Mending Clothes

[Mr Chin Stubble]

In the past week I've mended: the back fold of neck tie (where the 2 flaps meet by the label); a pinhole in my briefs; a hole in a pair of wool gloves; and the fold of a zipper on a pair of slacks. It's only good if it's a minor repair and not noticeable. I've also fairly recently mended a hole in a pair of black dress socks (which works great since black is not noticeable at all).

I also did bring in a pair of work slacks to tailor to get the bottom part redone yesterday since it came loose. But I think if you have a decent sewing kit at the ready you can take care of this stuff cheap and easy rather than buying new and wasting time looking for new things. 

[MoneyMage]

That's awesome!

Seriously, everyone should learn to sew. It's actually not that hard to get the hang of and you can learn a ton in just a 1-hour class at your local fabric store. Or hey, just look up hand-sewing on YouTube. :D

I'm a costume designer so I get people (friends, mom, husband...) asking me to fix things sometimes. I hemmed some extra-long pants for a friend once which took less than half an hour while she just came over and played with my kids. My husband is always getting his mom to fix the holes in his pants (some of which he's had since high school) and he's probably the most thrifty guy I know when it comes to clothes. He can basically just wear a t-shirt and shorts to work everyday if he wants, which he does.

[nouveauRiche]

Pulled my machine out today to sew the seam of a reusable shopping bag and mend a small hold in a pair of leggings. 

[Linea_Norway]

I am not very good with a sewing machine. But last autumn I replaced a zipper in a pair of hiking trousers, so I can wear them again. The zipper was broken long before the cloth.
I also repaired a pair of jeans that had gotten a hole in the waistband, because I pulled it up too hard. Now it's wearable again.

My husband is fairly good at sewing clothes and has made us several things, mainly outdoor stuff like paclite jackets and trousers. Also some pairs of new hiking trousers.

[lizzzi]

Being able to do your own mending is just a simple life skill--like basic cooking, or knowing how to jump your car battery--that everybody should have. I know people who can't sew on a button or reinforce a hook and eye that's loosening up too much, or tack a hem back up that's starting to unravel. Unbelievable. Everybody should compile a simple sewing kit at home to be able to handle this stuff. Even those little plastic boxes with several small spools of thread, a needle, and a pair of low-quality scissors are better than nothing.

[LindseyC]

In the past month I have sewn on a few buttons (well sewed one and tightened two) repaired a ripped PJ pant, fixed a fallen hem of a shirt and I have one more item to sew a pocket on. I also bought an amazing defuzer/lint brush (double ended) and have been cleaning up sweaters/shirts whenever I fold laundry and decide an item is looking a little tired.

I have a pair of new jeans that a friend passed on to me that I just started fitting in to (yeah!) that I need to hem about 2 inches up, which is crazy considering I'm 5'10" I have never had to hem anything in my life for length. :) I think the jeans are a little beyond the capabilities of my rather lame sewing machine so I either have to wait until my snowbird mom gets home at the end of March or take them in to get hemmed at a shop. It's a bit of a dilemma, I'm loathe to spend the money, but they were free new jeans.

[Lyssa]

Could not use a sewing machine if my life depended on it but I frequently mend stuff by hand: buttons on pillowcase, blouses and jackets, ripped seams, pinholes and such. It's not hard and can be done with a small and cheap kit. Ex boyfriend looked at me like I grew a second head when I first mended something in front of him. Later asked me for small repairs and was positively thrilled when it worked, so I guess not a lot of people do that anymore...

My mother showed me how to sew on buttons as a kid, rest was trial and error.

[lizzzi]

In the past month I have sewn on a few buttons (well sewed one and tightened two) repaired a ripped PJ pant, fixed a fallen hem of a shirt and I have one more item to sew a pocket on. I also bought an amazing defuzer/lint brush (double ended) and have been cleaning up sweaters/shirts whenever I fold laundry and decide an item is looking a little tired.

I have a pair of new jeans that a friend passed on to me that I just started fitting in to (yeah!) that I need to hem about 2 inches up, which is crazy considering I'm 5'10" I have never had to hem anything in my life for length. :) I think the jeans are a little beyond the capabilities of my rather lame sewing machine so I either have to wait until my snowbird mom gets home at the end of March or take them in to get hemmed at a shop. It's a bit of a dilemma, I'm loathe to spend the money, but they were free new jeans.

