As my friend Sarah says “If it’s not worth mending, it’s not worth buying” …
The mending pile is greatly diminished and it may be that these posts become monthly rather than weekly in the not too distant future. However, there are still a few things to get through and this week I returned to an old favourite: a much-mended pair of Mr Snail’s jeans. I first wrote about them here: they were my first attempt at boro style mending in 2017. Since then, they’ve had multiple mends and are becoming quite a work of art; there are more pictures of them here.
One of the legs, above the knee has developed weak areas where the fabric creases naturally. Before they disintegrate entirely in that area, some reinforcement seemed appropriate. I rummaged through my scraps and found a swatch of really tough upholstery fabric that doesn’t fray if pinked and made use of this. It’s a big area, so I secured the patch inside by means of machine stitching, and then I got out my embroidery threads and did some freeform stitching. Today’s work is the darker purple stitches.
What do you think?
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 
katechiconi
/ April 20, 2020They’ll be worth framing by the time they are finally more mend than original fabric! I have a mend to share:
(https://talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/mend-it-monday-3)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 20, 2020Mr Snail suggested that it might be time to give up on these before this latest mend, and I had to explain to him that they are now a long-term art project for me.
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katechiconi
/ April 20, 2020I think you should consider introducing mixed media for the next phase. Instead of closing up a tear or reinforcing a thin area, why not instal a zip to make a feature of it…?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 20, 2020I suspect that might be a step too far for Mr Snail!
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katechiconi
/ April 21, 2020😀
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Going Batty in Wales
/ April 21, 2020No I can’t see him all zips – the oiercings wouldn’t suit him either!
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Laurie Graves
/ April 20, 2020Fantastic! No mending this week.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 20, 2020I’m quite happy with them.
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polesparadise
/ April 20, 2020Weeellll…… Steve’s work trousers are STILL work in progress. That is, I’ve done the work I need to do, Steve needs to progress them on his big machine! It’s been a joint effort, as lots of seams needed to be unpicked, areas repaired/replaced then stitched back together bit at a time. So I tack, Steve sews. I tack more…..well you get the picture. Just the last seam to sew, then they are all done!
In the mean time I am working on a blouse. I’ve run out of blue thread now, so will have to try and order some on line before I can continue.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 20, 2020Great stuff… my mending pile is now much depleted and I’m feeling very pleased with myself.
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thecontentedcrafter
/ April 20, 2020They are an art work in process! The young trendies would be lining up to have this done to their pre-ripped jeans if they knew about it 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 20, 2020I rather like today’s swirls.
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Going Batty in Wales
/ April 21, 2020Very creative! You are making me re-think whether some of my things relegated to ‘gardening wear’ could be rescued.
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