Mended: black Uniqlo jeans mended with Sashiko stitching
If you sew, or knit, or otherwise craft, you know that requests for “favors” – mostly that start with “can you make…” or “can you fix…” – are not uncommon.
Every crafter responds differently, and my general rule of thumb is “no to makes. yes to mends.”
As gifts? I make things. As commissions and for work? I make things. As favors? Generally not.
The flip side of this being, if someone asks mend something, or fix something. I’ll almost always say yes. Usually they’re not time consuming or complicated fixes, so I’m happy to.
The one general exception to my “yea sure I’ll fix it for you” response being jeans.
Will I hem your jeans? Sure. Will I fix a hole in your jeans? No.
Why? Because mending jeans is not so simple.
As a general rule of them, denim is an incredibly durable fabric. Of course some denim is more durable than others, and some is just downright delicate. But taken as a whole category of fabric, denim = durable.
That means that when your jeans get a rip in them due to age (by which I mean, you didn’t sit on a nail in a brand new pair of jeans), you need to fix the whole, as well as, reinforce a significant amount of the surrounding fabric.
If you’re ever patched a pair of jeans (or a flannel shirt for that matter), and had the patch, or stitching quickly rip away again, it’s because the stitching was sewn to weakened, or compromised fabric.
The pair of jeans I wanted to mend, had a (relatively) small rip in the crotch. It was, maybe, two inches long, and would have taken 5 minutes to whip stitch closed.
However. If I had mended these pants that way, the fix would have also lasted about 5 minutes.
Because, that small rip is indicative of weakened fabric in the whole surrounding area. The original fabric is very soft & thin, there are creases where it’s (almost) threadbare, and along the seams the fibers are beginning to wear away.
To create a mend that lasts, I needed to reinforce the fabric in the entire crotch area. So I used a patch of black cotton twill, and Sashiko inspired stitching to reinforce all of the weakened fabric.
Sashiko, is a traditional Japanese quilting technique, that uses rows of running stitches. Traditionally, it was used to reinforce fabric, prolong the life of garments, and stitch together patches of fabric into new clothes. It can be entirely utilitarian, or decorative. But either way because the stitching itself is so simple it’s incredibly quick to execute, and because it’s an all over quilting technique it creates exceptionally durable (and warm) fabric.
(There’s a reason it’s quite “on trend” in mending.)
As with any mending, or fixing, or repair project, the trick is seamlessly blend the old and the new. In this case, blending the patch (which on the inside of the pants) and the worn fabric.
My first attempt went ok in the beginning, but as the project went on, I started getting some pretty epic rippling. Which translated to binding around the top of the leg. Which I was not about to live with.
So rather than leave it half assed, out came the scissors, and into the garbage that stitching went.
Take number two, went much more smoothly. (In multiple senses of the phrase.)
Rather than simply doing single rows of running stitch, I worked two perpendicular lines of running stitch to create crosses. I did this by first working lines of running stitch in one direction (being sure to off set my stitches), and then working a second set of lines of running stitch at a 90º angle to the first (being sure to cross the first set of stitches).
It’s not the prettiest, or the most even, stitching I’ve ever done. But my hope is that it’ll last for a good long while to come.
I’m not sure if a mending job can be considered “visible mending” if you can’t really see it while I’m wearing the pants, (and the stitching is black on black), but there has been something tremendously satisfying about combining my love of blackwork embroidery, with visible mending, with elongating the life of a pair of much loved pants.
Materials Used:
- 1 pair of much loved Uniqlo bootcut black jeans (which they stopped selling ages upon ages ago) (these are also the pair that I based my self-made jeans on)
- 1 large scrap of black cotton twill fabric to use as the patch
- 1 skein of black 6-strand embroidery floss (I split the thread and used 3 strands)
- 1 embroidery needle
- some pins to hold everything in place
A lining for my no-longer-really-an-Anna-Dress
Choosing a lining
Considering that my No Longer Really An Anna Dress is turning into The Dress of Many Rethinks – it may surprise no one that I chose a new lining.
The fabric for the outer shell of the garment is a navy with white, small windowpane plaid, lightweight cotton fabric.
