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.

Vinny's A-1 Shoe Repair
500 West Napa St Ste. 516
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-6877
vinnytheshoe.blogspot.com

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.

Check out these inspiring entries to Platform 21's Remarkable Repairs contest, from furniture and fashion to musical instruments and appliances. Via Core77.

If you have cigarette burns, soldering iron burns, or other spot-based burns on your carpet, instructables user west49rules has a solution!

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.

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:

• How-To: Mend a Fabric Tear Near a Zipper


• How-To: Mend Your Umbrella

Previous Week's Posts:

• Mending Month: Week 1


• Mending Month: Week 2


• Mending Month: Week 3


• Mending Month: Week 4

Tomorrow...get ready for Crafting with Nature!

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.

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!

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

• 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:

• How-To: Mend Peeling Sandals
• How-To: Mend a Sweater Snag
  

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.

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.

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!

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.

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)

A few years ago when I was working on a documentary in Peru, I only had a few pairs of nice hiking socks with me and one of them got a hole. I didn't have a sewing needle or thread, but I did have a set of crochet hooks and access to some beautiful, hand-spun alpaca yarn. I developed a method of patching that typically considerably outlasts the machine-made life of the rest of the garment.

I wouldn't call myself a great crafter, though I enjoy it; to be honest, the idea of following a pattern to crochet, say, a sweater really sends me running (all that counting!). If there are any experts out there who have ideas for improving the technique, please leave ideas in the comments!

As for me, I find it encouraging not to follow a pattern, to just throw myself at this hole problem headlong and come out with a glorious piece of art. I patched an old thermal my boyfriend had and it became his favorite shirt. When I was broke after I came back from filming my documentary, a friend paid me to patch every item of clothing he owned that had holes in it.

To start, you need a pair of scissors, a crochet hook that fits your yarn approximately, yarn (a gauge close to that of your garment is good but not necessary), and a hole.

How to Mend Broken Jewelry
By Susan Beal

Mending your own jewelry can be easy to do. If a pendant chain snaps, a clasp comes off a necklace, or you need to replace an earring wire, a few basic techniques can get your favorite pieces right back into heavy rotation. Make sure you have some basic tools and materials on hand, and you're all set to fix things up!

Here are a few simple techniques to try, depending on the way your piece has broken.

Shoes fall apart, sometimes before their time. Instructables user sk8ter20art made a guide to repairing sandals with a peeling footbed.

• Susan Beal shows you how to mend a bed sheet.
• Learn how to mend torn upholstery in Diane Gilleland's tutorial.
• Arwen's Patch 101 goes over the many ways you can cover up those unsightly tears.
• Shawn teaches us that kids can sign the darnedest things with her pants patching how-to.
• Becky shows you how to mend your ripped jeans with stylish stitches.

Other related mending posts:

• How-To: Resize an 80's Sweater


• How-To: Repair Ripped Out Slipcover Seams


• Mending a Moth-Eaten Cardigan
  

Here's yet another way to patch a hole in a pair of pants. I was inspired by a pair of jeans I saw on my friend Gina, and I asked her, "did you do that?" She said, "no, I bought them this way." So here's a way to use lots of zigzag stitches to patch up a hole in a pair of pants. Read on for the complete tutorial!

More:

• How-To: Add Flair to Your Pants with Patches
  
• Patch 101
  
• Tourniquet Patch
  
• Photos from a Denim Distressing Factory
  

I love the sweet, delicate feel of this revamped cardigan posted on thimbly things. It ties in beautifully with our Mending Month.

I can't afford to buy a new wardrobe each season (or even each year). But I can fix and/or refashion what I have and make clothes from scratch.

With a small scrap of fabric and a little stitching, the moth-eaten cardigan has taken on a new life.

[ via Feeling Stitchy ]

Here's an embarrassing story that should in no way deter from you using this easy fix to extend the life of your clothes. Several years ago I used a small purple flower to patch a hole in a pair of my favorite pants. The tear was at the spot where your upper thigh meets your buttocks. OK, on the butt; I think I sat down on a nail or something.

Anyway, fast-forward a few years. I now have an almost 2-year-old to whom we're teaching sign language. The "sign" for flower is unfortunately made by scrunching up your nose and sniffing. Arlo learned this sign quite easily and showed his mastery of it by following me around sniffing loudly and sometimes pointing at my behind whenever I wore my patched pants. Imagine walking around in Safeway with a toddler following behind you at butt level, pointing and sniffing. Years later, the entire family sniffs and points whenever I wear any pants with a patch on them. Hilarious. Nonetheless, I do not waiver in my love of the well-placed patch. Patches make cheap (and small) souvenirs, and I often use cloth flowers and stars I find in the scrapbook section.

On a recent family trip, Arlo picked out a couple of patches as souvenirs. Then a fabulous Girl Scout badge emblazoned with Maker Faire showed up at the office, and I knew it was time to repair the knees in some torn jeans. Such an easy way to get that thrill of accomplishment while saving money and personalizing your clothes!

1. Heat your iron to cotton setting. Grab an old hand towel or dust rag to help with the process.
2. Put your patch, face side down, inside the piece of clothing, which is turned inside out. Center the patch under the hole you want to cover, so that you're looking at the sticky backside of the patch through the hole or tear.


3. Lay the towel over the hole, making sure to cover the entire area of the patch. Press the hot iron onto the towel, but don't move it side to side. Pick up and press down the hot iron repeatedly for about 5 minutes. Some people recommend ironing the patch in this way for up to 15 minutes, but I don't have the patience, and 5 minutes seems to work.


4. Turn the pants right side out and do the same on this side — cover the patch with a towel and iron for 5 minutes. Take care to focus on the edges and corners to really push them down.
5. Pick up the towel and check to see that your patch is attached to your pants. If it looks secure, you're done. If not, stitch a few small stitches at strategic spots around the patch for added security. I've done this at the tips of a 5-point star and at the 4 corners of a square souvenir patch, and it's always held up nicely.



6. If, after several washes, the edges of the patch starts to curl up, you can repeat the ironing process and then add some strategic stitches.

Mending is catching on everywhere these days as ModHomeEcTeacher on Curbly shows you how to repair ripped out slipcover seams.

See more related mending posts in our Mending Month archives.

Patching is a great way to extend the life of an item of clothing that had a run-in with a nail or is simply getting a little worn out. While a really great piece of fabric or store-bought patch can rescue something headed for the scrap pile, sometimes you want a little more subtlety. In this how-to, I'll show you how to repair two types of holes from the back: a tear and a worn-out hole. (Funnily enough, I noticed that all of my husband's pants in need of repair have tears, and all of mine are worn through. Read into that what you will about how we spend our leisure time!)

How-To: Mend Torn Upholstery
By Diane Gilleland

If you have a sofa or chair with a rip in the cushion, don't despair! Torn upholstery can be simple to fix with the right tools and a little care.

Materials:
Use a very strong nylon thread for this project, and a curved needle. This kind of needle is usually packaged as a "mattress needle" or "upholstery needle." The curved shape allows you to sew easily on a flat surface, like a sofa cushion.

You can also make your own curved needle by bending a crewel embroidery needle with needlenose pliers. It won't be perfect, but it will do the job.