Mending And Sewing Clothes

We live in a throw away world. From razors, gloves, towels and cameras to dishes and everything in between, we’ve been trained to use it and toss it. We seem to find it so much easier just to toss something than to repair it and keep it. Years ago you would buy an item and expect it to last your lifetime but, alas, not only are things made to be disposable, they aren’t made to last at all. I have bought two larger items just in the past week and both of them broke before I even used them once.

Cheaply made products is another whole article in and of itself, but today I want to focus on one thing we can fix and keep – our clothes. We tend to view our clothes as disposable, too, when we could make them last so much longer with just a little care. Part of that care is mending.

I know that mending is now an old-fashioned word but it could really save many of us a great deal of money if we would start doing it. It doesn’t take a lot of work or education to learn how to sew on a button or to mend a simple seam.

To get a little personal, I had a pair of panties where the elastic was ripped about 2 inches. Many people would have tossed them and bought more. It took me all of five minutes to sew it back together and they looked as good as new.

Another reason we should mend clothes is to help our families look nicer and neater. Even though it is not politically correct to believe it, clothes do make the man but we often send our kids out the door with torn clothing each morning. Even if everyone else is doing it, does that really make it right?

I know that sometimes it is hard to keep up on these things when you are tired or don’t feel well but, let’s be honest, do we find time to do other things like play on the computer, talk on the phone or watch TV? Mending takes as much energy as some of these things, yet we don’t think we have the strength or the time to do it.

 

I know it is hard to get motivated but here are a couple of tips to help make it easier for you.

• If you don’t know how to mend, learn. Have someone show you or look on the Internet to find out how to do it. We think nothing of spending years and huge sums of money to get an education in so many areas which many of us often don’t use but we don’t bother to take a very small amount of time and usually little money it takes to learn to sew on a button. That is knowledge we will use at least weekly if not daily all of our lives.

• Keep a small sewing basket by the chair you sit in in the evening so that everything is handy. Like with cleaning, we tend to make better progress with a job if we have all our supplies or necessary equipment together and in a handy spot.

  Basic Sewing Basket Supplies

  • Scissors
  • Seam Ripper
  • Pin cushion with Pins and needles
  • Thread – basic neutral colors are light gray, medium gray, cream, white and black.

  I didn’t know for years that light or medium gray makes a great neutral thread so these are important to have but adapt the threads in your basket to your family. For example you may want to keep some brown, red or navy or with little girls in the house, some pink.

  If you don’t have a lot of room, wind some thread on a small card or bobbin to keep in your basket. 

   

• Keep a pin cushion with needles already threaded with white, black, brown, navy, cream, red and medium gray by your washer or dryer. If you find a stray button or see something has a small tear, you can fix it right then, which can keep the tear from getting worse or prevent you from forgetting to do it later.

  Something small like this will only take a few seconds and then it will be done. There is nothing more frustrating than to put a shirt on in a hurry and find a button missing so this could help eliminate small stresses in the lives of you and your family.

      -Jill

For more help with organizing, cleaning or laundry, take a look at our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.

 

Photo By: Dvortygirl