Saturday, 3 April 2021

A bit of mending

There comes a time when holes appear in socks, and a bit of mending is needed to extend their life. My slipper socks, or are they boots, are worn through under the heels. I wear them in the house over two pairs of socks. They keep my feet snuggly warm. There are two layers, the holes have not yet worn through to the inner lining, so they need mending now.  
I did attempt to darn them but the holes are quite large. Patching would be better and would give a much smoother finish. I have just the thing, still got some of the snooker table green baize left. It is extra thick, better than ordinary felt. Perfect job. As we move into summer I won't need them so much. They will be put away and will come out again later in the year. I think these will last through another winter. 
I think it would be useful to teach some practical household, make do and mend skills, to children in schools. I learnt mine from my mum, I don't think that happens now. 
It's a bit chilly this morning. If it doesn't rain I am due for a five mile walk. In the meantime I shall carry on with some sewing, and a potter in the garden. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

11 comments:

  1. I learned mending techniques from my mother and figured out others on my own. I took home economics (cooking and sewing) in 7th and 8th grade. I am 75 years old and this is basically how I learned to cook and sew. I graduated from college, but I'm pretty sure I have never used anything I learned in psychology and a lot of other subjects. These are skills I use every single day. I think every high school senior should have to take one semester (1/2 year) of cooking and one semester of personal finance. Home ec isn't even taught in most schools now. I taught my son to cook when he was in high school, and it's a good thing...he didn't marry until he was 39. He and his wife love to cook together. Me, I'm just happy to get a hot meal, LOL.

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    1. Forgot to mention, when I saw the green felt, I knew exactly where you got it, LOL!

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  2. I had to call Tom over to see your repair job, we laughed but what a good idea, I may copy that. lol
    My mum used to knit all of my Dad's socks, he would't wear shop one's and I can see her now darning the holes in them.
    Briony
    x

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  3. That's a great idea!


    Amanda

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  4. I love your inventive patches! I can remember when it was the norm to have elbow patches on jumpers and school blazers in particular. As a teenager my mum patched me some red&black striped jeans, however the patch was blue denim stitched near the zip. It looked just like a denim willy poking from the zip! It made everyone chuckle!

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  5. Love your funky idea! I remember using a wooden
    mushroom to mend socks. I still have it in my sewing basket!

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  6. Great job on the mending. My mom taught me how to sew my own clothes in junior high, which I was proud to wear to school and got lots of compliments. Alsoshe and dad taught me how to cook so starting in 6th grade I cooked dinner every other night for years. So glad they did all that.

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  7. We are so alike in crafting, I even mend the home shoes, made of fabric and slippers. I do lots of things, I'm learning how to record and edit videos. I did the same to some knitened socks of my daughters, they left behind, the same way you did to yours.
    I believe it's an educational effect and the way and the time we were raised.

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  8. That’s so funny as I have exactly the same on my winter house socks. I crocheted mine myself but then I could see then getting thinner so I added the thick felt as a protective layer and it has lasted all winter. They make that green baze and tennis ball fabric here in Stroud so you can pick up off cuts in charity shops or the local scrap store, it is much thicker than normal craft shop felt. I have some in grey too and that would be great for a bag I think. I hope my son will make do and mend himself having watched me fix things daily to add life to everything to save money. I think he will as he already says things like, “that T-shirt is getting really faded, I’ll start just wearing it to bed instead” instead of trying to throw it out. He also snips the toothpaste tubes to get more days out of it.

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  9. It would be great if kids were taught mending skills. It would save them money, save the planet's resources, give them a confidence boost and a sense of self-reliance, and make them look more critically at the quality of items when buying. They might roll their eyes at the time, but draw on those skills later on.

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  10. I love make do and mend.My life is totally like that now.Nothing is binned in this house until there is no more mend left in it,lol.I do think it is because alot of us have parents that grew up during the war.I just hate any sort of waste and love how you say that you can get another winter out of your slippers.xx

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