Economizing Measures ~ Mend & Alter Clothes

I'd like to give a crash course in mending clothes because it will save 

you from buying more clothes and spending too much in having items repaired.  Most people either own or at least have seen little sewing kits, they can be found in most stores, even grocery stores.  Handy to have, especially when traveling, but not the best for real mending.  The threads in these kits tends to be inferior and break easily.

The minimal items needed: needles, thread, scissors, tape measure, pins, seam ripper & thread.

• For needles, any sharp needle will do, I suggest ones with large eyes for ease of threading.  Most people wet the thread and poke it into the eye, I wet it, hold it tight between finger and thumb, the end barely showing, then slide the needle eye over it. 
• For thread I suggest getting small spools of general sewing thread in white, black, brown, beige, blue and any other colors you normally wear.  There are 3 types of thread you will find in a fabric store; general sewing, quilting which is thicker and stronger and buttonhole twist  which is even thicker and stronger.  If you sew a lot of buttons on you might want to consider the buttonhole twist in the color you use most.
• For scissors I suggest the small embroidery scissors as you can use them to cut open seams or cut off old buttons.  A regular pair of sewing shears is very handy if you need to shorten hems quite often or need to cut pieces of fabric.  The #1 rule with these is to never ever, NEVER EVER use them for anything other than fabric or thread.  Paper, plastic and so on will dull them to the point they will need sharpening and it is very hard to find someone that does it and does a good job these days.
• A tape measure is needed if you are going to be hemming slacks or skirts and dresses.  Most are a coated fabric for durability.
• Pins are used to hold fabric in place and any kind will do.  I've even used safety pins when that was all I had to hand.
• A seam ripper is the handiest to use for opening seams although you can use embroidery scissors if you are careful.
• Full size sewing shears will be the most expensive item and they are optional.  Most of these items are about $1-2 each.

Most everyone's grandma had a box or tin with these items and more than likely lots of odd buttons too.  I suggest that when an item is past wearing, to cut it up for rags and save the 

buttons for use on something else.  If you lose a button or 2 you may find enough in your stash to replace the whole lot on your shirt and give it a whole new look without buying any.  If you've looked at the price of buttons these days you will know they are worth saving.

Sewing on lost buttons is the easiest thing to do, simply go in and out the holes enough times to hold it on well.  It if is a shank button with a flat back and a loop sticking out the 

process is similar in that you are tacking down the loop part to the fabric.  It is best to take your first stitch not too tight and then to wrap the thread several times between the loop and 

the fabric before making more tacking stitches.  This strengthens the whole thing which you will need as mostly these kinds are used on coats and jackets.  Sewing snaps is pretty much the same as buttons. 

Most blouses and shirts come with extra buttons --I save mine in a decorative box in the bedroom-- If I don't have any extra but totally lose one,  I will often use a button from the bottom that gets tucked in a waist or from the top if I never button the collar as they will never be seen or missed.

The other main thing you will want to learn is to hem.  Pant legs, skirts, dresses and shirt sleeves are all hemmed the same.  It usually costs around $10 (2019) to get something 

hemmed, which isn't a lot but what if you can save that much and only use 30 minutes of time while watching TV? 

If you only need to turn the hem up once it is usually easier to leave the old hem in place and fold it up and stitch, then press with your iron.  Keep your stitches about 1/4 ' apart 

and do not pull them tight or you'll get puckers.  Thread a needle with about 18", knot one end.  Pull through the old hem or the inside edge to secure it.  Move forward in 

either direction about 1/4' and catch 1-2 threads of the fabric which is the back side of the main body and then up through the hem edge on the inside.  Just keep repeating till its done and knot the end.

If you are short and need to remove several inches of fabric then you will want to measure the inseam (inside leg seam) of a pair of pants that is the right length - same 

with a skirt using the side measurement.  Alternately you can put them on inside out and have someone else pin them up in place for you.  Trim the extra off but leave 

1 1/2 -2" for the hem.  Measure twice, cut once!  Moving around the hem turn the raw edge under at least 1/4" or more and pin it in place as you go.  Then you are ready to hem it.  You can make shorts from long pants, short sleeves from long sleeves this way and extend the life of the garment. 

These are the most needed alterations and they don't even require a sewing machine. 

One other thing you may need to do is repair a split openseam.  Match your thread color and just resew the seamwith a running stitch -- up, down, up, down -- taking thesmallest stitches you can.  I sometimes go back over it several times depending upon where the split is and how much strength it needs.  If you have a sewing machine it's even faster to mend.

From here you can go on to learn to put in gussets to give you a little more room, let seams in or out, replace zippers and so on.  About the only repairs I recommend taking to the professionals is if it needs re-weaving because of a hole or tear.  It is worth the money on a quality item.