Visible mending is very popular right now, hand stitching over patches of contrast fabric. I absolutely love the effect and I really love the principle of mending what we have rather than immediately buying new all the time.
For our daughter's black cardigan that she wears for work however, visible mending wasn't suitable, it's plain black needed all the way. Invisible mending seemed too much of a stretch so we did a quick repair that is half way between the two. I'm giving it the catchy title of "slightly visible mending", do you think it will catch on?!
This repair took about 5 minutes, it actually took longer to get the sewing machine out and then put it away after, than it did to do the repair.
The hole was near the elbow, originally I was thinking elbow patches, no need to reinvent the wheel here.
All I needed was a small rectangle of thin jersey knit fabric (this is actually a pair of one of the boys boxer shorts that had worn completely threadbare at the top so the elastic was in danger of falling out, just don't tell anyone I used underpants for this repair!) and some black thread.
Black things are hard to take photos of - just saying!
I slid the sleeve, inside out, onto the free arm of the sewing machine.
I removed the sleeve from the free arm, trimmed any excess fabric, then slid it back on right side out.
The finished repair is pretty hard to see, doesn't feel overly rough on the inside and is not heavy or too lumpy.
Success!
Maybe not an idea for your best togs, but to make a work cardie last a little bit longer - perfect.
Such a great idea Julie!
ReplyDeleteVery nicer repair Julie. I always struggle with knit repairs because I'm afraid I will ruin the elasticity of the clothing.
ReplyDeleteI vote for the catchy title, Julie:-) I hand sew my cardigans, but the end result looks just like yours. No one ever notices.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the Brownies (in 1952!) we had to learn how to darn socks and this involved using the right colour thread and weaving over the damaged part of the sock.Because we were very poor I had to invisibly mend my green school knickers using this method as you can imagine I still have the habit of mending and love your recycling ideas but happily now it is not so important just a hobby.love your blog nanny rose
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to save a useful cardigan. I will store this away for future use
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that mending was acceptable again and its a good thing. When my sons were little I would place iron on patches (remember those) inside the knees of their pants so they got extra wear out of them. Mending can save a family an immense amount of money.
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