#mending tutorial

[calendulacraft]

Leggings may be one of the most notorious items of fast fashion but, they don't have to be!

By repairing clothing, and giving garments a longer life, we can keep out of the cycle of buy & die. Because, let's be honest here: giving away clothes is no guarantee that they won't end up in the trash. The only guarantee is to mend & upcycle the garment ourselves!

The key here is to patch a small hole before it grows & grows. Really this is an easy fix and I wanted to share how it is done with just a few basic sewing supplies.

In this tutorial I used a lighter grey patch and silver thread so that the steps would be visible and easy to follow. Here I went with a #visiblemending look but, you may want to use a matching color of patch & thread so that the mend goes unnoticed.

Happy Mending!

#wasteless crafts #zerowaste #low waste #crafting #mending #DIY #ecological fashion #slow fashion #upcycling #sustainable fashion #mending tutorial #sewing tutorial #crafts

[ideartz]

How I mended a hole in knit fabric!

I patched yet another big hole in my reckless partner's sportswear and decided to document how I did it! I used an embroidery frame to help keep the fabric in place, but it can be done just as well without one. Other supplies are just a needle and some yarn. Here I'm using three strand embroidery floss.

I start by securing the fraying edge. Just stitching around the egde, all around the hole! If the edge is not straight, the parts sticking out will fold a bit when you tighten the stitch, but that's fine.

Here is the first step finished. Next, I stitch the two edges together!

There are a few different ways to do it, but the idea is to use the stitches around the edge to pull the two sides together with a ladder stitch. (This means that there's no tension on the fraying edge, just around it on the intact fabric!) I put the needle through two stitches on one side, then two on the other side and so on, always taking either the next two stitches or one previous and one new. Pull tight!

And voilà, the tear is fixed!

And here's another example with matching colours and finer thread.

#mending #visible mending #embroidery #craftsofsiri #tutorial #fiber arts #yarn crafts #solarpunk #solarpunk crafts

[strawberrysalamanders]

Crochet Patching

from Mending Life: a Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts by Nina and Sonya Montenegro

#crochet #crocheting #crocheting tutorial #clothing repair #visible mending #mending clothes #patches #reference

[jeraliey]

Baby's first alteration!

So, I got my old sewing machine fixed and serviced, and I set up a sewing table! So of course I've been going through and happily mending holes in pajama pants and backpacks and sheets and what have you. And because I've also been sucked into the whole "visible mending" thing, I took a bag of not-so-great clothes that I was going to scrap, and started reevaluating them as potential patches for visible mending projects.

Which is when I came across this shirt:

The reason I was going to get rid of it is because of the turtleneck. The very, very, VERY small turtleneck, that made me feel like it was going to strangle me every time I wore it. And then I started thinking that having a sewing machine means that you can change things about clothes that you don't like....oh no, I'm going to start learning alterations and tailoring, aren't I? Oh. No.

So I came across this very excellent tutorial:

And I figured, I was going to get rid of that shirt anyway....what if I tried to take off the strangle-neck and make it into something wearable?

And then I got intimidated. I've never done anything like this before.

And then I remembered another turtleneck in my scrap pile, that was there because it doesn't really fit me very well:

I figured I could use this as a practice piece, because there's a lot more cloth in case I screw up (it's always been very baggy on me), and there's basically no way I would be wearing it again anyway.

So I started going through the tutorial:

I removed the turtleneck part and picked it apart

(Look at how much longer the purple turtleneck was compared to the blue!)

The tutorial was for a scoop-neck, but I always look better in a boat neck, so I marked the fabric with soap and cut a boat-neck neckline into the shirt (which was scary, but I was pleased with how it turned out!)

Then I followed the tutorial for how to measure and estimate the lengths of the strips for the front neckline and the back neckline seams:

Then I sewed them together

Panicked because one of the seam attempts caught in the sewing machine and was drawn UNDER THE FEED DOG PLATE which caused all kinds of problems including a broken needle! And I was worried that the fabric of the seam was so chewed up that I'd have to start over......

