Do You Mend, And....

[danemodsandy]

....Do you wear clothes completely out?

I mend. It's a fairly frequent occurrence for today's mass-produced clothing to have a seam unravel or lose a button or have the pockets start to wear out, so a moment or two at the sewing machine saves money. Often, a lot of money.

I also darn T-shirts and briefs that have begun to get their first little hole. However, once I notice I'm mending something that's been darned before, it's time to go buy new, and demote what's wearing out to rags - that first little hole is a warning that this underwear's days are numbered, but a second round of holes means their time is up. A neat darn doesn't bother me at all, though I suspect there are some folks out there these days who would rather be horsewhipped than wear anything like that.

I also wear out stuff like shirts and jeans. They go from "best" to "second best" to "around the house only" to "yard work only." Once they go to "yard work" status, they're not far from being rags, trust me.

Does anyone else do this? I was taught to do it by the examples set by older members of my family (after the obligatory period of teen-aged insufferability when I expected new clothes all the time), but I get the idea that not many people do it nowadays.

 

[westingman123]

I try!

But, honestly, the mending basket gets full to the brim before I sit down and DO it. Mama (and Gram) used to mend every evening, after reading the paper. I usually have to plan a movie night and just work away at it.

I, too, wear clothes to a nubbin before they become rags. Depression-era parents trained it into us.

 

[mattl]

For some reason - perhaps because I own too many clothing items - but I find things rarely wear out. I did have some cargo shorts that basically shredded last year, bet I had been wearing them for 6 or7 years.

Funny, I am just now working on something that does wear out too frequently for me, fitted sheets. I had bought a number of high thread count cotton sheets, I guess too cheap, and find that after only 3 years they are shredding, same with the flannel sheets I bought a couple of years ago. I'm in the process of turning a few of the remaining top sheets into fitted sheets. I've been putting it off but the weather is warming up enough to put away the flannels and all my fitted are gone.

I bought some elastic, I'm thinking of putting it around the entire sheet. I've never done this so it's a learning experience. I'm going to leave the sheet as is and let it go well under the mattress so it won't come off easily. Anyone have any tips?

 

[turquoisedude]

I am absolutely useless at any kind of sewing or mending, but hubby does sometimes patch up 'holey' clothes that get used as gardening or building clothes.
General rule around our house is 'use it up, wear it out' as much as possible.

 

[frigilux]

I do not mend/sew. On the rare occasion a button comes off (hooray for gentle front-loaders!) I go to a local seamstress. My way of helping the local economy, LOL.

 

[kenmore71]

I will mend simple things like buttons that have popped off or a seam that has opened up on a NICE piece of clothing that is fairly new. I don't darn socks or underwear. There is definitely a progression that clothes go from like Sandy mentioned. It is not at all uncommon that once the cuffs and pockets of a pair of khakis or jeans become frayed that they go from "public" to "around the yard" and eventually to "paint clothes."

 

[aamassther]

We try to mend, with Maxwell's help of course.

 

[maytagbear]

Maxwell

looks like he is a very useful and handsome assistant!

I have been known to wear certain polos and khahkis until they are beyond threadbare.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[alr2903]

Yes, but mostly before scrubs became dress code friendly on med/surg. I seem to be very rough on pockets. alr

 

[alr2903]

how do I reduce my picture size/ or auto resize?  thanks alr

 

[aamassther]

Lawrence, thank you! He is a very capable helper, except he keeps stealing the bobbins for his own projects.
Aside from the fun projects I like to do. I mend rips, tears,sew on buttons and have replaced the odd zipper here and there. We also hem pants and do some basic alterations. I will also repair rips and tears in household linens. I believe textiles should last much longer than we've become accustomed to.

 

[aamassther]

Your touch and sew were the machines we used in 7th grade Home Ec class in the mid seventies.

 

[washerboy]

Re: mattl

 

Funny, I am just now working on something that does wear out too frequently for me, fitted sheet....

 

really?

 

 I wish I had this problem!!!!!

 

[alr2903]

@aamassther, thats exactly where i got my Touch&Sew. The Home ec. dept. sold the "obsolete" machines  at private auction. I spent $25 on it. The copyright in the instruction book is dated 1965.  alr 

 

[aamassther]

That was a great find! They're certainly workhorses that can still be worked on without too much difficulty getting parts.

 

[launderess]

One Will Mend The Odd Rip or Tear

Either by hand or on the Elna "Supermatic" or Pfaff 1200 series, but huge scale darning/mending of say linens and such is O-W-T, out. Just find it rarely pays in terms of effort.

Recently located a stash of good quality vintage denim patches. Will cut and apply to worn areas of jeans that are mainly worn around the house or some such.

Also like cutting down worn linen sheets for pillow slips,table runners, or even nice sacks for laundry or whatever. However darning bed linen is also O-W-T out. Well maybe a small area or rent on otherwise useful piece. But nothing says poverty to me than a sheet that looks like something out of "Little Abner" comics.

Learned years ago how to stitch the small work required to make sheets by hand. This was when fabric didn't come in wide enough sizes for most beds and two widths were sewn down the middle to make one sheet. Am here to tell you to do that thing well takes hundreds of small careful stitches. My eyes just couldn't cope! *LOL* Only learned because one has several vintage French sheets made that way and require mending stitches that have gone.