I really don’t know the first thing about sewing, but the further I go into this green challenge, the more I’m realizing its importance as a skill, not just a hobby. If I buy a coat from a vintage store and it’s missing a button, I need to know how to sew one on; if I cut up an old bed sheet to make some extra hankies, it helps if I can sew up the sides to prevent fraying; and if a sock starts to get a hole in the heel, I’d like to at least try to darn the thing before using it as a cleaning rag.
I already have a little mending kit and can thread a needle, as well as sew a fairly straight line in either a backstitch or a running stitch. I don’t know how to use a proper machine yet, but I think I’ll stick with whatever I can do by hand in the name of conserving electricity.
So, does anyone out there have any tips or advice? Any online guides that might help me learn the basics? And are buttons as complicated as they look, because I’ve got a few on my coat that are dangling by a thread (quite literally) and might drop off any second.
Photo courtesy of Julie K in Taiwan on Flickr
Posted by gettinggreen