But then realized that the chewed-up part was going to be folded up and oversewn with the seam. So I pinned it up:

then got scared and added more pins

Matched it up to the shirt

And then I SEWED IT ON!

The shirt still doesn't fit at all, but I'm pretty pleased with the neckline now! (Oh no....does that mean I'm going to have to learn how to tailor an overly-baggy shirt?)

(Side note: Starting off new with super-stretchy fabric made some interesting problems. But! I now know how to replace a broken needle, pick a new foot that's better suited to the fabric, fight with stretchy fabric without a serger, etc etc etc. Good learning project, all in all. :D )

#sewing #mending #upcycle #sewing machine #new skills #first time #newbie #turtleneck #boatneck #tutorial #alterations

[wastelesscrafts]

These DIY Tailoring Terms Can Be CONFUSING! (Stylish D)

#wasteless crafts #youtube #diy #how to #tutorial #tailoring #sewing #mending #stylish d #no subtitles #no captions #uncaptioned video #video #tailoring terms #sewing terms

[the-tutorial]

Tutorial tip:

The durability of your tools decreases as you use them. Make sure to mend them regularly so they don't break!

#tutorial tips #tool #mending #exclamania #Exclamation Point PFP RPG Blog Cinematic Universe #EPPRBCU #eppfprpg #punctuationverse #!CU

[voidartisan]

I can’t do sewing projects because I inevitably begin having delusions about my abilities and start thinking about embroidering cute floral patterns on the back pockets of my jeans

#still haven’t ruled out the possibility of picking up some embroidery floss and searching some yt tutorials #I can barely mend my clothes #talking into the void

[maretriarch]

once i learn how to sew it will truly be apocalyptically Over for you hoes

#i feel like hot shit when i mend a hole or fix a button imagine the high ill get when i actually do something impressive #i got patterns..i got some fabric...i already have access to a sewing machine i know how to hand sew. like only one stitch but still #many. many youtube tutorials #how hard can it be micheal the used to make 5 y/os do this sitting at her mothers feet #tbf they also had their mom watching them like a hawk like youre fucking up stop stop do it like this #who wants to come over and hit me in the back of the head with a newspaper whenever i fuck up its the only way i learn

[motorharp]

#sewing #mending #sewing tutorial #sewing hacks #bras #underwire #underwire bra #sewfastdyeyoung

[calendulacraft]

Simple Slow Fashion :: taking out a too-tiny mini skirt

Picture this: you are searching through a pile of second hand clothing and find something super cute but ... way too small.

A couple of months ago I was in this exact predicament when a friend gifted me a pile of clothes that no longer fit her, or were in need of repair in some way. One item in the pile was this white mini skirt that had shrunk & shrunk over the years, making it unwearable to either of us.

Looking at this skirt I had a vision of what it could become with a little needle work. I saw myself taking out this skirt in a visible   (and hopefully) fashionable way by adding panels of floral fabric on either side. So, I selected this and a few other items from the pile and took them home to be mended, up-cyled, or totally transformed and thus, fuel for this and future mending tutorials I will be sharing with the tumblr crafting community!

We have all heard of "taking in" clothing, especially in the context of hand-me-downs from older siblings. In this tutorial however, I want to do the opposite: "take out" this skirt and gift it to my younger sister.

She in return was the model in the pictures you will see throughout this post. Thanks Jana!

Step One ::

To begin we must do the most difficult part --- cutting up a perfectly good garment in the hopes of improving it. It is really important to plan well before taking scissors to clothing. As I want to add to the structure of this garment rather than taking it down to scraps, I was careful to leave the whole front of the skirt as is.

That is to say: to embark on this mend cut just behind the seam of the front of the fabric and keep the front pockets intact.

I did this by first marking with a pin where I wanted to cut then turning the skirt inside out so that I could clearly see the in-seam. Cut carefully, please!

