Making the Most of Your Clothes - Part Two: Minor Repairs 1

So now that you have cleaned out that closet, you may have be feeling a bit lighter on the clothing side. Its ok. Part of the point of this series is to help you appreciate the clothing that you already have. We live in a consumer driven, "gotta have it NOW" kind of world. But the fact is, most of us probably don't have the money to have all those clothes that we see on the fashion blogs we love so much. And hopefully, we are also unwilling to go into debt to get them. So we have to make do with what we have.

Learning how to do some minor repairs can make your favorite items last just that much longer. To start with, knowing how to sew a few simple stitches can sure come in handy. Even if you don't have a machine, hand sewing can work on most little repairs.

Somehow, I've had too many shirts come out of the dryer with little holes in them. I'm not sure how it happens, maybe I am washing them with something rough that snags them, but I just bought this shirt a couple months ago and didn't want to get rid of it already because of this little hole.

The best way to repair a hole like this is to use a single strand of thread, you don't even need to knot it at the end because the stitches you will make are pretty much like one big knot (usually you would double up the thread and tie it together at the end). Also, this repair works best on knit fabric (like cottony t-shirt material). It would not work on silk or very sheer fabrics.

 To start, turn the shirt inside out and start stitching on one end of the hole, making sure not to pull the thread all the way through (once you make your first full stitch the thread will be secure).

 Overcast stitches (like a loop around the hole) are best for this tip of repair because it pulls the fabric back together. Try to make your stitches as close together as possible and as close to the edge of the fabric as possible.

After you have sewn all the way down the hole, sew back up to where you started to really secure it. This also helps to tighten up any spots that maybe you missed with your first few stitches.

Once you have finished sewing up the hole, knot off your fabric by making a loop and pulling your thread through the loop. Do this a couple of times and you wont need to worry about the stitches coming undone.

Snip off the excess thread and you're done! You can barely see the stitches when you turn the shirt right side out, and now its fit to wear again.