to mend or not to mend

Do you mend clothes? I do. There is something satisfying in getting another lease of life for a tattered pair of jeans or a ripped but loved shirt. I tend to pile up clothes that need mending in a pile in a dark corner until I have enough motivation to get on with it. Sometimes I get started because there is another chore I am trying to avoid.

Yesterday was the day to get the pile out of the dark corner. I needed a bit o a change from the usual chore but still wanted to do something useful. You know, for that moment when the husband asks "so, what did you do today?". This is what I found in the pile:

• one knitted monkey with damaged eye
• one flannel shirt with two large rips over the elbows
• three pairs of trousers with big holes
• one school polo shirt without buttons
• one pair of running shorts with open seams
• one stripy hoody with the pockets partially pulled off

I thought this would keep me busy or a wee while. I started off with the trousers. Alistair's skinny jeans needed one bigger patch on the right knee and a new patch on the left knee. I usually remove the back pockets with my seam opener and stitch them onto the knees but these particular ones were bolted on (why?) and I couldn't get them off. Luckily I do always have some old pockets in my magic stash, taken from trousers that were beyond repair. I also re-use still good enough patches.

Annie's orange cords were so badly ripped that the trousers own pockets were not big enough to cover the hole. I found a large one in the stash, probably from one of Richard's jeans. It was just about big enough.

The monkey got a new eye. I think it might need a bath, too. I am glad I used acrylic wool to knit it. I shall sneak it in the washing machine next time James is distracted.

Richard's rustic flannel shirt was mended with interfacing and an oval patch cut from a red sheet that I don't use because it is not fitted. I used the same fabric for sleeves for a little girl's blouse. I used a zig zag stitch to sew the patches on. It was a bit tricky using the sewing machine for fixing a relatively narrow sleeve but a bit of tugging and pushing and some expletives was all it took to get it done.

I closed the hole in Alistair's favourite hoodie, found some buttons to stitch onto James's  polo shirt and zigzagged the split seams of my running shorts. I don't have an overlocker and there was a bit of puckering but I don't care.

I am ever so pleased with my work. We may not wear those clothes for a fancy occasion but they will be good enough for outdoor play and work in the garden.

As for the usual chores, I shall do them tomorrow. Unless I can find another excuse.