Step Two ::

Now, I needed to add the extra panels to each side that will widen the skirt. Ideally, you would be making this alteration for yourself, or have the model nearby from whom you could measure just how much to add. My sister was far away while I worked on this skirt so I had to guess-estimate how much to add. It turned out I was pretty close but now wish I had added just a quarter inch or so more to each panel. Oh well!

Remember, the hips are a particularly curvy area of the body so you will likely need to add a bit of a curve to these panels. More than likely the edge of the front and back of the skirt will have a bit of curve to them from which to guide the shape of the panels.

Step Three ::

Now, sew! You can either sew by hand or with a machine. I did a combination of both because some sections of the skirt had many layers and I didn't want to force my machine.

I suggest trying on the skirt throughout the process. I wasn't totally sure how much fabric to add to each side and solutioned this by making panels extra wide and adapting as I worked on this skirt. I am about the same size as my sister but it would be best to have exact measurements of the person you are tailoring this for.

Take note that denim clothing often have little metal studs to hold the pockets together, these will definitely break a needle on a sewing machine if you try to go over one.

Better be safe & slow than sorry and sew around the pockets by hand.

Step Four ::

Optional, but fun.

I wanted to add a little bit more presonalization to this project and replaced the tags with one of my own design to match the panels I had added to each side.

And, here it is! From way too small to a perfect fit:

I am very pleased with how this turned out and so was my sister who has a deep love for 1990's and early 2000's fashion. Normally I am very shy about modeling my designs so I do appreciate her love of being in front of the camera. She was also kind enough to model my mending kits!

Throughout this entire project I found my handy sewing kit to be very helpful. In fact, I use my kit in just about every mending or upcycling project ... and if you are interested in acquiring one of your own, you can find one in my shop.

#slow fashion #tutorial #mending tutorial #ecological fashion #handmade #handsewn #DIY #DIY fashion #sewing 101 #mending #sewing tutorial #upcycling #upcycled fashion #mending culture

[cherrychilli]

18+

Eddie Munson x AFAB reader, established relationship, lingerie, allusions to oral sex(F), PIV sex

a/n: I'm no seamstress by any means but I can do a decent enough job with a needle and thread and I love making my own lingerie from time to time so it got me thinking about dear sweet horny Eddie and what it might be like when you let him in on your little hobby.

You'd first told him about it a few months into your relationship, on a day when a press of his lips to the corner of your mouth had turned into open mouthed kisses, his tongue wrapped around yours. Eddie had pulled you closer to feel more of you then, settling you in his lap, pushing your skirt up to find the black, hand sewn lacy garters circling the thickness of your thighs, made dainty and pretty with ruching and bows.

He doesn't even know what they're called – all he knows is that he likes them, a lot and he tells you so between kisses, tracing the soft fabric with his fingers, pinching the delicate lace with a low whistle. He slips in a corny but sweet line about how it makes your thighs look like they've been giftwrapped just for him and that gets a giggle out of you, telling him you made them yourself.

"You serious?", he looks up at you, amazement shining bright in his deep mahogany eyes even when you try to downplay it, telling him it's not that hard. But your modesty does nothing to stop him from thinking you're the most talented person he's ever met and he reminds you of that mixed in with more praise when you change positions and he's down on his knees, slipping his fingers under each garter while he fits his head between your legs.

"Turning up in a pretty little outfit like this? that's begging to have my tongue on you, baby. You shoulda known that", he tuts against your clothed mound, licking a broad stripe up your panties, tasting the wetness that had gathered there on the black cotton.

He only pulled out the stitching on one garter that day – unintentional of course but unavoidable too given how tightly he had to hold you down in place as you writhed. It didn't trouble you though because it was nothing you couldn't mend with your needle and some thread back at home.

From then on, whenever you feel inspired to tackle a new design he's all sorts of encouraging, driving you and accompanying you to get all the things you need – all of the sewing supplies; fabric, thread, lace, ribbon, elastic and more. He helps you decide on which colors to get and he makes the gesture of paying for it all too, wanting to spoil you. Not to mention it's kind of like he's buying himself a present too, knowing you'll model the undergarments for him when you're done.

