Cash point: Save money by fixing old clothes
We don’t wear more than half of the things we own, and spend £400 a year on new outfits – but there are plenty of ways to spruce up worn clobber!
Every year, £140 million worth of clothes end up in landfill, but Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young says there’s plenty we can do to keep wearing our favourites, whether they’re attacked by moths, feeling too tight or needing a bit of a refresh.
“It’s all too easy to chuck something out, but often there’s a solution that means you could keep it – and you can do many repairs with just a needle and thread”, she says. “To learn a new technique, find a tutorial on YouTube.”
MEND A HOLE
When we get out our winter knits after being stored away during summer, often they’ve been attacked by moths – but rather than chucking them out, buy some darning yarn (it’s thicker than normal cotton) and repair them. “I darn in a contrast colour,” says Esme. “With darning, the aim of the game is usually to be as neat as you possibly can, and invisible mending is a real skill, so it’s better to just make a feature of your fix. You could choose a bold colour – like gold, for example.”
PATCH IT UP
Another option is to patch the hole. “Sew it in place with a contrasting colour to make it stand out; or for children’s clothes, you could sew a little fabric badge over the hole.” And if something rips in the seam, the easiest thing to do, according to Esme, is to take it in a little bit.
FIND SOLUTIONS IN YOUR WARDROBE
Sometimes when you want to fix or change something, you don’t even need to buy new fabric. “Several of my dresses don’t have sleeves, and I like a sleeve, so I’m going to chop a bit off the bottom of the dress and make that into part of the sleeve, then I’m adding a contrasting fabric around the bottom to get the length back, and I will use the same fabric around the sleeve”, says Esme. “That way it will absolutely look like it was meant to be like that, and it will feel like I have a new dress. I can either get that fabric from the end of a roll at a haberdashery shop or online, or I can even root through my wardrobe and use something else to use to make the sleeves.”
CHANGE THE SIZE
If you lose weight, you can still wear your favourite trousers, thanks to some nifty tweaks. “Take some fabric out of the back or side seam”, says Esme. “Or if it has a pleat in the front you can make the pleat bigger, or put a pleat in the front if there isn’t one already.”
Making something bigger, on the other hand, requires inserting some fabric. “Say you have a skirt you love that is now too small, put panels down the sides to make it fit again”, says Esme. “Again, make a feature of it, so make it look like that was how it was supposed to be. With trousers, you can make them look a bit like a dinner suit, where you have the satin stripe down the side, and expand that up into the waistband.”
MAKE A BUTTON STAY
Most of us will have a go at sewing on a button, but, all too often, they’re loose again a week later. “To secure it really well, it’s important to start off with a knot and do a few back stitches before you put the button on”, explains Esme. “Then go round and round through the button hole like you normally would. Once you’re happy it’s secure, come out on the right side and wind the thread around underneath the button, then do some more back stitches through that.”
She also adds that changing the buttons on clothing is a clever way to make an item look more modern and fashionable.
GIVE IT NEW LIFE BY CHANGING THE COLOUR
If something looks a bit tired, liven it up by dying it. “It’s very easy to dye clothes in your washing machine,” says Esme.
But she warns that synthetic fabrics like polyester don’t take dye as well as natural fabrics like cotton, so check the label before you try.
“Also, because most thread is synthetic, it will come out looking a different colour – but that can look great, it’s like the yellow stitching on blue jeans,” says Esme. “Make sure what you’re dying is clean first, so the dye takes everywhere. Also, why not try buying a cheap, plain T-shirt and tie-dying it – it’s on-trend and very easy.
“It’s also crucial that you run your washing machine, again with nothing in it, after dying, otherwise your next wash could still contain some residue from the dye,” warns Esme.
MAKE AN OLD SHIRT LOOK NEW AGAIN
“Say you had a favourite shirt, but the bottom of the sleeve has been damaged or stained, you can just shorten the sleeve to make it three-quarter length, or short-sleeved,” suggests Esme. “If the collar is really worn, take it off and flip it over so the underneath becomes the top, and you can do the same with cuffs.”
USE THE RIGHT KIT
FOR THE BEST RESULTS
It can be tempting to use the quick-fix iron-on webbing to hem something, but Esme says stitching is always better – “Stitching is much stronger, so it will last.” And how do you go about choosing the right needle for the job? “I love to sew with a fine needle, but how fine it is depends on how thick your fabric is, so a fine needle is good usually, but for something like denim, you’d need a much thicker needle to get through the fabric”, says Esme.
GO TOELESS
Finally, there are certain things that you don’t need to worry about, even if you’re a Great British Sewing Bee judge –“I’ve got lots of tights with holes in the toes,” says Esme. “But I just wear them, because nobody knows about the holes but me!”