I wear my favourite jeans, shoes and t-shirts to death.

Some people recommend cutting up the fabric for dusters which is a good plan. My husband had a lime green t-shirt with zig zag seams and a stag design. I loved him in it. It shrank (or he grew) and I inherited it. Then it started falling apart. The holes expanded and I knew I had to part with it. I’m handy with a sewing machine, so my favourite recent ‘hack’ was making that t-shirt into a t-shirt for our dog! I totally understand if I’ve lost you here, but it’s nice to see it living a third life and keeping our lurcher cosy.

We recently went on our holidays to Mallorca. We love to hike and the forecast was teetering on rain, so I checked I had the right kit. Unfortunately the raincoat I bought for a big hike in New Zealand was showing it’s age. The seams around the neck were no longer watertight. I think in the past I would have saluted the jacket for it’s great service and binned or donated it. This time, I bought some seam sealant and spent a few minutes gluing the seams that had bust. After 24 hours it was watertight again and ready for adventure. Of course, it didn’t rain once…

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I make socks. I love knitting and socks are my favourite knitting that will fit in a handbag. As it’s been a few years since my first sock knits, some of them are boasting holes. I knew darning was a thing, but had no idea how to do it. Boom! The internet. I looked at whole load of extremely satisfying invisible mends for socks and jumpers then had a go myself. Mine looks like an absolute mess, but the holes are closed and I can certainly wear them around the house. That’s the thing with mending - even if we’re crap at it, the only way to get better is to keep trying. My second sock mend is already a slight improvement.

Because I’m an amazing wife, I bought my husband a beautiful (vintage!) merino wool Paul Smith cardigan. It was in great condition bar a couple of small holes on the front. I tried my hand at visible mending, choosing a deliberately bright yarn and sewing forward and back over the holes. I bought a little twin badge which had ‘death’ on one side and ‘until’ on the other so that if he preferred, he could cover my visible mend with a gothy love pin. Come Christmas/Yuletide Tony was thrilled with his cardigan, but regrettably announced that it was a little too small for him. He insisted that I try it on. It is now my visibly mended cardigan and I’m a terrible wife.

Have a look at @the.seam.uk on Insta - and a million other accounts - for sewing, mending and alteration tips.

Let me know what you discover. Happy mending!

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