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When is clothing too far gone?

M Ljin

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I have a rather thin-worn sweater that I have mended quite a few times so far. It seems like each time I mend it, another three holes appear. And it makes me wonder, is it time to recycle into something else, or do I just keep mending until something stabilizes?

How do you decide? And are there ways you use to make good clothes last longer?

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Natalie Rain

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I feel you! Nothing wrong with super patched up garb, although here's some solutions I often use when clothing has totally flown the coop.

For knits of all types, unravel the yarn and:
- Knit a new item (depending on skein size you end up with!)
- Use it for all purpose string
- Wax the yarn if it's thin to prevent rot for outdoor or semi-outdoor use
- Thin 100% cotton yarn can be braided and treated in borax + salt solution for wicks

For woven items, I've found less use:
- Cut into rags
- Cut into patches for other cloth items, clothing or otherwise

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John F Dean

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I don’t have a set of rules I go by. I recently tossed my Wrangler jeans. Broken zipper, a large hole below the zipper and down one leg, hole on butt, holes in both knees, legs very torn at the bottom …. And repaired many times. We have more than enough rags, so I tossed the jeans onto the compost.

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M Ljin

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Thank you both for the suggestions!

It's more of an embroidery-floss diameter yarn, 100% cotton... it could be unraveled and reused though. I have some ideas for it when it's done with, but maybe can get a few more uses out of it first, and practice my knit-mending. It is sort of like emerald ash borer--no one wants EAB in their valley, but now that it's here, think of all the biomass for hugels and soil building and bluebird habitat!

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M Ljin

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I'm dismantling it. I tugged at one of the weaker spots (which is quite a big weak spot) and it tore even further.

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Anne Miller

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Welcome to the forum, Natalie.

Those are some great suggestion.

Now days worn out jeans and shirts seem to be in fashion.

They are not my cup of tea though.

I would say worn out is okay as long as the clothes don't show private parts.

I have heard that soap is hard on clothes so maybe wearing clothes longer between washes will make them last long. Or washing in plain water or with vinegar.

As far as mending goes that is a personal choice.

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Carla Burke

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It depends. How much do I love the piece? Does it still have 'good bones'? Have I already mended it so many times that the patches have patches and cover more real estate than the original fabric? Do I care about that, or do I like it even better, with all the mends? Does it look like junk? Or art?

At some point, if I've done it right, even if it's falling apart as a garment, it just might find a new life as some other useful item, like a pillow cover, patches for something else, a bag, etc.

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Like the Ship of Theseus, after how much mending is it not even the same garment it was?

I have a couple pair of pants that I’m aiming to make more patches than original…

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Nancy Reading

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Definitely art, Christopher!

I'm with Carla - it depends. Somehow once I've mended an item it has a higher value to me than it had before, so I'm more likely to mend it again. If the whole fabric is going thin though, sometimes I just have to say goodbye and find the best use for the remnants that I can. Any good zippers and buttons get kept, better bits of fabric may be good for patching something else or cleaning rags, and natural materials can be composted.

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larry kidd

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Once the material starts tearing as I put things on or especially once they are dirty / wet and shred as I try to remove.

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Christopher Weeks wrote:Like the Ship of Theseus, after how much mending is it not even the same garment it was?

So long as the holes are on more or less flat stuff, mending works for me.

Some pockets are just such a pain. It looks ugly as sin, but I've actually taken a pocket out of a trash pair, and carefully fitted it into the opening of the good pair with a holey pocket in a spot that just can't easily be reached. It worked for farm use, and Hubby was happy with the result, but it was very tricky.

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Nancy Reading

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Jay Angler wrote:So long as the holes are on more or less flat stuff, mending works for me.

Oh, yes, the complexity of a potential repair is definitely part of the consideration. If it is so difficult I need a sewing machine, or careful non flat cutting, or inserting a zip then it far less likely to happen. This depends on the quality of the clothing in the first place, how long I think the might last after mending and how much I like and wear the article.
I did manage to successfully replace a fly zip with buttons, so I may try that again.

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With sweaters, if you are or know a knitter, unravel and convert into yarn balls for re-use. This is not uncommon among people who grew up with less and understand the value of materials.

I patch only workwear unless a patch fits the nature of the article, like elbow patches. Otherwise, fabric is converted into work/cleaning rags.

When I have a bad sock I save the good one to pair up with survivors.

With size changes I give clothes away.

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I definitely save as much as I can.
the warning to the wise: I had a pair of jeans with a hole that I saved to patch with sashiko. They came out beautifully but.... it took me two and a half years to get around to it.... during which time I lost weight and they no longer fit the same way (they were my favorites before, now they are just icky). The solution, of course, is to put them away for another few years and maybe things will change!!

Burra Maluca

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This is one of my son's work T-shirts.

It was his favourite because it had a duck on it, so when the belly area started to sprout holes I used a bit of one of his old camo work trousers to patch the whole belly area. And edged it in pink just so he can wind his workmates up...

But last time it came over for laundry, the back of it looked like this...

I think it's time to let it go.

I'm going to rescue the camo patch so I can use it on another shirt, and I might rescue the duck motif, though it does have a couple of holes in. Seems a shame to waste it though...

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Nancy Reading

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Burra Maluca wrote:I think it's time to let it go.

I think you're right. You're at the point where it won't last long even once repaired.

I'm going to rescue the camo patch so I can use it on another shirt, and I might rescue the duck motif, though it does have a couple of holes in. Seems a shame to waste it though...

I wonder if you applique the duck onto another garment, maybe with some extra embroidery, you will retain the essence of the duck.

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Carla Burke

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Maybe rescuing the duck to make it as to something that won't receive the type of hard use it's seen, so far? Added to a cushion or something like that?

