RSS
Archive: Mending
October 28, 2009
Ask CRAFT: Replacing a Peacoat's Lining
If you have a question for Ask CRAFT, shoot me an email at becky@craftzine.com, or drop us a note on Twitter! We'd love to answer your crafty questions on any topic: technique, projects, crafty culture, or anything else! Each week the answers are here; include your name, where you're from, and your website or blog if you have one!
Lauren Venell writes in:
I have a wool peacoat that has held up perfectly on the outside, but the lining is literally in shreds. How can I replace the lining in time for winter without having to sew the whole thing in by hand? I cannot for the life of me figure out how the lining was sewn in by machine without stitches showing on the outside of the coat.
Coat linings are sewn in with the coat entirely inside-out. Just like a plush toy, a small opening is left somewhere so that it can be turned right side out, then the hole is hand sewn shut. This hole is usually somewhere along the bottom edge of the lining. Open it up with a seam ripper and reverse the entire thing. You'll then see that the lining is sewn by machine to the outer layers of the coat. Use your seam ripper again to free the old lining, and even use it to construct a pattern for the new lining. Best of luck to you! As you can see from these pictures, I'm facing the exact same problem with my vintage peacoat.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Oct 28, 2009 09:00 AM
Mending, Sewing |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
October 22, 2009
Shoe Repair Tips + Interview with Vince Pacheo
Shoes. We all love them and covet more of them. Am I right or am I right? But in this economy, shoe repair shops have flourished as many choose to get their worn or broken shoes repaired, rather than shelling out dough for a new pair. No one is busier than Vince Pacheo, owner of Vinny's A-1 Shoe Repair in Sonoma, CA. Trained by his father in the craft of being a cobbler, I talked to Vince about his work and he graciously shares with us tips on how to fix our old shoes.
Vinny's A-1 Shoe Repair
500 West Napa St Ste. 516
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-6877
vinnytheshoe.blogspot.com
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Oct 22, 2009 04:00 PM
Interviews, Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
September 1, 2009
How-To: Repair an Old Backpack
Back to school is a great slogan for selling things. Every fall a frenzy of shopping begins and old and worn supplies are replaced with something brand spankin' new. Last year's clothes are outgrown, last year's lunchbox was misplaced, last year's backpack is filthy and broken. Manufacturers know this, and they capitalize on it. As consumers, we can change that pattern. Instead of buying something new for back to school, try mending, renewing, and repairing something. My old backpack was almost worthless. The zipper was broken, the clips were broken, and it was filthy. Instead of replacing it, I set to work fixing it up. It is a very rewarding process, proving that a little elbow grease always beats spending hard-earned dollars.
Read full story
Posted by Brookelynn |
Sep 1, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Projects, Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
August 20, 2009
Remarkable Repairs
Check out these inspiring entries to Platform 21's Remarkable Repairs contest, from furniture and fashion to musical instruments and appliances. Via Core77.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Aug 20, 2009 04:25 PM
Mending, Refashion |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
July 27, 2009
Broken Key Fix
With all the plastic key toppers for cars these days, here's a crafty broken key fix from Swamp Yankees from Outer Space. (Thanks Laura!)
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 27, 2009 11:00 AM
Mending, Sewing |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
July 3, 2009
How-To: Repair Burns on Carpet
If you have cigarette burns, soldering iron burns, or other spot-based burns on your carpet, instructables user west49rules has a solution!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jul 3, 2009 06:00 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
April 20, 2009
Mending Kit Pattern from Craft Leftovers
Kristin at Craft Leftovers has put together a simple tutorial for this sweet little mending kit. I love the idea of keeping a handmade mending kit handy as opposed to schlepping around a generic hotel version.
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Apr 20, 2009 07:00 AM
Mending, Sewing |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 31, 2009
March Mending Month Recap
We hope you enjoyed Mending Month! We loved bringing you the projects and having a chance to mend our own pieces at the same time. Thank you dear readers for all the feedback, tips, and blog posts that you've sent in to us. Check the mending archives for all the posts we covered. Here's a recap of what we did this final week this month (aka these last 2 days).
