Thursday, September 04, 2008

A Word About Mending: Part 2

As I noted in the previous post, I am all about mending, recycling, saving money, etc. (smoked salmon, $16/pound cheese, and free range chicken notwithstanding). Here is another example of my thrifty, some might say Depression Era, ways. I bought a set of expensive Wamsutta sheets several years ago. Finally, after many nights of use, these sheets have become incredibly soft and cozy. However, that softness, I assume, can be attributed to the breakdown of the fibers. Breakdown of fibers leads to weakened threads which leads to holes. Holes lead to rips. Really big ones. As a testament to my thrifty ways, I decided to not throw out the sheets but instead to mend them. I found some fabric that was similar in weight and kind of matched (but not really, since it is a different color!) and decided to work my magic. I did the patching technique which I explained in my previous post. And I'll be damned if it doesn't look god-awful! The irony of this story is that my sheets are really no longer all that comfortable. I mean, shouldn't I have known that adding another fabric and stitching the heck out of it would kind of ruin the texture? So now I just keep that section at the bottom of the bed, and I curl my legs up in the fetal position. Problem solved.  I think the true purpose of my blog is teach others who sew how to do a better job.


(These sheets aren't dirty, just old!)




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

susan, next time use the Bo Nash powder (snake oil). its the stitching that makes the sheets uncomfortable. I mended a hole in my sheets with it and it worked fine, although it is a much smaller hole than yours, so that could have something to do with it. Also, next time you change your sheets, put the mended part on Tim's side. >:o)

Marianne