Saturday, March 9, 2024

Patching Jeans in Style


I love making things last as long as possible. Here's a pair of jeans which were past their prime. In other words, they had holes in them. Ripped jeans are not my style, so I went to work. 

First I patched them on the inside of the legs. Then I darned, thinking that would do the trick. But even with the inside patches to add some fabric to darn to, the darning didn't last. So...I cut out these brown and black patches which I had leftover from fabric quarters from when I was making masks several years ago. 

I cut out the patches and hemmed the edges of each patch, using the sewing machine. Then I sewed the patches on by hand, using a piece of cardboard inside the pants leg so I wouldn't sew the leg shut. 

This was a lot of work for something that is wearing thin in other places. But I did most of the work while talking on the phone or watching TV with hubby. So there wasn't much opportunity cost. 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Six Frugal Mending Tips

Would you like to save a lot of money on clothes? Here are some of the ways I do this with a little frugal prepping and mending. See if any of these might be helpful for you.  

One: When a shirt or a pair of pants is no longer in wearable condition, you can remove any buttons and set them aside. If you have a matched set of buttons, put them in a small container or baggie. Then look for fabric in the shirt or pants which isn’t worn out which you might want to use for patches or other projects in the future. For example, the back of a shirt might have lots of good life, while a sleeve might be worn thin. Fabric which is worn out can often be used as rags.

Two: If you lose one button from a shirt - not just that it comes off, but you actually don't have it - the first thing you might want to do is consider whether you can move one button from somewhere else on the shirt. Is there an extra sewn on in a hidden place? Is there a bottom or top button which you never use? Moving one button is easier than replacing a whole set. But if you need to replace all the buttons, even if you have to buy them, it might sometimes be cheaper than replacing the garment. If you have sets of buttons in your stash, you can first look through those. In either case, you will want to make sure the buttons are the same size as the originals before you begin your project.

Three: When you replace a whole set of buttons on a wearable shirt, if you have an extra button, you might want to sew it to the back of the bottom of the button placket. There are two reasons for this: It will be there if you need it. And also, a shirt will usually wear out before the buttons do, and when that time comes, you will have all these matched buttons together in one place which you can set aside for yet another item or project.

Four: If you make patches for your clothing, choose a fabric that is either the same weight as the garment you are mending or a slightly lighter weight than the garment. You might use scraps leftover from sewing projects or you might use recycled fabric from your old garments. If using recycled fabric from previously worn items, check the integrity of the cloth. Cut the patches a little bigger than what you need to cover. Then hem the edges, either by hand or using a sewing machine.

Five: When you’re darning or patching a pant leg or sleeve, put a piece of cardboard inside the leg or sleeve where you are working, and check periodically that it’s still where you need it so you won’t sew the leg or sleeve shut. You can cut a piece of cardboard to the size you need from something like a cereal box or a pasta box. Or you can even use an old, small gift bag.

Six: If you must do your hand sewing with black on black, unless you have a special sewing light, you might want to schedule it for a time when you can have sun over your shoulder, or at least work in daylight.

Save money, save resources, and most of all, have fun!

Monday, January 30, 2023

Is "Stocking up" the Answer? Or How Much Should we Stock up?

Does anyone see the same thing wrong with a headline like this that I do? It went something like this: "Foods You May not be Able to Buy in the Grocery Store in 2023. Stock up now." Hint: What I see wrong with it is that it could be a 'self-fulfilling prophecy'.
I'm not saying that it's impossible that certain foods may become harder to get. We've already seen that in the past few years. One of the things in the list was bread, and my son who depends on delivery has already had to manage without bread some weeks. However, that's because sometimes the delivery people don't substitute, and that's about shortages of certain types of bread, not of all bread across the board.
But why I said it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy is that it seems to me that if enough people "stock up now" for the rest of 2023 (a year?), then won't those foods be *even harder* for everyone else to get? We saw that with toilet paper several years ago.
Now, you do what you feel is best, but I just want to suggest three things:
1) Yes, I do encourage being prepared; and I believe it's good if some of that includes some stocking up. Some say it's good to stock several weeks worth of food, in case you can't get out, and much of which can be eaten without cooking in case of a prolonged power outage or else also have a way to cook without electricity if the power goes out. (I'm not telling you how much to stock, just sharing my own thoughts and what I have heard and read in the past from emergency management people regarding things like weather events). For some, this can be done by buying two or three extra items a week.
2) One of the best ways to manage specific shortages is to be flexible. When my son didn't receive bread in his grocery order, he made bread. He didn't have yeast so he made no-yeast bread. He didn't receive eggs in that order either, so he made no-yeast bread and substituted for the eggs. I don't remember what he said he substituted, but there are all kinds of ideas on the internet for egg substitutions. But if we ever couldn't get bread or make our own, what else could we eat in its place? Could we get cereal? Or could we eat rice? Or oatmeal? Or crackers might be good for spreading peanut butter.
3) Think about what skills we have. What skills can we use to help someone else in our family or community during an emergency or in tough times? What new skills can we learn? Or maybe we can break it down to one new skill I can start learning right now that might help me and others in the future. In the bread example, could we learn to make some kind of bread that doesn't require yeast or eggs? What else could we teach ourselves or someone else who is willing to learn?