Week 5:
- Natalie has a quick tip on a special mending tool: clear nail polish!
- Becky illustrates how you can mend your stretched or ripped button holes.
Other Mending Posts:
Previous Week's Posts:
Tomorrow...get ready for Crafting with Nature!
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 31, 2009 08:33 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
How-To: Mend Your Umbrella
I've forgotten what my umbrella looks like while living here in Phoenix, but I know not everybody is so fortunate, and it's really frustrating when they break. BurdaStyle has a tutorial up for repairing the break illustrated above.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Mar 31, 2009 04:00 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
How-To: Mend Stretched/Ripped Button Holes
If you've ever had a button hole rip out, stretch, or had to replace a button with a smaller one, you know how frustrating it is when they pop open. It's particularly embarassing on the front of a blouse! To fix this, just use a simple zigzag stitch either by machine or by hand to make the button hole smaller, as shown. Voila!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Mar 31, 2009 02:00 PM
Mending, Sewing |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
How-To: Mend a Fabric Tear Near a Zipper
Kristin of Craft Leftovers shows you how to mend a fabric tear that's near a zipper which she fixed in her friend's favorite purse.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 31, 2009 08:00 AM
Mending, Sewing |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 30, 2009
Mending Tool: Clear Nail Polish
We all learned in high school (or at least I did) about how clear nail polish could help prevent runs in your tights or stockings. Sure your tights ended up sticking to your leg but at least you weren't walking around with a long run for the whole day. Turns out that clear little bottle is like magic and it can do a lot more than just keep your nails looking shiny.
Here's some mending and crafty uses:
- Seal out scuffs on shoes
- Tarnish-proof costume jewelry
- Prevent loss of buttons
- Prevent frayed fabric from unraveling
- Temporarily repair eyeglasses
- Fill small nicks on floors and glass
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 30, 2009 05:00 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 29, 2009
How-To: Fix Broken Eyeshadow
I've dropped my makeup so many times in the bathroom, I had no idea I could save it. Thanks to the The Beauty Stop's fantastic tip on how to fix a broken eyeshadow, you can now even mend your makeup!
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 29, 2009 08:00 AM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 28, 2009
Week 4 of Mending Month
Here's a roundup of Mending Month this week:
- Learn how to mend your broken jewelry with bead queen Susan Beal.
- Andrea Dunlap likes to crochet patches and shows you how.
- Diane Gilleland patches a hole beautifully with reverse appliqué.
- Brookelynn Morris shows you how to repair a wool sweater with needle felting.
- Rachel mends an arm seam in her daughter's favorite shirt.
- Tiffany Threadgould teaches us how to give chipped dishes a new look.
- In Ask CRAFT, Becky answers a reader's question on patching sensitive spots.
Other Mending Posts:
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 28, 2009 08:00 AM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 27, 2009
How-To: Mend Chipped Dishes
How-To: Mend Chipped Dishes
Give chipped dishes a second helping.
By Tiffany Threadgould
Have some nicks in your dishes, but don't have a knack for fixes? Follow these simple steps to reglaze your dishes into new, one-of-a-kind tableware.
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 27, 2009 10:00 AM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (5)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 26, 2009
How-To: Mend a Hole in a Shirt Arm Seam
During Mending Month, we've had great tutorials for mending holes on elbows, shirt fronts, and pants legs that result in adding adorable embellishments to your clothes. But what if you have a hole in a place where you don't want to add embellishment? What if you want your mending to be a little more seamless? Today I'm going to show you how to mend a hole in the seam of a shirt arm so it's just about invisible, and reinforced so it hopefully won't tear again.
