When your kid comes back from playing outside with a new rip in the knee or elbow of their clothes, it can be tempting to despair and add it to an ever-growing pile of their clothing that needs repairing. All too often, these clothes get discarded and new ones bought in their place, but this is ultimately an unsustainable and costly approach. By learning some simple sewing skills, you can quickly mend minor rips and tears and extend the wear of your kid’s clothing.
Patch a Hole
If there are small holes developing in your child’s clothes, learning to patch these is an essential skill. There are plenty of easy to follow videos on YouTube, so this is a good starting point. Make sure you have a sharp, slim needle, as a large one will make the holes worse, and select a thread that’s as close as possible in color to the fabric of the clothing. You are aiming to create a patch over the hole constructed from the thread, rather than trying to close the hole, as this will make the fabric bunch and look misshapen.
Re-Hem
Knowing how to re-hem a pair of pants or a sleeve on a shirt is a great skill, especially as these are often the parts of clothing that kids wear or get very scruffy. Make sure you watch a good tutorial before starting, and a decent pair of dressmaking scissors are essential so that you can cleanly cut through the fabric you want to re-hem.
Replacing Buttons
Replacing buttons is one of the easiest sewing tasks, but you do need to make sure that you securely attach the buttons, without stitching them on so tightly that your child can’t manipulate them or close them. Crossing the thread over itself and looping the needle underneath the thread as you stitch the button on will ensure that it is securely fastened and unlikely to come loose again.