Altering and Mending

Well, well, well. Late again. I do know what day it is, I promise; summer makes the time slip away even for grown-ups.

Since I don't have a mission for these entries, I'm going to talk to you again about what's on my mind now. Today I took a field trip down to Newport to get my sewing machine back from Michael Jarvis, who was tuning it up. It runs beautifully now, and I can hardly wait to get to some machine-sewing projects. Between my travel and its tune-up, it's been almost two months since I last used my own machine!

School starts soon, and I have a pair of dress pants for teaching that are in need of alteration - typically if pants fit me in the hips they are slightly too big in the waist, and they are almost universally too long. This pair have been sitting in the closet for quite some time because they are lined and the waistband has no seams, and that presents quite a bit of additional work in the alteration. I have such a limited number of dress pants, though, that I will have to suck it up and get them done. I'll put a movie on to keep me company. Then I'll do the hemming at the Sew-Op once we open after Labor Day, surrounded by other people sewing and good conversation! I'm married to my own machine and other tools, hence not doing the whole job at the Sew-Op, but if you have alterations to make please feel more than welcome to bring them in. There are always people present who know about sewing and can help you out if you aren't completely sure how to proceed.

My other main sewing job is to reline a wool peacoat so I can wear it during the early and late winter. It's not really heavy enough for midwinter, but it lasts a while and it's an attractive coat. I have had it for many years and the lining is just through - I've already repaired worn spots where my back jeans pockets rubbed it and at the underarms, but it's generally thin and saggy and unattractive. Additionally, one of the buttons went missing, and years ago I bought new buttons to replace all of them (because I didn't like the original buttons enough to go on a hunt for a matching replacement). So far I've taken out the original lining, split it in half down the middle seam, left one half together and taken the other half apart. I also ironed some flexible tricot interfacing onto the inside back of the coat, to protect the wool from getting thin. I still need to replace the buttons, cut new lining pieces (with a seam allowance added on!), sew the new lining together and put it into the coat. However, if I do a careful job, I expect it will last me many years to come, and probably be a bit warmer because the new lining is thicker than the old.

And as a bonus, the new lining material is absolutely beautiful! The old was plain black polyester; the new is shiny satin, black background with vividly colored leaves. Sometimes a repair is more than a repair - you can make it an upgrade and add your personal style to the item. The Sew-Op has a large stash of fabric for such personal touches, from patching things to lining things to adding a decorative edging - not to mention all kinds of buttons and trims. It is all donated and free to be used by anyone who comes to Open Hours or a class. Hope to see you there!