had bought some heavy cotton tape to replace that which had been used for the collar stand. Then I realised that it was just two narrow strips of strong cotton fabric so I could make my own by using strips of the same fabric as I was using for the collar.

I carefully pinned the collar stand to the neckline of the top and then attached the collar. I ended up with a functional garment sporting a brand new collar and I expect that I will get plenty more wear from it yet.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some other deconstruction. Apart from my stash of new fabric pieces, I also have numerous garments, which I have acquired from various sources, that I am planning to reuse the fabric. Here are 3 that I have unpicked, washed and ironed in preparation for making into new garments.

The blue piece was a wrap skirt which I rescued from an op shop discard destined for landfill. It is 100% rayon and I hope to make a pair of loose, lightweight trousers. The green is quite a heavy cotton brocade which was a skirt that belonged to my mother. I plan to make a top with it. Finally, the black and white spotted fabric is also a 100% rayon op shop discard. It was a fairly short shift dress which I am going to refashion into a top.

There are many ways to step away from fast fashion. Invest in quality items where possible, buy secondhand items, take care of the clothes you have to make them last longer, mend/repair existing clothes to extend their life and repurpose existing fabric to create new items. Not all of of us can do all of these things but everyone can do at least some of them. Together we can honour the time and resources required to create fabric and garments by making a stand against fast fashion and the disastrous contribution it makes to landfill and pollution.

Daily Stuff

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After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.

Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.

Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.

The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.

On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.

New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.

This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.

I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.

A Zippy Day

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One of the op shop buys I mentioned in my last post was a vest which had a broken front zip.

Yesterday I bought a new zip and my project for today was to replace the broken zip.

Replacing zips can be a bit of a challenge as they are generally inserted fairly early in the garment construction, therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act to deconstruct enough of the garment to allow the removal and replacement of the zip.

I have managed to achieve my goal reasonably successfully.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it good? Yes.

Am I happy with the result? Absolutely.

New zip inserted

Zipped up.

Wearing the finished garment.

The zip cost me $8.50 which was more than double what I paid for the vest but I still regard it as $12.50 well spent to have this addition to my wardrobe.

Monday – Mending and Making

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Today I tackled the growing pile of mending.

This pair of GMan’s work jeans already had one patch – I added another two.

I had managed to put a rip in the knee of a pair of my lightweight travel pants so they got the same treatment.

I us double-sided iron-on interfacing to fuse the patch to the inside of the garment before reinforcing it with a zigzag stitch.

I darned a hole in the cuff of a woollen jumper. Once again, this is some of GMan’s workwear as evidenced by the touches of paint.

I also mended holes in the toes of two pairs of socks but no photos.

Finally, I moved on to actually making something. This is not terribly exciting but I used part of an old sheet to make a cover for GMan’s Drizabone coat.

It has hung in the shed for many years with minimal wear but I imagine it will get much more use in the colder climate. Since it is oilskin, it is not ideal to have it hanging against other clothes so I made a slipcover for it.

Now that I feel I have pretty well cleared the decks, I can make a start on some ‘real’ sewing. The first project I have planned is to make some trackpants for GMan.

Seen Better Days

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There are days when even I must admit defeat and today is one of them.

I have written before about a pair of shorts which I have modified and mended over a period of close to 30 years. You can read a bit more detail here.

Yesterday was the death knell for this much-loved garment. GMan and I went to the dump with a load of garden waste for a friend and I managed one final rip to my gardening shorts and I have to confess that they are now simply beyond any type of further repair.

If you are in any doubt here are some final photos before they go in the bin.

Front view.

Back view, including the final rip.

The inside showing multiple patches.

There is one more thing to do though. There is a perfectly good zip and button which can be salvaged.