“If it’s not worth mending, it’s not worth buying” …
This week I’ve finally got round to repairing something that has been in the mending pile for a couple of years. The reason I haven’t done it before was that I wasn’t sure a mend was really possible. It’s a loose cotton tunic made of very delicate fabric, and after a lot of wear, one of the sleeves just started to disintegrate:
It’s too delicate to embroider onto or to back it with fusible interfacing which only left patching it. I chose a scrap of Tana Lawn, which is fine but robust and edged that before stitching it over the problem area. I made sure that one edge was along the cuff, so that I could sew into multiple layers for strength. After it was attached (a difficult job because of working inside a sleeve) I managed a few rows of stitching across for reinforcement.
To be honest, I’m not sure this mend will last long, but we’ll see. If the fabric turns out to be too weak to hold the patch, I’ll just make it into a short-sleeved garment rather than a long-sleeved one.
So, have you mended anything this week? If you’ve written a post about mending recently, do share a link to it – I love to see how other people manage to extend the lives of the things they own.
The Snail of Happiness 
thecontentedcrafter
/ April 13, 2020Delicate fabrics do tend to just gently fade away – a bit like old soldiers 🙂 Good luck with it. I have mended nothing this week!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2020I do really love this garment, so I’m hoping that I can get a bit more wear out of it… perhaps eventually it will have to become something else.
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cedar51
/ April 13, 2020giving the tunic a chance, sounds like a good idea…I have only mended “me” this week and there isn’t much to report, although I did make a post about it today …the firsts. Including revamping an older piece of mixed media to be something new. And it’s going to be shown in an online exhibit sometime soon…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2020Self-care is so important… off to look at your post now 🙂
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nanacathy2
/ April 13, 2020I wonder if you will wear it now. When fabric wears very this in places I cut it up and use the good pieces in new projects and use the worn out bits as rags.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2020I’ll probably just wear it round the house and in the garden… although that’s true for everything at the moment!
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katechiconi
/ April 13, 2020It’s hard letting go of beloved garments, which is why I love quiltmaking: you can always resurrect the scraps and be reminded of the pleasure it gave you. I do like this mend, you’ve chosen a very sympathetic fabric, so I hope it lasts for you.
I managed another mend this week; the link is here:
(https://talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com/2020/04/13/mend-it-monday-2)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2020Nice mend.
I’m going to keep this one going as long as I can, but there’s quite a bit of fabric in it and I can think of one or two potential projects when it does finally have to be retired.
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Going Batty in Wales
/ April 13, 2020You have got me tackling my mending pile. I was going to write a post but don’t have time to do that and keep up with my Blessings series so it will have to come later.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2020There will always be mending to write about in the future, I’m sure
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Going Batty in Wales
/ April 14, 2020There certainly will!
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Laurie Graves
/ April 13, 2020I am impressed! And short sleeves are a great solution. I mended two small holes in my top sheets. Not the greatest looking job, but they are mended, and with any luck the holes will not get any bigger.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 14, 2020Catching them small saves such a lot of work down the line.
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Eva Kittelsen
/ April 13, 2020Hi! Just wanted to chime in and say I’m glad you like my quote about mending, it’s fun to see it spread, and that you’re doing a fantastic job with your mending projects! Keep it up!
(www.instagram.com/evakittelsen)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 14, 2020Interestingly the quote came from an old friend of mine, Sarah… but wherever it originated it’s so true 😉
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Eva Kittelsen
/ April 14, 2020Haha, alright. I just assumed she’d picked it up somewhere after @fash_rev shared it on Instagram.
Anyway, I’ve made a Facebook group called MyVisibleMend, made it last week and we’re over 1100 people already! Mostly Norwegian for now but a few hundred who are not. I think you’d enjoy it and you’re welcome to share links to your blog there! We’d love yo have you 😊
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 14, 2020I will check it out – thank you!
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Claire
/ April 13, 2020I am on stay at home holidays so I finally attacked my mending pile, dating from years ago! Some repairs are projects and others such as a blue shirt whose bottom hem only needed to be resewn are quick wins. Another week left, I hope to get at least the quick wins done and the “projects” listed
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 14, 2020That’s great… I have managed to do at least one a week for nine weeks now. It feels so good, although I’m not at the end yet.
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