Valerean

In my last Fabscrap order I got some awesome mendables, including this Calvin Klein raised logo sample t-shirt, which retails for over $60.00. From the front it looked perfect. The mend this t-shirt required was something to fill in or cover the 10-1/2" X 12'1/2" cut out in the back bottom. Since I plan to use it as a pajama top, I thought I might patch it with another CK scrap I had in my stash. But the t-shirt material is very thick, and a single thin layer of jersey wasn't going to work very well. I took another black t-shirt mendable and sacrificed part of it to make a double-thickness jersey panel patch to place over the cut out, which I sewed on with my sewing machine. It's not a perfect seamless repair, but it makes the garment functional, which is all I care about anyway.

Sometimes I don't work on projects during my spare time (although I do work on the calendar mood blanket every day.) Now and then I devote my free time to organizing, sorting, mending and other tasks. One day it started with this untidy box of scrap binding, which I had pulled out for a mending project. I don't like untidy things. Then I added a bunch of tangled yarn from various thrifts that needed separating and rolling from the spring cleaning I'd done that morning. I already had a pair of capris to alter and a quilt to fix, so I spent my afternoon dealing with all of them. Tidying the scrap binding box just took a few minutes. It also let me see how much commercially made binding I have left to use on some things I have planned for spring. I like to keep my yarn tidy, too, and it's kind of soothing to untangle and roll yarn. Okay, I'm weird. Since I don't care for wearing capris I altered a pair I got in one of my pants lots int...

My first creative mending project of 2023 was this interesting sweater that I got from Fabscrap. I don't actually own any sweaters, and I need one right now when I'm out walking the dogs on colder days. The sweater was nicely knit, but appeared to have been cobbled together in a hurry (as is often the case with sample garments.) As a result there were a few unfinished seams. The ends of yarns at color change points were left hanging, too. I imagine there was to be a row of ribbing at the bottom of the sweater that wasn't stitched on. Weirdly it fit me as is, so I didn't bother to lengthen it. For the mend I sewed together the unfinished seams and wove the yarn ends back into the inside knit. The final result is quite nice, and will be keeping me warm in the last of the cold winter days.

In December I made two orders from Fabscrap. The first arrived with this giant spool of variegated taupe yarn; it's more than enough to make a nice big wrap or a lap blanket. I also added two pounds of mendable sample garment tops in this particular order. I made a mistake and clicked on large for the size, and then later read that they were out of stock. I expected they would backorder my order, but instead they made some delightful substitutions. This pretty pink top doesn't need any mending or alteration. This is a dress, I believe, and it looks to be in perfect condition, too. A white eyelet blouse, also in new condition. Keep in mind that all these garments are $8.00 a pound, which works out to $4.00 each for this order. That's cheaper than Goodwill. I even got a coat. That neon green faux fur on the cuffs definitely has to go, but I love the coat. This is a yard pack of neutral naturals. The linen alone (on the right) is worth about $25....

A single tear in a sleeve was the only flaw with this Fabscrap sample blouse, which is otherwise perfectly finished. Tears can be annoying, but I'm in luck: the sleeves are smocked, which will hide the repair I make. There is no fabric missing from the sleeve; the material somehow just got torn. I pinned the sleeve together along the tear using scant 1/4" seams. Blind-stitching the tear with black thread erased it, and once pressed it's pretty hard to see the repair work. Although I lost about 1/2" of fabric from the sleeve while mending the tear the difference isn't that noticeable. The top is ready to wear.

This month I'll be creatively mending four sample tops from Fabscrap. Sample garments are made by manufacturers for a designer as prototypes, so they can see how their design translates into an actual product before mass quantities of the design are made. These prototypes are quickly made, and sometimes don't have both sleeves, all the hems finished, etc. Some samples result in changes to the design, so they can be the only one ever made in that particular fabric or fit. Since they're not made to be sold sample garments are regularly discarded, which is how they end up at Fabscrap, like this pretty blouse. The only thing actually wrong with the blouse, which is beautifully made, is a tear in the left sleeve. This pajama top is full finished, too. It has two circles of fabric cut out of the bottom hem. This black and white top is one of the more hastily-made garments, and still had hanging threads on its seams. The hem and bottoms of the sleev...