Just wash and dry them once or twice to allow them to shrink as much as they're going to. Assuming they still need to be hemmed, I would just take them to a place that does alterations. You can either tell them what length inseam you want, or if you're not sure, try them on with the shoes/boots you'll wear with them, and let the tailor pin them in front of the mirror so you can have them exactly the length you want. In this case, I think it's easier to have them done professionally--they can do the topstitching, which you couldn't really do at home if you were hemming them by hand.

[halftimer]

Very happy to find this thread. In the last few weeks I have mended a hole in some pants, a large hole that became a run in the sleeve of an athletic shirt, and fixed some holes in my mittens (for the 3rd time). I had to google tips on mending the run as it was such a fine fabric, and it really turned out well (do a running stitch around the whole area first THEN the long stitches covering the hole in one direction, and then weave in stitches going in the perpendicular direction).  I know my limits though, when a belt loop ripped off the back of some suit pants I took it back to the store where we bought it so they could tailor it.  They did so for free, even though the suit is probably at least 5 years old!

[Dicey]

In the past month I have sewn on a few buttons (well sewed one and tightened two) repaired a ripped PJ pant, fixed a fallen hem of a shirt and I have one more item to sew a pocket on. I also bought an amazing defuzer/lint brush (double ended) and have been cleaning up sweaters/shirts whenever I fold laundry and decide an item is looking a little tired.

I have a pair of new jeans that a friend passed on to me that I just started fitting in to (yeah!) that I need to hem about 2 inches up, which is crazy considering I'm 5'10" I have never had to hem anything in my life for length. :) I think the jeans are a little beyond the capabilities of my rather lame sewing machine so I either have to wait until my snowbird mom gets home at the end of March or take them in to get hemmed at a shop. It's a bit of a dilemma, I'm loathe to spend the money, but they were free new jeans.

Just wash and dry them once or twice to allow them to shrink as much as they're going to. Assuming they still need to be hemmed, I would just take them to a place that does alterations. You can either tell them what length inseam you want, or if you're not sure, try them on with the shoes/boots you'll wear with them, and let the tailor pin them in front of the mirror so you can have them exactly the length you want. In this case, I think it's easier to have them done professionally--they can do the topstitching, which you couldn't really do at home if you were hemming them by hand.

This is even easier: wear higher heels.

I'm the same height and I love that all those short girls who wanna be tall have forced manufacturers into making longer pants. It is sooooo amazing to be able to find long enough pants without tears*!

ETA: I meant tears of frustration, not rips in the fabric, lol!

[MoneyMage]

Somewhat related, I just made a whole costume for only $4! Now my baby can cosplay as Jubilee from Xmen at Comic-Con.

$2 for yellow dye; I made the coat from remnants of white denim fabric, and made my own pattern
$2 for a pink romper, which I turned into a shirt
The rest was pulled from the closet or made from remnants of stuff.

[Linea_Norway]

Last summer I bought a second hand wetsuit froma man. De lower part fitted perfectly, but the upper part was too wide. Yesterday I took on the suit while my husband chalked where it was too wide. Than he cut a wide sluce out of the back, glued the open back together and sewed it as well. Now it fits perfectly on my back.

[Footsore Rambler]

Last summer I bought a second hand wetsuit froma man. De lower part fitted perfectly, but the upper part was too wide. Yesterday I took on the suit while my husband chalked where it was too wide. Than he cut a wide sluce out of the back, glued the open back together and sewed it as well. Now it fits perfectly on my back.

That is extra badass!  Good job!

[greenmimama]

I was just thinking about this the other day, we have saved so much money and clothing from the landfill by my simple sewing skills and not being afraid to try.

We have 3 active boys so I patch knees and that alone is probably worth the price of my not so cheap sewing machine.

I love to see what people sew.
The weirdest thing I have done is replace the elastic on my husbands boxers, they were expensive and nothing wrong with the rest of the material. Actually I didn't even replace it I just sewed fold over elastic on top of the worn out elastic and he will get a few more years out of it.

[tyrannostache]

I have a 4-year-old whose favorite clothing items are stretchy leggings. This means she is constantly putting holes in the knees, seat, etc. I'm not very good at sewing yet, but I find that fusible interfacing does a decent job at holding a simple patch on a hole in the knee. And all I have to do is iron it, or do a simple stitch around the edge if I'm feeling like making an extra effort.