Week 8: Patching Up Some Shorts
The first craft was to finally patch up a pair of shorts that got caught in the washing machine last year. I already patched up the biggest cut as soon as it happened, but with more wear and tear, the weak points started to give in and form more holes.
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| The worst part is that I've worn these since I've noticed the tearing at the bottom, but I didn't notice the hole in the middle of the butt until I sat down to do this. |
When I do a quick patch, I start by cutting out a piece of fusible interfacing that covers the entirety of the area. If your interfacing and garment you're repairing have stretch to them, it's important to make sure the interfacing stretches in the same direction of the clothing.
Next, I iron it down to the inside of the shorts. This provides something for the stitching later to go through instead of the delicate fabric around the hole.
Then I sew a box near the edges of the interfacing. Since these shorts have a bit of stretch, I used a zig-zag stitch. I do this from the wrong side of the fabric so that I know I'm around the interfacing. I stitch the interfacing down because over time and with more washes, sometimes the heat adhesive wears away and this makes sure the interfacing stays on.
After that, I sew a line of zig-zag stitches across the gash itself. I do this from the right side of the shorts, and I make sure that the zig-zags entirely cover the hole. This is the stitch that actually makes sure the hole is shut and doesn't pop open. I also make sure to sew beyond the gash in case there are some weak points I don't see yet.
After that, I clip the thread, and the patch job is done! It's not very pretty, and definitely leaves some visible topstitching, but I only wear these shorts to do housework, yardwork, or set painting in, so I don't really care how they look.
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| And I got this for 75% off. Don't sleep on remnants, y'all. |
However, I promised myself the first time I patched these up that I would sew some pretty lace or something on top to try to cover up the stitching, and I had a yard of some absolutely beautiful lace that I got as a remnant sometime last year, so I cut a piece out roughly the size of the three patch jobs.
Since the shorts stretch, I only stitched the lace on a few stitches at a time before I tied off and restarted the thread. This is so that if I accidentally pop a stitch, the entire thing doesn't unravel and fall off. I also made sure the lace had a little room to move and I didn't stretch it taut over the shorts.
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| Admittedly, the lace looks a little out of place, but it does look better than the boxes. |
And it's as easy as that! Here's the boring money part:
What I had:
Shorts
Fusible heavyweight interfacing
Remnant: White Lace
Thread
What I bought:
Shorts
Fusible heavyweight interfacing
Remnant: White Lace
Thread
What I bought:
Week 8 budget: $1.92
Week 8 spent: $0
Week 8 leftover: $1.92
February budget: $6.09
February spent: $4.38
February leftover: $1.71
Year budget: $100
Year spent: $14.95
Year left: $85.05
So far, so good. I don't think I'll be spending more money for February, but who knows. Hopefully I'll have weeks 9 and 10 up soon!
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