National Recycle Week – Day 4
Today is all about not recycling… or at least not recycling YET.
Followers of Mr Snail’s blog will have read of his latest surgery on the wind-up/solar radio, thus further extending its already much-lengthened life. In order to keep up, I felt that I needed to do some mending myself this week too, so I investigated my collection of ‘clothes I am going to repair when I feel sufficiently motivated’ and gathered together my enthusiasm…
This week’s project: pyjamas. Six years old and split alongside a seam. I love these pyjamas, hence them wearing out!
That’s torn it!
Iron-on mending tape
I decided too that the time had come to invest in some mending tape. Sadly it’s not magic – that is it doesn’t do the mending for you… for that you need a mending fairy and I can’t find one of those for sale on the internet. To to get the best results, some sewing is required, but basically you iron the stuff onto the back of your fabric and it strengthens that area of your garment and holds it together. It doesn’t work for drapy fabrics, because the adhesive makes it rather stiff (although it might soften with washing) but it does result in a robust repair.
My pyjamas are purple, but I couldn’t put my hand on any purple fabric, so I went with some contrasty red, from which I cut a small piece that I stitched behind the tear, tucking away the raw edges of the original fabric. I trimmed of the excess of the red, placed the tape behind it and applied the iron for 5 seconds, with a cloth between iron and mending tape. And, voila! my pyjamas get to live another day night:
It’s not stylish, but it’s functional and it means that I’ve kept another item out of the recycling bin for a bit longer.
The Snail of Happiness 
Wild Daffodil
/ June 25, 2015I use old pyjamas to patch slightly younger ones and then they get cut up into dishcloths and cleaning cloths. Some in my cleaning cupboard go back about 30 years or more. It’s great to get your reminders about re-using before recycling.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 25, 2015I’m thinking I might put some of my thinnest and most used rags cotton into the bottom of my new raised bed, where they can slowly turn into soil along with the paper and cardboard I have been collecting recently, and the horse muck I have been offered, and the grass clippings that my neighbours are trained to give me and the moss that a friend is keeping for me…. goodness I seem to be setting up my own recycling facility here!!
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ June 25, 2015What a good idea! I think I’ll follow suit when I next make a raised bed – I have a few in the pipeline.
LikeLiked by 1 person
nanacathy2
/ June 25, 2015Please cut off the buttons first and all the pretty bits. I can those pjs as Christmas cards and decorations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 25, 2015Oh yes… always save the buttons!!
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ June 25, 2015Yep – me too! Pyjamas into Christmas cards! Ha! Love it!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 25, 2015I’d do his if I still sent Christmas cards!!
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ June 25, 2015Decent mending is a dying art form, dear Snail, so not only are you recycling, you are also supporting the arts…. or something. I think everyone should be taught to darn at the same time as they are taught to use a keyboard these days.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 25, 2015My nan taught me to darn, but I’m not convinced I’m very good at it! Still, I try 😉
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ June 25, 2015My mother was a demon at recycling, mending, repurposing, etc. One of my most abiding childhood memories is being forced to sit there while she frogged a whole worn out jumper, winding the kinked wool onto my outstretched arms. It would later be wound onto a wooden chopping board, dunked in warm soapy water, rinsed and left to dry, by which time all the kinks had come out and it could be used again. I believe I wore the same wool three or four times in different guises, getting smaller each time as the worn sections were removed!
LikeLike
nettyg
/ June 25, 2015A pretty mend. You could extend the mending next time in boro fashion, the Japanese art of mending, literally translated as rags or scraps. You can use a couple of fabrics for your patch, loosely layered, then add some nice running stitches to the patch and this makes it very strong. Next time there’s a tear, add another fabric patch over the top, next to etc. It becomes an art form. Your red patch is a good boro start. Here’s a link, there’s some history then pics of some jeans the author has boro’d.
http://www.duofiberworks.com/journal/2012/10/15/sewing-projects-in-process-part-1.html
Then you won’t have to use that horrible unnatural mending tape, hope it’s not scratchy on soft skin!
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 26, 2015I think this is something I’m going to have more of a play around with – I love the idea of mending as art. And thanks for the link to the blog… all sorts of interesting stuff as well as the boro.
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ June 26, 2015Brilliant – thanks for the link.
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ June 26, 2015Wow! i just looked up Boro on Pinterest – amazing array of creative darning, patching and embellishing – so many ideas, so little time! Now back to the wedding before the promised rain sets in.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 26, 2015Wedding? Possibly weeding… or do you have something to share?!?
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ June 26, 2015Ha!Ha! Definitely WEEDING! xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
gentlestitches
/ June 26, 2015Hoorah!!!! Well done! ❤
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 26, 2015I’m a little more inspired about the whole thing now… maybe I could learn to love mending.
LikeLike
gentlestitches
/ June 27, 2015the “secret” is to have a ready to go well stocked mending kit! ❤
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 27, 2015I’d love to read a blog post about what you keep in your mending kit!
LikeLiked by 1 person
gentlestitches
/ June 30, 2015here is one I prepared earlier!
http://gentlestitches.com/2012/09/28/packed-and-ready-to-go/
one of my passions! Mending. ❤
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 30, 2015Thank you!
LikeLike
KerryCan
/ June 26, 2015I just patched my bathrobe in similar fashion! I LOVE my black watch plaid flannel robe and now it’ll probably last the rest of my life!
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 28, 2015How lovely to be able to save something that you love!
LikeLike
Born To Organize
/ June 27, 2015I love mending, always have. It’s quite satisfying giving a loved garment new life. Hurray for your favorite PJs.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ June 27, 2015I think I’m learning to love it!
LikeLike
Born To Organize
/ June 29, 2015I find it meditative, actually, making small stitches and then seeing things come together. I’ve always enjoyed sewing by hand along with hooking rugs, embroidery, knitting. It’s therapeutic.
LikeLike
insearchofitall
/ July 4, 2015What an educational post. Now I know I can put fabric, cottons, at the bottom of my raised beds. I have learned about the art of mending and so much more. I’d be putting patches on those sweet flannel pj’s too. I love flannel. Thanks.
LikeLike