9th July 2025
Mend, darn and repair clothes. Ideally clothes and household fabrics will give us years of use and pleasure. And even as they wear out, they can still be of use.
Initially we can avoid waste by looking after our clothes and household fabrics will – ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ is a reminder that the sooner we restitch a broken hem or seem, or mind a tear, or darn a hole, the smaller will be the necessary repair. It can be tempting not to repair an item if it’s replacement is cheap – eg holes in socks, but we should consider not just the cost of replacement but the cost of discarding the sock. On that basis darning a hole makes even more sense. (1)
We have moved from a society that would turn collars and replace cuffs rather than buy a new shirt (2), or that would cut old sheets in half and resew, sides to the middle, to get maximum use from the sheet (3)
You can also patch clothes, sheets and even towels (4) but eventually you may get to the stage where the item is no longer useable in its present form. Then rather than being throw away waste, maybe the item can be repurposed. An old sheets and even might be transformed into a pillow slip or a pile of handkerchiefs. A towel might become a set of flannels or cleaning clothes. Old socks make good dusters or shoe polishing cloths. A t-shirt might become a duster or a pair of pants. (5)
(1) https://www.woolovers.com/page/how-to-darn-a-sock
(2) https://mathomhouse.typepad.com/bluestocking/2016/11/turning-shirt-collars.html
(4) https://designmom.com/living-well-4-secrets-to-patching-clothes/
(5) https://www.redhandledscissors.com/2010/06/17/t-shirt-to-underpants-upcycling/
The Green Tau 