Repairing Clothing without Sewing

Would you like to save money on clothes without actually sewing? Although I sew a lot, here are three of the things I do without sewing. 

 

1. I recently discovered a new-to-me trick: Using Pellon Fusible Knit Interfacing to mend a tear or a small hole. No sewing required. You just work on the underside, bring the edges together the way you want them, put a press cloth on it, and iron according to the instructions which come with the interfacing, just a matter of seconds. In the case of my husband's flannel shirt, the tear was not small, and the repair was not completely invisible, but it also is not very noticeable. Here's how it looks on the right side. Can you find the repaired tear? 

2. Do you or your family ever get oily stains on clothing, say a Chapstick went through the dryer in a pocket, or you spilled some cooking oil?  What I've often found works for this is soaking the item in  hot water (or the warmest water that is safe for the particular fabric) with Oxi-Clean powdered stain remover. Then I wash it normally and check it before putting in the dryer. If the stain is less but still there, I might want to try soaking it again. The dryer tends to set stains, so whenever possible, it's best to catch stains before they can go in the dryer.

3. Another way to keep clothing usable without sewing is to pay someone else to sew. Even though I love to sew, there are things I would rather have someone else do. I have found it quite reasonable to pay someone to replace a zipper on a jacket or replace a button on a more formal dress coat. I just go to our mom-and-pop-type neighborhood dry cleaners, and they are happy to help. I have used these services in different neighborhoods in different eras of my life. 

You can save a lot of money on keeping clothing usable and presentable without even threading a needle.