The most you let him help with after that is taking your measurements, letting him wrap the measuring tape around your hips and bust while you guide him on how to do it correctly but what that leads to is a lot of wandering touches and a few sneaky pinches on your ass, having to playfully swat his hands away if you hope to get anything done.

Eddie backs down with a little whine but all the faux pouting's just for show. He finds space on your bed while you look up DIY tutorials online at your desk before you get down to sewing, all of your supplies laid out neatly by your side, ready to be used.

While you're busy he spends his time strumming away on his guitar, pencil tucked behind his ear as he brainstorms lyrics for a new song. Both of you liked working on your own projects this way, in the same room because you appreciate having each other's company and presence to surround yourself with while you create.

Though Eddie had promised not to look too much he struggles to uphold that promise as he sneaks peaks at you cutting out patterns for a matching lace bra and panty set. He adores the cute way your brows scrunch together in concentration when you thread your needle and how you sometimes mirror him with your tongue pinched between your lips while you meticulously stitch all the individual cut outs together.

Somewhere between the time it takes you to get the panties finished and the bra started he approaches you, one hand clamped over his eyes so he can't see your progress – he knows how much you want to surprise him with the final result. Held out in the other is a mug of that tea you like, having made a quick trip to your kitchen and back, a bag of potato chips cradled in the crook of his elbow for you too.

You thank him and gladly take the offerings, cheeks growing warm when he plants a quick kiss on the top of your head. "Don't overwork yourself", he coos into your hair, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze before he heads back to your bed and picks up his guitar again.

The tune Eddie's playing carries you through the rest of your stitching and close to an hour later you swivel your desk chair around in his direction. "I'm done", you announce with a sunny smile and he grins back at you, fingers abandoning his guitar. "You gonna get changed right now?" he asks hopefully, eyes twinkling.

"Yup", you answer him, popping the 'P' with a little wink. You gather the set in your arms, stepping into the bathroom. "Wait here, I wanna do a reveal", you tell him before closing the door, all giddy with girlish excitement, proud of how the it all came out.

The wait isn't long but every second that passes has Eddie feeling like his head's full of fireworks, finding it impossible to remain still, fingers drumming on his knees, legs hung over the side of your bed, socked feet tapping away on your carpeted floor.

You don't announce yourself once you've changed, unlocking the bathroom door and letting it swing open as you lean against the doorframe, letting your boyfriend take in your newest creation.

You know you've succeeded when his lips part, jaw going slack and his eyes going wide to rake over every inch of you, stunned.

He makes grabby hands at you and its somehow made cuter given his age so you step forward to let him get a closer look, occupying the space between his spread legs, letting him place his warm hands on the bare skin of your waist.

It's always a rare moment when Eddie goes silent, words escaping him as he quietly admires the way the material wraps around your proportions perfectly and the the cheeky cut of your panties as you do a little spin for him, the front a soft lilac satin, the back a matching shade of lace to reveal your ass through the floral embroidery.

The bra is simple – nothing too elaborate like some of the designs you'd scrolled through but it compliments the underwear well. The straps are thin and rest comfortably on your shoulders, the rest sewn in a longline style. It's sheer with the same floral lace as your panties so your nipples show through, your breasts supported well even without padding or underwire for extra softness, all with a tiny, pretty ribbon bow stitched right in the middle to match the one on the front of your panties too.

"You're so fucking beautiful", me utters, pulling you closer to kiss you right above your belly button, making your chest flutter with a thousand beating wings, a hurricane of butterflies taking flight just beneath your skin.

You let him lay you down on the bed and he's far more gentle than he needs to be when he slips your panties to the side, not wanting to stretch or snag the lace and ruin all your hard work. Your belly feels warm like sunlight spilling through your window in the morning because he's so careful with the pretty underwear while he runs a finger through your wet folds, making you feel like something as delicate as porcelain, something to touched with care and worshiped. It makes you hunger for more, pulling him closer by his shoulders.

