Hey y’all – since this is Mending Month on the blog, I thought it would be helpful to talk about how to mend. Not so much the sewing skills (those will come throughout the tutorials this month) but the mental and organizational skills needed to get to the bottom of that pile!
If you’re like me, mending is not your preferred type of sewing. In fact, given the choice, I pretty much always choose to make a brand new item over mending an older one. But there are some things that I just can’t bear to throw out, because 1) it’s wasteful, 2) I really liked the item before it needed to be mended, and/or 3) I know I’ll like it if I just fix one little thing. And that’s a lot of mental energy and psychic weight to have hanging over your sewing room, even if you (like me) shove that mending into some corner where you don’t see it. I just know it’s there, and every time I think, “Oh, X thing I sewed would be perfect…except it’s in the mending pile” it’s another unwelcome reminder.
So, before I embark on any new sewing this year, I want to take time to get to the bottom of my mending pile. And I’m going to give you tips and hopefully a fun way to help you get to the bottom of yours too.
1. Gather the whole pile in one place
Here’s my current mending pile; at the moment it’s all stuff that’s mine and not my boys’. Funny how I’ll mend their things before my own. It’s important to get it all in one place, because that way you can make sure you have it all sorted, which is the next step.
2. Examine each thing in the pile and sort according to what needs to be done to it.
In sorting through my mending, I found several things that were ready for pressing and sewing (for example, I hadn’t hemmed and just stuck things in the mending pile) several things that needed seam ripping as the first step, and one that needed to be cut shorter before I could press and hem. I also had a shirt that was entirely finished, and had been stuck in the mending pile when really it needed to be in the donate pile. So that was easy enough to sort.
3. Assess your frame of mind and decide what to tackle first
Are you ready to sit on the couch and binge watch something? Take your seam ripping pile. Or do you just need an easy finish to motivate you to keep going? Then find the easiest project to get out of your pile. In my case, I chose the latter.
This bralette needed a wider and tighter elastic band for support. I had already bought the elastic and even had it in the pile with the bralette. All I had to do was sew the new elastic to the band with a zi-zag stitch. It took me all of 10 minutes total. And then I felt silly because this had been sitting in my mending pile for literally two months, all because I didn’t just sit down and take care of it.
4. Find your motivation
If you really hate mending, you may have to bribe yourself to do it, but if that’s what it takes, then bribe yourself. Maybe a chocolate for finishing, or you get to cut out a new thing to send for every old thing you mend. Whatever works!
Abigail Doyle
OMG Mel. I just did this on Tuesday. Well sorted out my fabric closet, which also included UFOs, WIPs, and things to mend. I even sat down and planned a scheduled to tackle the ones to mend every weekend for the next month or so, just to get them out of the sewing closet and into my wardrobe.
Anne
My mending and almost-finished pile is getting too big!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later this morning that features your tips: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=91229 –Anne
brenda
you deserve a medal for encouraging us to get this off our to do lists. feels as if we have a buddy even if it is cyberwise. thanks
GrrannyH
I had a friend whose daughter, when quite young, gave her the clothes that needed to be mended. Somehow, they never reappeared…until they moved. When the daughter looked in the shed, she found all her clothes that needed to be mended accumulated from over the years.
I always mend the item immediately or as soon as I get home and can do it; I’ll even put a reminder on my phone. I’d rather get it done piece by piece immediately than have to face a pile of items that need mending.
Jerrie
Years ago I made a sewing room rule, that the mending always came first. I have a tote designated for mending. Every time I am going to sew the mending gets done before I start or continue on a new project. This works great for me.
Veronica
I love mending. It is so satisfying to make something useable again. And it gives pretty quick satisfaction to boot. I have a fitted bed sheet I made and have to mend from time to time because our big dog gets on the bed while we’re gone. He messes it all up into a crazy looking frenzy and occasionally rips the sheet. I take it off and repair it again. We call it the ‘Frankensheet’. Its good practice for a beginner sewer like myself. And we get a fun laugh from it. It is very comfortable as well and all the cozier since I made it myself and am saving all that money not buying a new sheet!
La-Kia Kommeren
I have pile of as we speak. Plus I am in the midst of renovating out new home. We are converting one bedroom into my closet, and I was going through my wardrobe and was finding more items piling up to be mended. Thanks for these tips and motivation!
Zuzanna
My boys call it the, “To Grow Out of Pile.”
Mea Cadwell
I have a rule of 3 – as soon as I have 3 things that need to be repaired I do it. I isn’t worth it to me to get into the frame of mind to do just one item that needs mending. However, when I mend something I scour the entire garment to see if anything else warrants attention before I deem the mending job to be done.
Mea Cadwell
At first I tried mending things as they needed it and it was always ‘sigh, I don’t want to do this’ so the item would sit.
I changed things up with my perception of it. I ‘don’t allow’ myself to mend anything until I have 3 things that need mending – I tell myself ‘NO’.
Knowing those items need attention bothers me but I won’t let myself do them until there are 3, lol. So, when I finally do get 3 things, it’s a relief to get them done.
Note: I decided on 3 items because if there’s only 1 item it’s a drag to pull out the sewing gear, do the (normally) quick mend and then have to put everything away. Same way for 2 things. But, in my eyes, 3 things make it worth it to pull out the sewing stuff I need, do the mending which doesn’t take too long to do, and then put everything away.
Rebecca B
Thanks for the motivation post. When I notice even the smallest mending needing done I have designed spot by my sewing kit. I agree with my grandmother’s saying “ a stitch in time saves nine.”
The problem is time. If I were not on my phone I would have more time.lol
I think I may need the bribery method to motivate myself & put on my to do list today.
MaryBeth
My biggest ‘UGH!” is changing thread and or feet on my machines (I know, right? The 10 second monster.) If I am starting a new project, I look to see if anything in the mending pile matches. Get it done while the thread is the right color. If something needs hemming, I put it with the cover stitch machine so it gets done while that machine is set up. I don’t mind handwork, but I don’t always remember it is there, so I leave myself a note where I sit to watch TV. This makes it sound as if I am super organized, but mending still piles up or gets forgotten. The sorting idea is the best because you can actually SEE what needs doing. Thanks for the motivation!
Susan Woodhead
I have a new pre-loved cardigan which had so many threads in the wrong colours for the buttons. I only noticed this when I wore it for the first time. So last night I sat down for an hour and took out all the old black, white and grey threads and replaced them with all one colour (grey) and it feels so much better to have done this.
I have a pile of mending to do and agree I do it for others first and myself last
Grammy Beverly
Your tips tell me I’m in the right place..
..my tendency is needing motivation and just plain laziness when everything else demands my time…… sewing is “ME TIME!”……but your writings we’re sooo right!