Read full story
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Mar 26, 2009 03:00 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 25, 2009
Ask CRAFT: Patching Sensitive Spots and Vintage Knits
Jennifer writes:
I've noticed the wonderful jeans/pants mending tutorials you guys have posted this week. They're useful and informative, but here's my conundrum: My jeans always wear out in the, uhm, crotch area first. (One of the less-discussed perils of being a bit overweight is ones legs rubbing together) The jeans are always in great condition otherwise, but these holes make them unwearable. Any tips or techniques for making repairs before I recycle these jeans into purses and bags?
I've had crotch holes in jeans before, and it really stinks! I tried zigzagging over the tear with similar color thread, but ended up with an uncomfortable build up of thread that just hurt when I wore them. It's a delicate operation for sure, but I'd say that now that I have plenty of other types of patching experience, that a reverse-applique technique with knit jersey is probably the best approach. Using thread that's the same color as your denim, you can recycle an old blue t-shirt or buy some knit jersey from the fabric store. Use Goli's reverse applique tutorial, and look at my "stylish stitches" jeans patching tutorial, and make a compromise between the two. You can hand stitch the patch to avoid an uncomfortable build up of thread. Take pictures and let us know how it works out!
Kristy writes:
Your mending theme has got me thinking about items I've been meaning to repair. Top on this list is a lovely hand knit skirt my father's grandmother made as a teenager in the mid-1930's. It is starting to develop holes, and I'm afraid that it will simply unravel if I wear it in this state. I can darn and patch with the best of them, but I was wondering if there is a better way to repair hand knit and hand crochet pieces? Can you splice in to repair the actual stitches somehow?
What I worry about with this skirt is that if it's developing holes in multiple places, the delicate yarn must be disintegrating because it's so old. To patch the holes, you can use a grafting stitch (also called a kitchener stitch) with a small tapestry needle to sew in the path the yarn should take. It's essentially the same as a duplicate stitch, except you won't be duplicating right inside the hole, you'll be placing new yarn there. I would follow the path of the yarn all around the area of the hole including through the hole itself. In my research I also came across the term "Swiss Darning" for this technique. The larger problem still needs to be addressed, though. If I had such a skirt, I would definitely want to show it off, but wouldn't want to damage it further by wearing it around town. Maybe you could sew a fabric lining to which you could carefully affix the skirt? If you sew the knitting to this fabric base in various places (down the sides, along the waistband and hem, for example), the knitting wouldn't hang with as much weight, but rather rest on the strong fabric substrate, thereby alleviating strain on the fibers. I hope that helps! We definitely want to see pictures, so send 'em over or add them to the CRAFT Flickr pool.
If you have a crafty question, please email it to me at becky@craftzine.com. You can also make a video of your question, send me pictures along with your question, or even send us an @ reply on Twitter to ask!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Mar 25, 2009 02:00 PM
Ask CRAFT, Knitting, Mending, Vintage |
Permalink
| Comments (3)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting
How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting
By Brookelynn Morris
My favorite sweater is starting to fall apart. The cuff on one sleeve unraveled at the seam, splitting the cuff. It's simple to repair a wool sweater with a felting needle.
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 25, 2009 12:00 PM
Felting, Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
March 24, 2009
How-To: Reverse Appliqué
Torn Shirt = Great Opportunity!
Using reverse appliqué to patch a hole.
By Diane Gilleland
Here's a decorative way to repair a prominent hole (or stain) in your favorite garment: just turn it into a reverse appliqué embellishment. It's very easy to do and you can customize your old clothes in no time!
Materials:
Water-soluble fabric marker
Scissors
Patch fabric
Fusible web
Iron
Needle and embroidery floss
Cardstock (optional)
Read full story
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Mar 24, 2009 03:30 PM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
How-To: Mend a Sweater Snag
Amy at Crafty Dame has been enjoying Mending Month here on CRAFT and has shared her tutorial on how to mend a sweater snag. She also has another tutorial on mending t-shirt sleeves by shortening them.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Mar 24, 2009 08:00 AM
Mending |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