"Wanna feel you inside", you place your lips on his, hands helping him to unbuckle his belt as he leans over you. You pull not so gently at his clothing, a big contrast to how he's handling you, tossing each article to the side impatiently while you remain in your cute little ensemble. You wouldn't be ridding yourself of your underwear tonight and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Can't believe I've got the prettiest doll in town all to myself", Eddie huffs a breath against the column of your neck at the same moment you suck one in, pressing his cock inside you, so thick and hard it makes the stretch that much better.

"And she's all dressed up just for me"

#eddie munson smut #eddie munson #stranger things smut #stranger things #eddie munson x reader

[strawberrysalamanders]

Sock and Glove Darning

from Mending Life: a Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts by Nina and Sonya Montenegro

#sewing tutorial #sewing #handsewing #clothing repair #reference #darning #visible mending #socks #gloves

[sunshineandrosesnoraincamemyway]

So. My favorite pair of linen overalls got a hole in them

Very sad! If you look close enough you'll see the blood stains from when I skinned my knee and ripped them in the first place. I decided that the solution was visible mending, but I had never really embroidered before, and none of the examples I saw were quite my style. Time to wing it.

First I sewed a piece of twill tape to the hole as a patch. It's pretty ugly, but it gets better

Then I did the... normal? bit of visible mending. Or at least, this is what all the tutorials show

Finished that part up and made it look a bit nicer.

Added some flowers to the basket

And some more for good measure! Some of the flowers cover stains, and the rest just fill in space.

All in all, I'm really proud of how they turned out and I can't wait to wear them when the weather gets warmer. The next step is to fix the button in the top of that got ripped out back in April.

(@catkin-morgs-kookaburralover)

#embroidery #visible mending #Sewing #Mending #fiber arts

[nothing0fnothing]

hey I have some lived experience personal care advice I had to learn the hard way in my adulthood after growing up with abusive neglectful narcissistic parents. Maybe it will help someone else.

The most important room in your house to be clean is your kitchen. If you only have a few spoons and a whole house of mess, spend them on getting your kitchen clean, hygienic and tidy enough to be usable.

spending money on things that last longer or work better isn't a waste of money. You don't have to use the cheapest of everything because spending is bad work out what YOU think is worth splurging on.

Always buy the best shoes you can afford. Taking care of your feet is so important for your health. If you're afab the same goes for underwear, buying one pack of good quality, good fitting cotton breathable underwear will save you so much money on feminine care supplies if you get what I'm saying.

Get your feet measured in a shoe store. Especially if you're over 25 your feet will have grown since you were 18. I spent years thinking my body was wrong because my feet ALWAYS hurt. My girlfriend suggested we measure them and I realised I was in shoes two sizes too small. For years!! I didn't even know shoes were supposed to have space in them.

a cheap bottle of washing up liquid (dish soap) costs like £1 and can be used on basically every surface. Clean your counters, toilet, sinks, bathtub or shower, oven and hob with a scrub daddy and some cheap washing up liquid. It doesn't react with other chemicals and it cleans deeply and easily. I even use it on the inside of the shower glass where it collects that crusty water residue.

When bathing with an unscented bar soap everywhere first. Then wash a second time with your scented soap. The scented liquid soap isn't designed to clean you it's designed to make you smell beautiful.

Don't use scented soaps on your kitty. Don't use femfresh or other feminine washes on your kitty. Don't use feminine wipes on your kitty. You use your unscented bar soap you use on the rest of your bodh on your kitty once a day. That's all it needs.

You don't need sewing skills to mend things. A £5 sewing kit you keep somewhere in your house and maybe a 2 minute YouTube tutorial is all you need to fix holes in your clothes and make them last longer.

Cereal for breakfast is quick and convenient but aim to eat protein for your first meal. Things like eggs, meat, a protein shake, Greek yogurt. You'll feel fuller for longer and your body will appreciate it.

most things don't need to be ironed. For the things that need creases out a steamer is better for the fibres and easier to use. Simply hang up the item and hold the steamer against the creases.