Eric Hanson

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A possible rule of thumb is if its repair takes more money, time and energy than buying new.

Consider future money, time and energy.

Eric.

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Jay Angler

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Eric Hanson wrote:A possible rule of thumb is if its repair takes more money, time and energy than buying new.

Consider future money, time and energy.

Alas, Eric, other factors where I sit are: emotional attachment, value of the learning experience (learn to do new mending techniques on clothing where failure won't be too devastating), basic cussidness, and extending your "buy nothing" time period.

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Anne Miller

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Lyrics from the song, Patches

I was born and raised down in Alabama
On a farm way back up in the woods
I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches

Mending clothes is too much of a chore because it is hard to thread the needle.

The skirt I wear most of the time I had to add elastic to the waist because the elastic was gone. I did this by just tacking the new elastic in four places. I have to wear it backwards because the waist is in bunches where it was not sown.

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Burra Maluca

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Carla Burke wrote:Maybe rescuing the duck to make it as to something that won't receive the type of hard use it's seen, so far? Added to a cushion or something like that?

I thought about it for a while, and then consulted him.

It's going to become the top, visible layer on a pot holder!

I've been hoarding bits of worn out clothing for ages so I'm sure I can find enough layers to make a good one. It might even work out with the pink-edged camo patch as the back layer. Or maybe if I completely de-construct the T-shirt I can find enough fabric in it to make at least most of the layers to make a safe-pot holder...

Experiments will begin shortly. It's too hot to work outside anyway...

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Eric Hanson

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Jay—considering all that you mentioned as reasons to continue mending, then the benefit far exceeds the cost. Price is unlikely to be a serious issue. Time and energy are actually a benefit, a reason as opposed to a cost. And sentiment can’t easily be priced.

I don’t get this way with clothes, but there are other areas where my sentiment and urge to get my hands on and fix far exceeds any motive I might have to replace. I get sentimental with certain objects, especially if I have used them in the past for something. Tools are especially prone to this feeling—it’s almost like a partnership between myself and the specific tool. Of course I am anthropomorphizing, but I understand your sentiment.

That said, I still think my original metric works—but for you, you are far, far from the cost exceeding the benefits.

My thoughts,

Eric

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Jay Angler

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Eric Hanson wrote:Jay—considering all that you mentioned as reasons to continue mending, then the benefit far exceeds the cost. Price is unlikely to be a serious issue. Time and energy are actually a benefit, a reason as opposed to a cost. And sentiment can’t easily be priced.

Hubby decided one of his pairs of farm jeans was too far gone to be worth mending (read, his stomach had out grown them as well as them being worn and stained.) However, I am *much* smaller than him, and I like to do creative things...

Worn edges got a nice blanket stitch. Damaged areas got patched, cell phone pocket got added, waistband got shrunk using the "split side skirt" method, and why not do a little embroidery for the fun of it?

I really enjoyed making the 3 little lady bugs. I now have a whimsical jeans skirt and it was good exercise for my aging brain as well.

Yes, it cost me time, but time I needed low energy activity to fill. Other than time, the only cost was for thread because all the fabric was upcycled. In an era when many hobbies seem to be expensive, I got to entertain myself with minimal cost.

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Carla Burke

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Entertainment, physical fine-motor work, brain exercise, some much needed down time, AND a super-cute new skirt, all for the cost of a bit of thread? Well done!!!

Eric Hanson

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Jay,

You patched, modified, redesigned and reworked those jeans for reasons that are perfectly reasonable and worthwhile to you—so absolutely you go and do it! It gives you a sense of purpose and well-being so what else could one ask?

It’s the same reason I build my battery boxes from scratch—I simply like doing it and the process is actually more rewarding than the finished product—though the finished product is not bad.

My neighbor constantly tells me how he buys produce for cheap at the local farmers market and can’t understand why I want to go through the effort to achieve the same. I told him the garden itself was the purpose for the effort and the food was a tasty by-product.

On my recent trip to the Smoky Mountains, we ran across a person who complained that all he wanted to do was get to the top of the mountain for the view and that he didn’t care for the hike. I steadfastly disagreed. I think that the journey is better than the destination.

So keep repairing, fixing, patching those clothes as long as it brings you satisfaction! Technically, you don’t ever have to wear it out to the point of requiring disposing—you can repair your repairs until their is none of the original product left—maybe a pair of jeans of Thesius!

Eric

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Gray Henon

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I used to do a fair bit of patching, but found that worn clothing just blew out somewhere else in short order. I’d still be willing to patch a newer garment that was torn on a stick, for example, but in general I just wear things until most would consider them rags then start over. I seem to have an endless supply of free t shirts. I’ve bought a lot of nearly new pants at thrift stores over the years, but also treat myself to new cotton duck pants and jeans from time to time. The farm seems to eat weaker pants pretty quickly!

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Burra Maluca

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I salvaged what I could from the patched-up duck T-shirt and with the help of some offcuts of a moving blanket made from recycled cotton T-shirts which I trimmed to make it fit better as an undersheet for the bed, I made up a pot holder. Which I have just given to my son. Complete with the traditional pink edging stitches because pretty much everything I patch up for him is done like that to match the pink paint he puts on all his tools to stop them accidentally going home with the wrong workmate because he's the only one who is willing to be seen in pink.

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If it gets patched enough it will basically be a new(er) sweater once all the original garment is covered. Could use it for ‘work clothes’ so you don’t destroy other garments while doing dirty work. Could cut of the sleeves and make a vest, using the sleeves to patch and re enforce it. Mabie use it to line a light jacket to make it warmer or use it as a liner to make a wool garment not itchy.

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