feature
The Lost Art
of Mending
Hands up: how many of you give up on torn or outgrown garments, broken toys and household bits and pieces and put them in the recycling or rubbish bin? Because imported clothes, towels and bedding can be so inexpensive nowadays, it is tempting not to bother with mending or re-making clothes as we used to. There are very compelling reasons for doing so, however, not least of which is stemming the rise in waste slowly smothering the world. Leaving aside altruism and the good of the planet, it may be that you particularly like a special item and don’t want it to be lost just because a child has outgrown it, or there is a rip or mark on an old wardrobe favourite. Perhaps your child or grandchild has a much loved toy which has seen better days and needs a new ear, a patch on its toes, or more stuffing, but it would be the end of the world as we know it for that treasure to be lost to them? You could soon fix it up and add a few years to its life and immeasurable joy to the life of a potentially bereft small person. Most people can probably remember our mothers or grandmothers getting out their scissors, needles and thread on a Sunday afternoon. Buttons or zips were replaced, tears patched and holes darned
20 FamilyCARE
Fix old favourites, with tips from Sarah Wale!
- and that was just the mending. Then there were alterations as clothes were made to last one more season, or to clothe one more child. Hems were taken up or, more likely, let down, or seams let out or gussets inserted where there wasn’t enough seam width to allow for a rapidly growing youngster (or one’s increasing middleaged spread). Long pants were made into shorts, dresses cut down to create skirts, and all manner of other magic was wrought to transform ‘this old thing’ into a brand new pride and joy for the next in line. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same today.
GIVE A DARN?
I mentioned darning earlier and here I have a confession to make: I refuse to darn cheap everyday socks – they last for ages and usually by the time a heel has worn out, so has the elastic and sole, so they really aren’t worth the bother. But thick woollen socks, without which work boots and gum boots would be unbearably uncomfortable to wear all day, are well worth bringing back to life. The elbows of knitted garments can also wear thin and are candidates for the attention of a competent needleworker. If
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