3 Mending Techniques – Saving Money On Clothes

It is without question, a guarantee. Every time I get new clothes I absolutely love. I will somehow find a hole in it, within a few wears. No questions asked. I don’t know how or why it just ALWAYS happens. If it’s not sooner it will be later. Plus as a plus size woman, my thighs rub together enough to create pilling, pulls and separations in the fabric on the inner thighs. So what do you do, when good clothes, costing good money are going to the wasteland? Instead of automatically replacing them. Here are 3 mending techniques to quickly and easily repair your clothes.

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3 Mending Techniques – Saving Money On Clothes

Small(ish) Holes

Whether it be pants or shirts, a small hole can be a bit of a disappointment. You know it’s their no matter how small it is, and you know it’s just going to get bigger over time. So here’s what you do.

Materials: Scissors, needle & thread of same colour, hot iron

Instructions:

1. Take a small length of thread and put it through your needle.
2. Flip the garment inside out, and start weaving the needle through the edges of the hole back and forth across the hole as close together as possible without overlapping. Then loop and tie it off so it won’t unravel.
3. Now take the clothing item and iron the area until the hole and knotted threads lay flat to the shirt.

If these three steps are done correctly, you will be able to turn the clothing right sides out and not be able to see the threads very well at all. Especially if you are able to get the right colour of thread. It will just blend in!

Seams ripping/falling apart – resew, shorten fabric, or add fabric depending on placement

Tell me if you are on the same page as me here. You wear something so much that simple acts like walking rub the fabric together so much, that it pills, pulls and eventually tears on you. I swear this is the untold story of my life.

Shredding Seams

If you have excess fabric (ie. looser and potentially baggy items), you can simply take in the seams by sewing a line down the fabric slightly in from where the ripping is occurring. This will then allow for a breaker wall so to speak, to go up and interfere with the fabrics desire to shred even more than it already has.

Shredded hem

Sometimes we just love those extra long pants a bit too much don’t we!? I love when I have pants long enough to go over my feet. I know it’s weird, but that’s just one of my lovable quirks. So what happens when your hem becomes tattered and shredded? You create a slightly higher hem.

Materials: Scissors, needle and thread/sewing machine

Instructions:

1. Cut the offending ragged hem off of your pants.
2. Fold up the new rough edge, and then fold up again.
3. Sew the new hem. Use a zigzag stitch on the edge of the fold if you use a machine, this will help the stitch hold through everyday wear and tear. It allows the fabric to stretch naturally when tugged on. If you are sewing by hand I highly recommend a blanket stitch.

The whole point of repairing clothes is to prolong their life expectancy. So you must learn how to mend and recycle clothes, otherwise you rack up way too much money on clothes (even WITH my tips and tricks for saving the most money) It also goes without saying that repairs should be assessed on a case by case basis. When done right, they will only be seen by someone who is specifically looking for them. The more out of eyesight the offending tragedy is the more likely you are to get away with mending it.

I think I have covered all the common mending needs, but please add on if you can. I love prolonging the life of my clothes, as I’m sure you do too. Saving money on clothing purchase is not just about how you buy them, but it is also how well you treat them once they are yours.