One of the many, many changes to life over the last two years has been the never-ending supply of things in my mending bag. I never used to have much that needed mending, but these days we all seem to provide a constant flow of things that need a bit of sewing.
I sew up small holes that have been nibbled into t-shirts, leggings and cardigans on a weekly basis. They mostly don't take too long, but it's strangely unsatisfying mending.
This is a pair of Jim's socks. I knitted them many moons ago, and when they went through the wash the other week, I spotted that the cast-on edge had broken, and stitches were dropping. I roughly sewed up the offending section with a bright contrasting yellow sock yarn. It's really not neat mending, but it won't unravel any more now. When I posted them to instagram, I used the hashtag #visiblemending - if you haven't already, then I highly recommend checking out the visible mending work of @TomofHolland and others. It's inspiring!
I love my Boden British wool coat. I've had it for years, but I couldn't bear to part with it. The navy woollen binding at the sleeve cuff had worn right through, but other than that, the coat was in great shape. I purchased some navy ribbon at Millie Moon months ago, and last week, I finally got around to sewing it around the cuffs. I used my sewing machine to stitch down one side, and then slip stitched it round to the wrong side. It took 20 minutes, and I reckon it has given my beloved coat another year or two of wear. Hurrah!!
Of course there is a never-ending supply of name tapes needing sewing on...
And sadly, sometimes socks need darning. I can never decide whether I can be bothered to darn, or whether to just chuck them and knit a new pair. I definitely like knitting a WORLD more than darning.
Are you a mender or a chucker?
