A Word About Mending: Part 1

I truly believe that mending has become a lost art. Too frequently, people just toss things into the trash that are ripped rather than sitting down and mending those holes. Because I am cheap, it is my intention to revive the lost art of mending. Here is an example of two things that I mended recently.  By the way, this example can in no way be called art, either in reference to mending or otherwise.  It is more about function rather than fashion.

Here are a pair of shorts that my husband ripped.

Fortunately, he works alone, so he wasn't faced with the humiliation that would normally accompany a rip such as this. You might wonder why in the world I would repair these shorts rather than tossing them, raggedy as they are. Well, my husband works in his vineyard and winery, so it really doesn't matter how nice his clothes look. As a matter of fact, I think he makes it his personal goal to ruin his clothes and then hand them over to me to attempt to clean and repair. Perhaps he thinks I need some challenge in my life. Anyhow, this is what I did.

First, I found some fabric of a heavy weight that approximately matches the shorts.

Then I cut out a rectangle of the same size as the rip, and I pinned it to the inside of the shorts.

Then I used a zigzag stitch on the inside to secure the fabric and make a sort of patch.

On the outside, I zigzagged around the tear to stop it from ripping some more, and to close the hole.

Okay, so it doesn't look that great. Perhaps that will encourage him to not tear his shorts anymore. Right.  Or maybe I should put a Hello Kitty patch on the outside.