I picked up a deep blue (not quite navy), medium weight cotton last week that I was planning on using to line my (no longer really an) Anna Dress, it was fine, and would have made a perfectly good lining, but I didn’t love it. It was a little bit stiffer than I would have liked as a lining for this dress.
Then I was at work the other day, and happened upon a lovely lightweight, navy, poly lining with an excellent drape that is much more suitable, so I got it. I’ll use the medium weight cotton for a different project.
If you look closely you’ll be able to see the difference in drape between the navy blue in the middle photo, and the navy blue in the bottom photo. The first lining (middle photo) stays flat like a photo background with no difficulty at all – no lumps, no bumps, no wrinkles. While the second lining (the final photo) has much softer folds, and a quite lovely drape.
Knitting projects hardly every call for a lining, but sewing projects often do, and one of the trickiest things about writing a multi-craftual crafting blog is terminology & jargon.
I think jargon & specific terminology – especially in “making” fields (knitting, sewing, crochet, ceramics, woodworking, metal working, glass working, even computer building) – is incredibly useful, but only if you know what it means…
So I figured I’d take this rather abrupt change of lining plans to talk a bit about what a lining is, what they’re useful for, and what to look for in a lining (for those of us around here who don’t sew).
What is a lining?
A lining (in sewing) is a layer of fabric, (or fur, or other material) that goes inside of a garment, (or bag, or hat). Often a lining is a thin, lightweight fabric. It can be a variety of fibers, but most modern linings are made from a polyester, acetate, viscose, rayon, silk, cotton, or a blend of any of the above.
You can think of a lining a little bit like a second version of the outer garment, turned inside out, then placed & stitched inside the outer garment (aka the shell, or fashion fabric, or a whole variety of other names).
What use is a lining?
Linings can serve a variety of uses, including:
- adding warmth
- backing a semi-see through fabric, to make it no longer see through
- concealing the “guts” of a garment, or hat, or bag (the seams, interfacing, interlining, etc.)
- adding body, or structure to the piece
- elongating the life of a piece
- protecting your skin (or hair, or belongings) from itchy, or scratchy, or simply not pleasant fabric
While a lining can serve any (or all) of these uses in a garment/hat/bag, it doesn’t have to.
Obviously in this sundress I will eventually finish making, I’m not looking to add warmth. And since I’m aiming for a flowing garment I’m not looking to add much body (aka structure) to my garment. And the cotton I’m using as my “fashion fabric” isn’t scratchy, or itchy, or in any way uncomfortable next to my skin, so that’s not a worry either.
The main things I’m using a lining for are a) to back a semi-see through fabric, b) extend the life of my garment, and c) conceal the “guts” of my dress.
Most of the time I’m not terribly concerned about concealing the guts of my makes since most people don’t see them, but on this dress, I’m still debating (it is the dress of endless rethinks after all) whether or not I want to do a slit in the skirt or not. If I do decide to do a slit, then I’ll definitely need the lining to cover up the guts of the skirt.
But regardless of hiding the skirt guts or not, I’ll still need the lining both to extend the life of the garment, and to make the semi-see though fashion fabric no longer any sort of see though.
What to look for in a lining
What to look for in a lining depends, in large part, on what you need your lining to do.
If you’re looking to add warmth to a garment, you obviously look for a warm lining.
If you’re looking to add body to something, you look for a lining with a little more structure.
If you’re looking to protect against an itchy fabric, you look for a soft lining.
If you’re looking to make a semi-see through fabric less shear, you want a lining with a tight enough weave to not let tons of light in.
If you’re looking to conceal the guts of a garment, or want to extend the life of the garment, you’re pretty good with any sort of lining.
Really, these two uses of a lining, concealing the guts & extending the life, work together. By that I mean – concealing the guts protects them from wear, which in turn extends the life of the garment, and by extending the life of the garment (by protecting the guts with a lining) you’re also using a lining to conceal the guts.
Since, on this dress project, I’m looking to conceal the guts of the garment, extend the life of the garment, and make the semi-see though fabric less semi-see though, I was looking for a lining that would do all three of those things without adding warmth, or body (structure), and without needing to be protective.
The first lining vs. the second lining
Like I said earlier, the first lining would have been more than fine. It was a medium weight cotton in a deep blue (but not quite navy) – the only strike against it was that it would have added body (structure) to the garment.
