No need to have a large sewing room to repair clothing. Being a cobbler with poor shoes myself, I'm the sort to let holes in my clothes go until I have to throw them away or give them a second life. Repair your clothes rather than throwing them away offers many advantages, both economically and environmentally and socially.
Reduce waste by repairing a garment
As soon as we spot a little hole, the best thing to do is fix it right away. It's the most eco-friendly action to take! Besides, you can do pretty Pinterest-style repairs or go with whatever you feel like. And you know what? It doesn't have to be pretty or stylish, because most of the time you can't even see it! We need to stop being so hard on ourselves and appreciate the functionality of the result :)
There are a million ways to fix it. Here are the main ones:
- Using an iron-on patch
- Hand-stitched
- Making a beautiful little embroidery.
The iron-on patch for quickly repairing a garment
The iron-on patch is an ideal solution when you have no sewing skills! It's more costly, but it adds a little extra something to our garment. The sticky patch for clothing is applied using an iron. For better long-term hold, you can sew around the patch by hand or with a machine.
I love using patches to hide missed repair attempts. For thicker materials like denim or leather.
I found the most beautiful iron-on patches from Quebec just for you here :)
Needle clothing repair without fuss
My boyfriend uses this technique by hand. That is to say, no technique. He repairs small holes himself, the plush toys that have come open. That is to say, using a thread and a needle. The trick is to use the same thread color as our fabric. It hides all mistakes!
As soon as it gets longer than 1-2 cm, I take care of it myself with my sewing machine. The trick with the machine is to line the garment with another sturdy fabric like denim. That makes for an almost indestructible repair.
Clothing that is difficult to repair
There are sometimes items that are much harder to repair. Here is a short list with ideas for fixing them.
- Outerwear coats, snow suits, tents and outdoor gear.
- I choose the Gore-Tex patch from MEC
- Or I call on a professional
- Zippers
- I'm going to see a cobbler or a seamstress in my neighborhood
- Inaccessible places (a child's trouser knee).
- I use a sticky patch
- I breathe and take a moment where I am patient and try mending by hand.
Do you have any darning tips that I forgot?
Any questions?
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