9/4/225

I have been Volunteering at Vinnies for over Ten years now. Over the time I got to do some small sewing and repairs. Mostly sewing a button on. Today we had a skirt come in that needed a repair. We do get some garments a are broken. Depending on the fault and what needs to be done we can do a small repair or sell it as is with a note saying what’s wrong. The skirt had lots of ruffles sewn on to the skirt. Sadly, the tread was coming undone at the front. I Couldn’t just sew it down at the front counter. We didn’t have the right colour. Plus, I need to re pleat it than sew it down. I got permission to take it home and do it there. I don’t have the right colour to match. The skirt is a burnt orange. I didn’t want to run to the shops for something so small. I picked two colours that are close. I sent a text to the assistant manager asking her what colour she prefers. Eventually I got to see my mother’s threads to see if she had a colour that matched. Sadly no. The Assistant manager got back to me picking the yellow brown on the right. We went with that.

To start with I pleated the lose fabric down. Since I did this by hand it’s not perfect. People will only notice if they put a ruler up to it. I pin each pleat down making sure I don’t catch the lining.

Afterwards I took it over to my domestic. I could make excuses. I just wanted to use that machine. I only wound a small amount of thread on the bobbin. This way I waste less. I Put the outer skirt under the machine. I had to be careful sewing over the pleats, so they don’t bunch under the foot. Also, I checked the skirt for other potential issue zones. Sew over one more area. Now that the skirt is finished I just need to remember to bring it next week so we can sell it. I snapped a quick picture and sent it off to declare it done.

Since I just repaired a skirt, I should fix my own clothes. Black work pants I bought from Vinnie’s a few years ago have a seam coming apart. It’s under the zipper. Yeah, I should really fix that. So, I put some black thread though my domestic machine and got to sewing. I was playing bobbin chicken while doing this. Now that’s all done I can wear these pants safely. Repairing clothes is a great way to make things last longer.