#cptsd recovery #abuse recovery #trauma recovery #recovery #ptsd recovery #mental wellbeing #mental wellness #dysfunctional household #self care tips #self compassion #self healing #personal growth #self acceptance #mental health #emotional health #therapy

[wastelesscrafts]

I've had these wool slippers for 13 years, but the bottoms were starting to wear out faster than I can darn, so I used some of the techniques from your blog to reinforce around the holes, and added woven wool scraps from another project over the soles to make them stronger. Thank you for all the useful tips on your blog!

[ID: three progress pictures of mending a pair of brown flowery knit slippers with worn-out soles. The holes in the soles have been closed and reinforced, after which they were covered with a patch of purple wool fabric.]

Mended slippers

Gosh, those are cute slippers. I get why you'd hold on to them for 13 years.

Good job on fixing them! I hope you'll get many more years of wear out of them.

#wasteless crafts #ask #slippers #knit slippers #mending #visible mending #diy #how to #tutorial #crafts #fashion #fast fashion #slow fashion #sustainable fashion #sustainability #zero waste #reduce reuse recycle #darning #soles #shoe soles

[practicalsolarpunk]

Hi, I've only just got into solarpunk and find it really cool.

I was wondering, what sort of simple lifestyle changes would you suggest to start with when trying to live in a more solarpunk/sustainable way?

Hi! So glad you're getting into solarpunk! We think it's pretty cool, too, and we're happy you're looking for ways to integrate it into your life. Since you haven't included anything specific about your situation or what you're interested in, this list is pretty general - if you want more specific ideas, feel free to send in another ask!

In the meantime, here are a few recommendations for getting started:

Grow something. Depending on your situation, you may not be able to put in a huge outdoor garden. But there are many plants that will be perfectly happy in a pot on a windowsill, and still others that are happy to grow in low-light situations. Find something that works for your space and get some hands-on experience with growing things. (If you have a window, I highly recommend herbs - many of them are happy in pots and there's something incredibly satisfying about eating things you've grown.)

Compost. Unless your space is extremely tiny, you probably have room for a small composting system. Some can even go under a sink or in a closet. See this post for a general discussion, this post for vermicomposting ideas, and this one for info on bokashi composting. Also check out our #compost tag.

Mending. Mending is a great skill to have. The life of most clothing (and a lot of non-clothing fabric items) can be extended dramatically with some basic sewing skills. I've made entire dresses and quilts and I still find most of my sewing is repairing and mending other stuff. We have a mending tag, but I also love YouTube for this. Searching "how to mend X" (e.g. "how to mend hole in crotch of jeans") gives you a bunch of awesome tutorials. You can get even more use out of things if you're willing to embrace visible mending.

Reduce energy use. Try to use natural light where you can. Set your thermostat high in summer and low in winter and use the principle "heat/cool the person, not the space." Flush the toliet with graywater by removing the p-trap from your sink and dumping the collected wash water into your toilet tank (or directly into the bowl if you have an American-style greedy cup siphon toilet). Experiment with solar energy. What you can do depends on your situation, but see what kind of options you have.

Integrate the 7 R's: There are more R's to sustainable living than just "Reduce Reuse Recycle". See this post for a primer.

Build community: One of the foundations of solarpunk is that it's about community. Even if you start out doing it by yourself, eventually you need a community to do bigger things. My favorite way to start is by meeting the neighbors. Taking over some food (cookies are great) and introducing yourself is a great way to open a relationship. We also have a community building tag for more ideas.

You can find even more ideas in these tags, depending on what you specifically want to do:

#apartment solarpunk

#dorms and small spaces

#community building

#activism

#fiber crafts

#diy

There's also some additional tips in this post and this post, which are earlier responses to similar asks.

I hope this helps! Followers, feel free to chime in with your best tips!

- Mod J

#asked and answered #basics and getting started