Last time here I mentioned I had some mending to do in the New Year. These mending projects do not sound like fun, but they are necessary to preserve what we have and avoid buying “brand new” whenever a rip or tear occurs. Usually we think about mending socks and ripped shirt seams, but lately I have been mending household textiles.
As you can see below, you don’t really need a fancy sewing machine for mending. This budget Janome machine has done just fine for the past 5 years…for mending and sewing new things, too.
Now for mending: first up, cotton flannel duvet, 15 years old, plenty of wear, but not yet ready for rags.
When mending, you want to choose like materials for patching, so new flannel scraps with old flannel duvet.
I know, it doesn’t match. It was really tricky getting the large duvet scrunched under the machine arm. But the end result satisfied me, until the bobbin ran out.
My second piece of mending is just below here.
Next I tackled the bed sheet which had a hole in it and had been previously hand-sewn with a small patch. It not only didn’t look very good but I feared with one wash it might come loose. You can see the small hand-dyed moon patch I had made for another purpose. I thought it would be a good fit here.
I chose to use the zig-zag stitch for this one, beginning in a circle and moving in. I broke a couple of bobbin threads with the forward and reverse stitching, but it worked in the end. Neither of these patch jobs will win any prizes, but I have the use of this wonderfully soft and cozy bedding for perhaps another year or two.
What have you mended lately?
naturedye 