The second lining I picked up has a far better drape, and does all the things I need this dress lining to do – without adding additional body to the dress – which will in turn allow the dress to drape, and float, and flow better.
In hindsight, I sort of knew when I was buying it that the first lining wasn’t quite right, but I was impatient. And it’s not like this was the most rash fabric purchase I’ve ever made.
a tale of two bodices – Ditching & Rethinking the plan for my Anna Maxi Dress from By Hand London
Rethinking the dress
I realized a couple weeks ago (while I was asking and answering “why am I sick of all my clothing?”) that I really didn’t want to make an Anna Maxi Dress from By Hand London.
I mean I did/do. And at the same time, I really don’t.
It is true that I want to make a couple maxi dresses as part of my summer wardrobe infusion.
And it is also true that I don’t really/often “do dresses.”
I was initially attracted to the Anna Maxi Dress because there aren’t a whole lot of independent maxi dress patterns, and also it seems to look good on everyone who’s made it.
But I kind of overlooked the fact that I highly doubt I’d enjoy wearing the top half of that dress.
On me – I don’t like dresses hitting at my natural waist, or high necklines.
Luckily I figured this out before I cut the bodice.
But since I figured out that I want to ditch the bodice – I’ve been mulling over what to replace it with, and haven’t quite managed to settle on something.
The Bodice – what do i think I want?
After mulling it over in my head for a couple weeks, and not settling on something, I turned to the magical visual search engine that is pinterest, and tried to come up with some criteria for what I wanted the new bodice to be. I pulled my inspiration together in a “Style | figuring out what dresses I’d actually wear” board.
And based on what I’m taking away from that board, my criteria are turning out to be…
: V neck or lower scoop neck
: flared skirt (check!)
: raise or lower the waist (aka doesn’t sit on my natural waist)
: sleeveless
: thin spaghetti straps or wide-verging on kimono sleeves
And here, I think, is my dilemma.
I can envision this dress with two, quite different, bodices.
The Two Bodices
I can see this dress with a dropped waist, a V neck, and kimono sleeves – built super simply with 4 rectangles (two for the front, two for the back), a center front seam, a center back seam, and two side seams.
OR
I can see this dress with an empire waist, a scoop neck, and spaghetti straps – based on a super simple camisole.
So the question becomes, which direction do I want to go in?
The Skirt
I cut the skirt based on the Anna Dress pattern, and sewed it together with 1/2 an inch seam allowance (rather than the 5/8th seam allowance called for in the pattern – which gave me a little more skirt to play around with).
So I know I have enough length and width in the skirt to raise the waistline.
I also know that I don’t have a whole lot of fabric left over to build the bodice out of.
The pattern for the Anna Dress calls for 3.8 yards (3.5 meters) of 60″ wide fabric, and I have 3 yards – so the original pattern would have been a pretty tight squeeze (which I knew going in).
On top of that, I added length to the skirt (just in case I wanted to raise the waistline), and so I’m left with even less fabric for the bodice than I would have had if I had actually cut the skirt as written in the pattern.
Back to the contemplating bodice
So I have two directions I could go in for the bodice.
I think I’d like (and wear) either direction.
I have limited quantities of this fabric to work with. And I definitely don’t want to use a different fabric for the bodice.
If fabric weren’t an issue…
If fabric weren’t an issue I think I’d go with the dropped waist, V neck, kimono sleeve version of this dress. Because I think it would add a nice bit of variety to my wardrobe – and I think this print is subdued enough that the maxi skirt plus full bodice wouldn’t be overwhelming.
However…
Since fabric is an issue, and I do have another bodice option that I like, that I will go with my second bodice option – the empire waist, scoop neck & spaghetti straps.
At least that’s what I’m currently thinking.
And of course the lining…
In addition to mulling over the bodice, I’ve also been mulling over what I want to do for the lining.
I’m leaning towards a lighter blue cotton (definitely not a white), but haven’t run into the perfect thing – so I think it’s time to go hunting for it.
Now that I know what I want to do for the bodice. And I also know that I need to go hunting for the lining, I can keep trundling forward with this project. (And also with my whole summer wardrobe infusion plan).
