Beginning to Mend

It’s a season for mending – not just the late fall and winter, but in this time in general. I remember listening in first grade to my teacher talk about how fossil fuels were running out and the impact on the environment. A spark took hold and I have spent my life learning and growing to be a better steward of the earth. Mending is an important part of that growth. I started by making a mending basket near my sewing nook. I’m also starting with a lot of kid pants that have holes in the knees. They are plentiful around here and my kids are happy to get their favorite pair of pants back into the rotation.

Sliding a small hoop into the leg of the pants.

A patch is an easy place to start. Cut a shape out of fabric that will cover the hole/stain. Cotton fabric is my favorite choice – and I almost always tuck a piece of inexpensive felt underneath for added padding. For this patch I chose one of our new fabrics at Spoonflower.

Adding a little piece of felt behind the patch to give a little extra padding in the knee.

I started with filling in some of the X’s with complementary colors. Then I cut the patch to the right size using pinking shears. I personally love the frayed edges that come after a few washings – if that isn’t your cup of tea, then you could iron the edges of the cotton fabric around the felt to make a nice smooth edge.

Filling in some Cross Stitches with various colors of floss. Fabric is available for sale at Spoonflower.

There are so many lovely edging stitches – check out a few here. I went simple for this one using Blanket Stitch. This patch took only a few hours to make and attach. Now my kiddo will get a lot more use out of these pants.

Using the Blanket Stitch edging to attach the patch.

We would love to see what you’re mending – tag us on Instagram @bostonandyork.

A newly mended knee, so these pants can get back into the rotation.