1st Aid for Your Clothes
How to Fix Them Fast
By Lisa Deckert
Copyright Lisa Deckert 2011
Smashwords Edition
Introduction
You’re getting ready to go out to dinner. As you pull on your slacks, the hem catches on your foot and half of it comes loose. Now what? Don’t panic; it’s a simple fix but only if you know how. Carrying a small sewing kit and knowing how to use it can make repairs easy, especially when you travel.
The first section of this booklet will show you what to put into your kit. If you find yourself without your kit, many hotels have sewing kits available that will contain most of the supplies you might need. The second section explains how to thread a needle and prepare the thread for sewing.
The other sections explain how to make simple repairs quickly and easily. The illustrations are shown with large thread in contrasting colors to highlight the techniques. Of course, you will use matching thread and small stitches to make your repairs as inconspicuous as possible. Here’s how.
Section 1: Assembling Your Sewing Kit
You can either buy a complete sewing kit, or assemble your own kit. Kits and supplies are commonly available in fabric stores, discount stores, and travel catalogs. Just make sure your kit contains the following:
-Sewing Needles (several)
-Thread (white, black, navy, tan, and any colors you commonly wear like light blue, red, purple, etc.)
-Thimble
-Needle threader (optional)
-Small scissors
-Safety pins (small and medium)
-Buttons (Metal with a shank, 3/4 inch black, navy, and possibly tan, 3/8 inch white shirt type)
-Heat activated bonding tape; like Stitch Witchery tape (optional)
-Iron-on patches; denim, white, or tan (optional)
Figure 1: Supplies in Kit
Choosing supplies
The supplies that come in most basic sewing kits are not of the best quality, but are quite adequate for simple repairs. If you choose to assemble your own, you can choose the quality and colors that suit your own needs.
A general purpose sewing needle is called a sharp. They come in sizes 1 (very large) through 10 (small). Buy a package with an assortment of sharps, mostly medium sized. Other common types are quilting needles, which are small and easy to push through fabric, but are harder to work with and hard to thread, and embroidery or tapestry needles which are too big to use for sewing.
All-purpose thread is a polyester or cotton-wrapped polyester and is very good for most repairs. Mercerized cotton thread is also good, but usually costs a little more. Heavy duty thread is available, and it is especially good for sewing on buttons, but not required. If you tend to lose a lot of buttons, you might want to buy a spool or two of heavy duty thread. You can save luggage room by winding thread onto an index card. Cut slots on both sides and wind about five yards of each color of thread onto the card. Put the loose end into a slit in the card to keep it from unwinding.
Thimbles are for pushing a needle through the fabric. Choose a basic thimble that fits your middle finger. Most are metal, but plastic is fine to save weight.
A needle threader makes threading the needle easier. You don’t need a one if you have the eyesight and coordination to thread a needle without one, but most of us find them useful.
You’ll need scissors to cut thread. The TSA currently says that it is okay to travel with pointed scissors that have blades less than four inches long. This could change in the future, so check before traveling. Tiny manicure scissors or embroidery scissors work well. In a pinch, fingernail clippers can cut thread.
A few safety pins are always handy. You can use a medium-sized one to temporarily hold your slacks closed if you don’t have time to sew the button on right now. The tiny ones are good for pinning at a neckline if your blouse or dress tends to gape too much. And they are very useful for holding a hem in place while you repair it.
You’ll need a few spare buttons. Hopefully, you will notice a button is loose and can repair it before you lose it, but sometimes buttons just disappear. Metal buttons that don’t have holes on top but instead have an attached shank are commonly used on jeans. A basic black, tan, or navy button about 3/4 inch across with two or four holes can replace the one from a pair of slacks or a skirt. And a white shirt button probably won’t exactly match the one you lost off your shirt, but will look a lot better than a missing button. Often new clothes come with replacement buttons, so you can use them in your kit instead of buying buttons from the fabric store.
Iron-on fusing tape and patches are optional. Irons are not always available, but when they are these items can save you time and effort. The tape is used to repair hems. The patches can repair a hole, but they usually show at least a little. They are quite good at repairing a hole left by a button tearing loose, though, because the button covers the patch.
Put everything together in any sort of container you like. A zip-loc bag or cosmetic bag works well. So does a small box. Just as long as you can find it when you need it, the container doesn’t matter.
Section 2: Preparing to Sew
How to Thread a Needle
Choose a needle. If you are sewing on fine fabric like a broadcloth shirt use a smallish needle. For heavier fabric like denim or twill, you can use a slightly larger needle.
Choose a thread color, and cut a length of thread about as long as your arm for a single thread, about twice that long if you plan to sew on a button. Longer than that and the thread tends to get tangled as you try to work with it. Then, take one end of the thread between your thumb and forefinger and roll it to encourage the fibers in the thread to merge into a point. Some people moisten the end of the thread lightly to help with this.
If using a needle threader, push the wire of the threader through the hole in the needle (called the eye). Slip the end of the thread into the wire loop of the threader and pull about three inches of thread through the needle threader. Then use the threader to pull the thread through the eye of the needle until the short end of the thread is through the eye. Remove the threader.
Figure 2: Threading a needle
If you don’t want to use a needle threader, hold the thread about half-an-inch from the end between the thumb and forefinger of your non-dominant hand. Face the end toward you. Hold the needle in your dominant hand between the thumb and forefinger with the eye facing you. Close one eye, line up the needle with the end of the thread, and try to push the eye onto the thread. If you miss, straighten the thread and try again. Once the thread is through the eye, pull several inches through the needle so it won’t slip out.
Preparing the Thread
Now, you need to determine if you want a single or doubled thread. Generally, you’ll use a doubled thread to sew on a button or to fix a seam that has a lot of pressure on it, like a pocket. Otherwise, use a single thread.
To create a doubled thread, pull on the shorter end of the thread until the ends of both threads are of equal length from the needle. Smooth the two threads together and tie a simple overhand knot in the end of the two threads, wrapping the end through the hole two or three times (see below). Clip off the end of thread beyond the knot.
To use a single thread, pull about six inches of thread through the needle, and tie an overhand knot in the end of the longer thread. You will need to be careful as you sew to make sure you always have several inches of the loose thread through the needle so you don’t accidently pull the needle off.
Section 3: Sewing on a Button
Sewing on a button is the most common repair needed for clothing. Choose thread that matches your fabric as closely as possible. Start with a doubled thread (see Preparing the Thread). If you have heavy duty thread in your sewing kit, this is the time to use it.
Use the button that fell off if you still have it. Otherwise, choose the button from your kit that matches best. Check to make sure the button you choose isn’t too big to go through the buttonhole. If you’ve lost one button off the front of a shirt, you might want to remove one from the cuff or tail and use it in the more noticeable position, and then use the non-matching button on the cuff or tail.