mending our clothes...do you?

John Weiland wrote:Does anyone on this thread know of a pretty sure-fire way to repair (or prevent from occurring) the cracks that appear at the bending part of a duck boot?  This would be the flexing part just before the toe region that seems to crack long before the boot is worn out.  Shoo-Goo?....Something better?  Thanks!

Fred King wrote:I grew up on a farm as the only son with 3 sisters so never found time to develop sewing skills but learned many other skills. I have a friend and neighbor who is glad to trade my skills for her sewing skills if I have something worth saving (new zipper in a carhart jacket). If sew you might offer to trade mending for help with something you don't know how to do.

So I am at her place hemming those slacks and she's in mortal combat redoing those zippers....

Antique darning samplers.

In general, the English term ‘darning’ refers to a sewing technique used for repairing holes or worn areas of a fabric. The term darning, however, can also refer to several decorative needlework techniques that use darning stitches (in this context the term used for running stitches or straight stitches). The main types of darning in this context are:

Pattern darning: a type of embroidery that uses parallel rows of darning stitch of different lengths to create geometric designs. Sometimes the term of needleweaving is used for this type of darning ("chicken scratch"). (Textile Research Center, Leiden).

The Visible Mending Programme seeks to highlight that the art and craftsmanship of clothes repair is particularly relevant in a world where more and more people voice their dissatisfaction with fashion’s throwaway culture.

"My name is Tom van Deijnen and I’m a self-taught textiles practitioner, based in Brighton, UK. I work mostly with wool, and enjoy creating and repairing knitted objects. I like to do things that take forever, as it allows me to gain a deep understanding of material qualities and the traditional techniques I use for making and mending contemporary objects. I’m interested in both sustainability and the rich textile history around wool in the United Kingdom, and as a result I’d like to explore the boundaries of when the life of a woollen garment (and by extension any object) starts and ends. By exploring the motivations I favour not the new and perfect but the old and imperfect, as that allows me to highlight the relationship between garment and wearer. My interest in using traditional techniques for creating and repairing (woollen) textiles means that creating and mending textiles are in constant conversation with each other."

Sakabukuro, or sake straining bags, are usually made of cotton which has been saturated with green persimmon tannin, or kaki shibu, which gives the distinctive brown color. This utilitarian textile was used in sake making.

Crude sake, or sake lees, was placed in this bag and pressure was applied to squeeze out and filter the liquid. Repeated use required repeated mending and we see the wonderfully odd stitches applied for this purpose. (explains Sri Threads)

"Farm laborers work pants patched and repatched ca 1800 discovered in a chimney in the UK"

Judith Browning wrote:A pair of long lived pants I would be proud to own and wear...

"Farm laborers work pants patched and repatched ca 1800 discovered in a chimney in the UK"

I wonder why they were in a chimney. Odd place for pants to end up.

Judith Browning wrote:
I've left a trail of rags stuffing cracks in houses we've lived in...the oldest was vertical logs with huge gaps...might have been room for whole pairs of pants...it was a cold cold winter :)

r ranson wrote:

Deb Rebel wrote:

R Ranson wrote:Another way to darn socks (or anything) is with this small loom:

Interesting tool. Thanks for sharing.

r ranson wrote:This fell into my inbox today thanks to Paul.  How to sew on a button!