Mending

A stitch in time saves nine.

Pithy saying or actual deal? Ever wondered?

My experience, it's better to catch those holes while they are small. Otherwise they grow on you!

That washing machine, it can be hard on clothes. The dryer isn't doing them any favors with the high heat, and flying zippers. A tip--remember to zip those zippers up or they can catch on other garments and make holes in things (learned this one the hard way with a brand new pair of pants....maybe you don't have moths, maybe it's the dryer and zippers). They can also catch loose threads and pull on them, making those holes larger.

Not to mention wearing clothes with small holes (yes, we probably have all done it from time to time, thinking it's not too noticeable). Our movements pull on those holes and loosen those threads, making them larger and larger.

For me, when doing the folding, when I run across a shirt or pants with a hole, I set it aside to work on later. It's a good project to do while watching television (rather than being on the Internet, just kidding!).

You don't need to be Suzy Homemaker, or a stellar seamstress to fix most holes in seams. You don't even need a huge sewing kit to do it with. You DO need a card of needles (a dollar or two at your fabric store), a few colors of thread (white, black, brown, navy and grey are good starter colors) and then scissors. If you catch holes small, you probably won't need pins, but having some doesn't hurt.

Pick the color that best matches the fabric you are working with. You are working from the inside of the garment. Start a little bit back from where the loose threads start (so that you are going over the good part of the seam), and begin with a knot to hold your thread. From there, start stitching. I usually whip stitch over the top. Try to keep your stitches close together and as tidy as you can. Keep working until you are a little ways into the good stitches on the far side of the seam. Then, tie it off.

It's not too difficult once you get going. And if you catch it early, it's pretty small and goes fast. It is when you ignore it that it gets to be several inches long.

This is also why it is better to fix any holes PRIOR to washing so that the washing doesn't make it worse (which is how my son's shirt ended up with three holes to fix instead of just one....stupid loose threads!). Sadly, I generally don't notice these things until I am FOLDING the clothes to put them away.

Catch those holes early! Same with loose buttons and hooks. It only takes a minute or two to fix and then it won't annoy you all day.