×
×
homepage logo

Aunt Norie’s Sewing Room

By Eleanor Mckee - | May 5, 2004

You may enjoy sewing and making clothes for the family, but you hate mending or you say you do.

You may not enjoy mending, but it does pay off in appearance and sometimes results in great savings for the entire family.

In the olden days, everyone had to save every penny any way they could. With today’s budgets and family incomes, isn’t it becoming so again? If we think about it in those terms, then it even can become enjoyable. In time, the old stitch means fewer clothing replacements and more money for other needs.

Although sewing machines save time and energy, handwork is also important and you can do a lot of mending. So if you don’t have a machine, (maybe that has been your excuse, so to speak), start mending away. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish. Start by sewing on buttons, and teach the kids to sew on buttons.

As J.H. said, “That was always my excuse. I needed a sewing machine to get into mending. Then I had to quit my job.

“With time on my hands and a tighter budget, I used tips from my mother to help pull me through.

“Having grown up with a mom who loved to sew she had taught me to sew. I got serious and it did save us a lot of money.”

She now has a machine, which she found at a garage sale.

As we get into mending, you are more apt to do the mending promptly if you work in a convenient place with good lighting and supplies, shears, threads, etc., close at hand. A basket, box or large drawer are good. Also keep scraps of garments left from making clothes and altering ready-mades for repairs, along with a box or container for buttons that you clip off of discarded and worn-out garments.

Rip out and save good zippers and other fasteners that can be reused.

We will get into more tips on mending. It really is rewarding and even enjoyable.