hole

Mending Clothes to Save Money: The Tiny Holes

Abby H.

Mending clothes is a simple way to save money. Knowing a few stitches is a good skill. In a previous post, I wrote in 2018, I discussed what to have a basic sewing kit and how to repair a hole in the back pocket of a pair of jeans using a commercially available denim patch.

Today we will be discussing mending tiny holes in clothes. These are tiny holes that can be caused by catching on jewelry, work badges, or lanyards, or clothes rubbing together in an overloaded washing machine or dryer.

Zippers, buttons, and other clothing fasteners can cause holes to form and clothes when they rub on fabrics in the washer or dryer. This is why it’s important when you put your clothes into the washing machine that you button, zip, or otherwise fasten your clothes shut before washing them. Cleaning out pockets can help too- especially if you have a rock collector in your family (I do with mine).

Things like bras or clothing that has sharp edges like rhinestones or beads should be washed either by hand, or put into lingerie bags. Remember to clasp up your bra so the hooks do not snag on anything- even in a lingerie bag.

Clothing moths, or carpet beetles, can also nibble holes and clothing. They prefer natural fibers like wool, rayon or ramie, cotton, bamboo, or tencel.

Perfect type of rip/tear for a satin stitch

Tiny holes can be mended with a satin stitch. A satin stitch is a close back-and-forth stitch over the hole with the stitches close together.

Longer tears or rips along the seam are best secured with the back stitch. It is a very secure stitch, and very easy to do. There is a great tutorial on YouTube from Sewn Company here.

I spent about an hour a month mending clothes. Between kids, being kids, and the fact that I get the majority of my own clothes secondhand, and therefore don’t know the exact age of them, it is not uncommon for me to wear holes in elbows of sweaters, or in pockets. I do spend a lot of time mending pockets.

One thing I do not mend is socks. Socks are inexpensive enough that when they develop holes, they become rags for dusting, or cleaning up spills. When T-shirts become too holy, they also become rags for cleaning up, spills in the kitchen, or wiping off counters, or cleaning the bathroom mirrors.

Frugal Life Skills: Mending Clothes

Abby H.

cohdranknsewing4.JPGPrior to being a blogger, I made costumes. All kinds of costumes from Jedi Robes to A Prince Charming Costume for someone’s wedding. One skill that I am adamant about everyone having is the skill of sewing. You don’t need to be able to stitch a wedding dress, but sewing on a button, fixing a fallen hem, and repairing a seam rip are all simple and good, money-saving skills that everyone should be able to learn.

To get started, you’ll need a sewing kit. I have one like this. If you want to gather one on your own, here are a few items that you need:

  • Needles: I usually have a variety pack, like this.
  • Thread: A good variety of colors may not be needed, depending on which colors are in your wardrobe. I recommend Coats and Clark thread. Essential colors are- Black, white, tan or natural, navy blue.
  • Scissors/snips
  • Pins: I prefer pins that have a large colorful head. They are easier to find if/when you drop them on the floor. Spoiler alert: You will drop pins on the floor.
  • Safety Pins: Always good to have safety pins in the house. I usually get a package from 99 Cents Only or Dollar tree and stash them in my sewing box.
  • Seam Ripper: Seam rippers are great for picking out hems that have fallen. Or, you know, ripping out seams when you make a mistake.
  • I also like having a pin cushion. This helps cut down on losing pins and then finding them later. With your bare feet. Ouch. Fun Fact: On the Tomato pin cushion, the little attached pepper/strawberry is full of  pumice/sand that is used for sharpening your needles and pins.
  • I keep all my sewing goodies in a box like this. It’s big enough that I can also stash the foot and cord to my sewing machine in the box. (BTW, if you want to buy one from Wayfair, here is a link where you can get an extra 10% off your order).

Now that your kit is assembled, You’ll need to learn how to actually sew. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I searched on YouTube and watched a bunch of videos trying to find one that is the easiest. I really thought that this video from Nifty teaches 4 simple ways to mend most things.

Recently I had to fix a pair of jeans that had a worn out pocket. The back pocket had worn thin because of  where my husband keeps his leather wallet.

I picked up a package of Denim Iron on patches at Joann’s- I used a 50% off coupon, so they were only $2.14 with tax! And I still have half a package left, so I can repair another pair of jeans too!

I set up the ironing board and iron and set to work.

 

IMG_16461-Find the hole, and make sure that the patch(es) are cut to the right size. You want to cover the hole completely, and the surrounding area, so the patch has some stable fabric to fuse to.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_1648
The shiny stuff on the back side is the fusible adhesive.

I like the iron on patches- they have fusible adhesive attached to the back, which is basically a heat activated fabric glue that bonds the patch to the garment.

Once fused to the garment, it takes a lot of get the patch(es) off. For this project, I used two patches: one on the interior of the garment, and one on the exterior. Basically making a hole sandwich.

2- Place the patch(es) over the hole/rip, and fuse into place with the steam iron.

IMG_16513-Once the clothing/patch has cooled, you can stitch around the edge to make it extra secure, however, in this case I did not. I would do that for the knees of kiddo pants or other high wear areas.

Overall, this is a very simple project that anyone can do.

Our culture tends to discard garments as soon as they are not longer shiny or new. If you take care and mend clothing and other household goods, they will last longer and you will not have to spend money constantly replacing clothes and household items.

I spend about an hour a month mending clothing. I do it while watching TV at night. It is worth the time to fix a pair of pants for $2.14 instead of spending $30 to buy a new pair of jeans.

Talk Back: Can you do a few simple stitches to maintain your clothing? How do you take care to keep your clothes looking great?

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