Thursday, February 18, 2016

Damage Control; A Mending Project

Hello Readers. Today I had a mending project to do for a friend. I'll call her J. I know what you're thinking. Mending? Ugh, no one likes mending. It's not fun. It is boring and everyone avoids it. But there is no way to avoid buying new, spending and shopping without some time spent mending. I love to save money. Most clothes will develop problems eventually, even our favorite items. But they can usually be fixed or altered and made wearable again. J loved this shirt and since I love my friend,  I tried to fix this awful rip.


It had a nice gray collar for contrast and a nice button front. I could see why she loved it so much. It was the softest chambray I have ever felt. It felt like heavy silk.


But it had a serious problem. It is literally coming apart at the seams. Under one arm it has this terrible rip happening. The fabric was so silky it was ripping more and more. Soon it would just come apart. It was a difficult place to mend with all the parts of the shirt connecting there under the arm.


I pulled the tears together and stitched it of them up the best I could and it seemed to be holding well. Now another problem emerged. By pulling the fabric together, it lifted one side of the shirt. It was uneven across the back.


I made a small tuck on the other side under the other arm. It helped balance it out, but it wasn't perfect. So, do any of you have any ideas for this. I couldn't think of anything else to do. Any tips? 

I always try to fix and mend items when I can. I don't like to waste anything. I would love to hear your comments.


Thanks for reading, now go make (or mend) something fun for yourself.






4 comments:

jenny_o said...

Have you heard of sashiko? here is a link to get an idea:
http://www.designbyaika.com/what-is-sashiko/

Or maybe a panel of material to be overlaid from the yoke to the hem, and from the pleat at the yoke to the side seam (i.e. a long rectangular-ish piece. I am picturing a similar colour but with a design or stitching on it, or maybe lace. Similar to this link but instead of a panel at the side seam, having the panel at the back of the arm:
https://chicenvelopements.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/get-more-life-out-of-a-too-small-dress


It's a hard place to mend! You are a good friend to be taking this on. Good luck.

I Can Work With That said...

I checked out your links. That was really cool. I love the way the decorative stitching looks. Thanks for the recommendation.

chacha around said...

Put a light weight lining under the tear and sew horizontally and vertically to cover it and back onto the good material also. The stitching will follow the warp and the weft of the fabric. Trim off what is not needed from lining underneath

I Can Work With That said...

Thanks chacha! I will remember that for next time.