We’re really big into repairing instead of replacing anything we can in our home, including using a cobbler to resole the very few shoes they can do that with. Definitely going to hop on this and share when I’ve mended something!
Question for more people more seasoned with mending clothes; is there any way to repair leggings once they start to get holes in the inner thigh or should I plan to cut them up and use the awesome print in other projects?
I think there are a lot of things to consider when deciding if something should be repaired. For me, it is the value of my time as well. For others, it might be availability, cost, or sentiment. I am more willing to repair something I absolutely love and can’t be replaced easily.
Leggings…I have quite a few that are wearing on the inner thigh (chubby legs of mine!)…I have seen ready wear that have gussets of black or other fabric on both the inner and outer thigh. I would do that for my favorite prints. For black, I am going to go get a new pair.
I think part of mending for sustainability includes reuse. Nylon stockings or tights work great for tying up tomato vines in the garden. I can find a handy use for lots of old textiles. Not all but many! Some things are just trash after they wear out though, there’s no avoiding it.
oh yes…I agree…so much waste and disregard for things and what their disposal means to our world…totally agree…
ha ha I remember your HUGE bin of fleece and sweater scraps…I am sure very little go into your trash unless there is nothing left to do…
I think you’re on to something there. It has to feel worth it somehow. I know I’ve seen a post along those lines on the swedish instagram account Lagningsaktivisterna. (It’s worth to follow #lagningsaktivisterna on instagram just for inspirational pictures I think)
Anyhow… she talked about what makes people mend, or not mend after reading this article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618304116
If we enjoy the item, it’s well made, and we use it often we’re more likely to maintain it. If it’s seldom used, doesn’t work well or something that’s easy to replace we’re more likely to just throw it out and buy a new one.
Could they be sanded smooth? Sandpaper, dremel, maybe just an emery board?
I have been watching The Repair Shop on Netflix (a BBC show) and there is a team of toy restorers on there who are so interesting and sweet to watch.
Also everything else repaired by all the other experts is a wonder to see! Great show for followers of this thread!
Hmmm maybe. I was thinking about getting one of those diamond file things people use for crystal to try. Emery would be cheaper lol, thanks!
Revisiting this thread has reminded me of a couple things. One is that I have a couple blankets I’ve been meaning to mend. They are both loosely woven cotton, not particularly beloved, but in good enough shape to keep - they just both had close calls with puppies in their past. 
The second thing I was reminded of is the 4-5 general button tin I have! People used to remove the buttons from their worn out clothing and I have the tin that started at least with my great grandmother, perhaps before her. So there are some very old and some very, very old buttons in there as well as some that would be consider old in other contexts like from my mom’s 1970s sewing projects and some from my 80s and 90s projects.
I have such a button jar as well…many of them still have bits of fabric from where my great grandmother had just cut them off…I try to imagine the type of clothing from the fabric…mostly from my great grandfather’s shirts.
I wish I could think of some projects to add some of these antique buttons to…the oldest and more ornate ones I have mounted on fabric and framed, but some of the others should be used…
I had a busy day, but finally found time for some mending. When folding t-shirts I found tiny holes in one of husbands work shirts. I set it aside for the mending pile (it’s gettin a bit bigger than I like). I picked it up when taking a break from housework and darned 1 out of 3 holes. I will share when I’m done.
Tonight I picked up a funnier piece to mend. I wasn’t happy at all when I found a hole in a sweater my mother in law knitted for me, but since the yarn is fuzzy and has a lot of grip it hadn’t really unravelled.
It’s been in the freezer AND heat treated just in case it’s caused by pesky pests but it might just be a random yarn break from snagging it on something or wear and tear on a weak part of the yarn.
The things that makes this fun:
Here it is all better with the surrounding stitches strengthened too. I might create a tutorial because I took some in progress pictures too.
I am going to start saving yarns for my hand made items…hubby says there are some holes in his favorite afghan but I don’t have spare yarn…looks like it will have to be a scrappy mend…
You can barely tell where the hole is…I also loved what @kittykill did with her vintage sweater…usinng some sort of patch or embroidery over the holes…
I was able to use old shell buttons - the kind that your remove to launder for a vest I made TheMisterT as part of a cosplay outfit for his first novel! And my Krampus nutcracker’s belt “buckle” is also from that stash!
This is wonderful work!
I’ve started to organise some of the leftovers. Small balls of yarn that are the last bits from various projects go in small ziplock baggies that I’ve collected in the same place. This leftover skein for this sweater was bigger so it’s in the regular stash and not the leftover bin.
I have a separate small box for spare buttons and leftover bits of yarn from my own projects. They don’t go in the regular stash so they are easy to find when something needs to be repaired. It’s a really cute vintage box too.
Great idea!!! I am going to start being better organized about that as well…now to find a tin or something I can use to get started!
Totally not my idea but my grandma’s. She would also attach labels to leftover balls of yarn so she knew for which project they were used. She extended my favourite sweater several times for me when I was a kid 
I never realised that until much later I inherited her labeled balls of yarn, the red sweater with the bear just continued to fit while I outgrew everything else.
I like that sweater fix, well done!
My Gran’s button box lives with our Aunt. Every child in this family played with that collection, it’s magical.
Mine are neurotically sorted by colour in zip baggies. There will be no mingling of the buttons!
