As my friend Sarah says “If it’s not worth mending, it’s not worth buying” …
Yet again, this week’s mending started with some sock darning. Unusually for me this repair turned out to be very subtle…it was just the first yarn that came to hand, rather than a deliberate attempt at invisible mending.
Then I moved on to a garment that has needed mending for years. A long time ago, Sam chewed the press-stud off this cardigan. I intended to mend it straight away, but somehow it got put with my yarn stash and only came to light a few weeks ago when we were moving the piano (don’t ask). When I looked at it with fresh eyes, it was clear that Sam had simply made a new buttonhole and all I needed to do was make it a bit more robust, remove the remaining press-stud half from the other side and add a button:
I reinforced the hole and then blanket-stitched to make an acceptable buttonhole. Rather than using one of my button stash, I decided to employ a newly-acquired skill and make a Dorset button (more on these in a forthcoming post).
Including making the button, it only took my about an hour and a half… plus the 10 or so years it’s been squirreled away!
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
/ July 27, 2020Love the cardigan, so glad you’ve resurrected it with this imaginative mend 🙂 I do love a Dorset button, so I’m looking forward to your post on the subject.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020I have one more button design to have a go at before I post about the Dorset buttons. It’s something I’ve wanted to have a go at for ages, but only got round to during lockdown. It’s such a lovely thing to make.
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Rainbow Junkie
/ July 27, 2020Like the colour mix of your cardigan. Only mending on my horizon are my two pairs of walking socks that both have a hole in one of the pair caused by my big toe can’t decide whether to use some of my cotton yarn to mend them or to buy some new ones or just keep wearing them like that. My one big toe does sort of point upwards.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020Go on… give them a little tlc and make them last a bit longer… those holes will only get bigger if you leave them.
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polesparadise
/ July 27, 2020Nice repair.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020Thank you… I liked making the button too
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DawnGillDesigns
/ July 27, 2020ooo. I want to see the Dorset Button post soooo much. This looks like a a perfect mend. And you have basically gained a new cardy now – whoop-whoop 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020I have one more button design to have a go at before I post… so watch out later in the week
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Going Batty in Wales
/ July 27, 2020I have never heard of a dorset button! Well done for a clever mend and I will look forward to the post that enlightens me!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020Nice thing to make with scrap yarn… plus guaranteed to match any item you’ve knitted yourself.
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nanacathy2
/ July 27, 2020Can’t beat a Dorset button- much nicer than a pres stud- reckon Sam did you a favour.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 27, 2020I think you may be right there
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