sew

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.

Tryazon: Cool Maker – My Style Party!

Abby H.

We had a Cool Maker My Style Party earlier today with some friends and family. I didn’t get a lot of pictures just because I spent so much time fixing the machines and getting projects set up. This is not going to be like a lot of my other reviews or Tryazon party posts. Let me make that clear right now. The entire event was a disaster from start to finish.

Let’s start with the KumiCreator. This machine is cool. HOWEVER, the thread/floss/string that comes with the machine is a nightmare. It’s super shiny/slippery and that makes it really hard to get it started and maintain the correct tension. Especially on the white spools, which have less thread as they are meant to make bracelets. As you can see from the pictures, it was a disaster. I had to pull everything apart, rewind the white bobbins, and set up the machine 4 times. Finally, when the girls who wanted the make bracelets were almost in tears, I pulled out some of the empty black bobbins, wound them with embroidery floss, which is not shiny or slippery, and set the machine back up. They were able to finally use the machine without unwinding the bobbins, catching, or having the tension freak out.

The machine comes with the supplies to make up to 5 trendy bracelets and 2 necklaces! That’s 56 thread spools, 7 beads, and what they call a design book. I’d call it a pamphlet.

Overall, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up is the Cool Maker Stitch ‘N Style Fashion Studio Sewing Machine Toy. OY VEY. I can sew, I’ve been sewing for over 20 years. I made a living full-time as a sewing and design professional. This toy is…. not good. It is a toy. It does not have a bottom bobbin, so it does a weird, loose stitch that easily ravels apart.  This machine takes 4 AA batteries (not included).

The kit comes with a piece of polyester fabric that has projects printed on it- all you need to do is cut them out and sew them together along the guidelines printed on the fabric.  Sounds easy, right?

The Tension on the machine is jacked up and the thread breaks easily (it’s pretty cheap polyester thread). When we pulled the scrunchy out of the sewing machine after it was done sewing (no foot- the machine has a sensor to start and stop sewing), the stitches all came unraveled.

After Margaret and the girls tried to make a scrunchy several times without success, I tried to give it a shot too. The stitches unraveled for me too. I now have to get out my sewing machine and make the girls custom scrunchies, as they are so disappointed that the machine didn’t work like they hoped (and I hoped too).

I give this machine 0/5 stars. It was seriously so hard to find anything positive about it.

I didn’t get a group pic of this event because the girls were grumpy, and the mommas were too busy consoling upset kids. At least there were snacks.

I’ve been part of the Tryazon community for years and this is the first time I’ve been disappointed with the products. I’m going to take the sewing machine apart and give it a tune-up and see if that helps. I’ll also put a different thread on the spool and see if that helps. Using cotton thread may help.

These toys are available for sale at Target, Amazon, and Walmart if you want to give them a try.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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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?

Disclosure: Some of the links contained within this post are affiliate links. Meaning, if you click on the links above and make a purchase, I may be compensated with a small commission. for more information, check out my disclosure page.

Simple Sewing Project- Pillow Cases!

Abby H.

I love making Pillow Cases- They are quick, simple projects that you can make for a very small amount of money, and they really can tie together a room.

I tend to buy plain colored sheets for the kid’s beds. Then I make pillow cases with colors or characters they like. In the past I’ve made Batman pillow cases and Thomas the Tank Engine pillow cases for Henry, and floral print and eyelet lace trim for Margaret. Most of our blankets are either down comforters in plain colored duvets or handmade quits.

I found a bunch of 1 yard pieces of fabric this morning, so I decided that today for art for 100 days of art, I was going to make a pillow case or two. I’m doing 100 days of art and chronicling it on Instagram. I’ve done some pretty cool projects so far!

You only need a yard of 45 inch wide 100% cotton fabric, matching thread and about a half hour of time. Oh, and a sewing machine. If you are looking for a good, basic sewing machine, I like this one-  It’s similar to the one I use.

Pre-wash your fabric in hot water and dry on high. This gets all the sizing out of the fabric. There will be no further shrinkage.

IMG_8710Lay fabric out, right side facing up.

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Fold fabric in half so selvedges (the finished edges)are together.

IMG_8711.jpgUsing a straight stitch on your sewing machine and a 5/8 inch seam allowance around one skinny end, turn the corner and sew up the side with the selvedge. IMG_8713

My sewing machine has measured out and notated hash marks on the throat plate (that’s the silver part in this photo).

I use a 5/8 inch seam allowance. It’s what most commercial patterns use as well.

 

IMG_8715

Trim off any stray strings. Set your machine to zigzag stitch, and stitch over the free edge of the fabric. I recommend using matching thread, I used a contrasting thread, so you could see my stitches.

 

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Fold the open edge over twice, pin or press down. Stitch down the folded edge. Take care to open the pillow case and slip the arm (the part of the machine with the bobbin in it) into the pillow case so you don’t end up sewing your pillow case together.

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Clip off any stray threads, and turn the pillow case right side out. Pop your pillow inside the case and you are all set!

This is a great 1st sewing project for kids and adults. You can make your pillowcase a little fancy by adding lace or ribbon around the hem of the open side.

I’d love to see what kind of pillow cases you make!