Important tip about darning with wool yarn!! If your yarn is superwash, it will NOT felt, at least not in the way that wool does by default. Superwash wool is treated so that it can be machine washable without shrinking and felting. If you have a really fluffy hairy yarn, the fibers may sort of lock up and tangle a bit, but it will not genuinely felt. Just a tip in case anyone is aiming for truly felted wool :)
@@MorganDonner I'm sure they'll still hold together great :) not much room to move around in a shoe! I'm tempted to find my own sort of earth tones rainbow yarn now..
@@VermisTerraeIt doesn't in my experience. I have a pair of mittens knitted in superwash, and they kind of just become more and more threadbare. The fibres just wear away and become small balls of lint when I wear them. They also feel a bit plastic-y. My other (regularly worn) mittens are all slightly felted inside the hand.
@@MorganDonner It is possible to lightly felt superwash for a repair. I've done it. You'll need some really hot water and rough agitation. Basically put on a pair of gloves to protect your hands from the really hot water and give the area around the patch some good rubbing like you're working stain treatment into something, only do it repeatedly for several minutes. Then carefully roll the socks in a towel, squeeze to get a lot of the water out, reshape (if you've got sock blockers they work great) and let them dry. As people have noted, you won't get "real" felt this way, but I've found it sturdy enough to get more miles on my socks when I totally forgot the yarn I was using for a repair is superwash.
That's what I was thinking on the red (pants) one. If you can't match the fabric really close, make sure it's clear it's a patch by using a different color family.
I am a Lolita (a person who wears a particular high end variety of Japanese fashion) and the socks I wear are very expensive, limited edition, and collectible. I am tickled with your method of sock repair so I can extend the life of my unique and precious socks!! 💜🦄
Seriously! The price we pay for OTKs, I need them to last as long as possible🥲💕 And also for dresses we are particularly attached to and will never get rid of, embroidery is a neat way to make pieces more personal
Several years ago, I stepped off the bus, slipped on some ice, and ripped a hole in the knee of my new jeans. (And scraped the skin off that knee too.) As a quilter, I took some of my quilting fabric scraps and made a couple of square patches which I overlapped over the hole and appliquéd there. These then became my favourite jeans for as long as they lasted, because I had personalized them in this way.
I have an old pair of overalls that I wore in my animal science class in high school. After high school, I wore them as part of a country girl Halloween costume. At some point, I tore a hole near the back pocket. Not having an appropriate patch for hiding the repair, I went for a colorful patch sewn on with colorful thread. Then I started adding other patches in other spots.
I believe in refusing the fish decoration on his breeches, Mr. Donner was attempting to avoid the inevitable "cod piece" jokes from his mates. 😆 One option moving forward is to cut matching patches of a strong material and stitch them on over the outside of both inner thighs, then quilt that down to the underlying breeches. (You can cut a "filler" piece for the area where the fabric is missing and baste it down to the external patch before quilting to keep the whole thing feeling smooth and even.) This creates a strong reinforced area that will prevent future tears in the fabric on either side, and will look a lot more "intentional" (like a reinforced gusset or friction guards) as if that was the way the breeches were meant to be in the first place.
Agree completely! I didn't think specifically of "cod piece" jokes, but I do know that men would DEFINITELY be making fun. Absolutely a smart idea to avoid any special attention to the crotch/groin area. I don't understand why Morgan wants to draw attention to his groin area on the pants. It should be about function instead of style.
I’m sitting watching with my 4 year old son, and he tunes in and out of what you’re doing. But he looks up and he goes. I like her, she’s beautiful, she makes stuff.😊
I love the rainbow thread for mending. It makes it look intentionally obvious, so you're not stuck trying to perfectly match thread. Instead you're making art from an oops 😁 It all turned out wonderful
I made a long skirt out of old cotton curtains and then promptly tore a hole in them walking past a fence with a metal piece sticking out. I had kept the scraps of course, so I was able to find a little patch that matched the pattern on the skirt and cover the hole with a sewn on patch. I used the teeny tiny stitches where you only lift a single thread of the fabric so the patch is almost invisible. You can only see it if the sun shines through the fabric, or if you get up really close. I know where it is, and even I had trouble finding it. My hoarding fabric habit came in handy, so I don't have any incentive to stop. 😁
The edit of Morgan saying "I have my theories" about the way the blanket got holes and then the cut to Mr. Donner sitting down with a tool belt full of pokey things was *chef's kiss*
I think the red dress deserves a solid 10 out of 10. It looks like a whole new garment...I love it! Definitely repeat the flowers on the other underarm. I have always despised mending, so thank you for making it look fun. Next time something has a hole in it, I'll view it as a creative opportunity.
I don't have any cats, but I have a dog I refer to as the most feline canine to ever exist 😂 her name is Phoebe, she is an Australian Cattle Dog, and she is the DEFINITION of "sass". Her brother, Cowboy (also an ACD), is also top-notch at being in my way!
I loved it when she said that. It was sick a cute interaction haha. My sisters dogs always try to lie on top of the clothes or towels that they’re trying to fold that just came out of the dryer 😂 I think they like the warmth lol or in this case, just being involved 😂
I’m honestly getting solarpunk vibes from your repairs. There isn’t a cohesive aesthetic for solarpunk yet but we’ve seen punk and medieval on this channel so it just comes through.
@@MorganDonnerSolarpunk (the art aesthetic) is in the same kinda category as steampunk. But instead of the vintage style and depending on steam energy, it's more modern/futuristic with sleek technological design that highly prioritizes sustainability and working with the land. Think functional green towers, Solar panels, and hydropowered hovercrafts. But Solarpunk, the movement, is basically just energy and waste consciousness with a helpful handful of "My community deserves to flourish" type punk attitudes usually exhibited through no money trades, fixing public property, flower bombing (for local news), food drives, clothing repair popups, etc
In addition to the other comments, I'll note that the solarpunk genre/aesthetic is also part of the larger "hope-punk" alternative to grim-dark dystopian future vibes. It's meant to provide inspiration that, if we adopt the right mentality and practices, we can come through the current climate crisis having learned, adapted and grown as a species into something communal and sustainable, rather than devolved into a dead-end Lord of the Flies/Mad Max/Blade Runner extinction track. It'd definitely my preferred post-apocalyptic vibe.
Visible mending can be very fun. Personally for reenactment when I fix holes I just reinforce the edges with red thread as if it was a wound! Very fun to do and explain how you got stabbed by the pointy end of a sword lol
I really appreciated being reminded that mending can be visible and fun. I usually find myself fixing the inner thigh of my jeans trying to make it look smooth and invisible, and that kind of takes the fun out of mending I guess? You asked what kind of mending we'd have liked to see, so that would be my wish: some more tips, tricks and pointers on how to fix up the inner thigh area of jeans.
Do we all have the same inner thigh/crotch area of jeans problem? Perhaps we all have mighty fencing thighs that the jeans companies haven't yet embraced...?
I have trouble finding jeans that fit, so I currently have three pairs with holes in the inner thigh that I refuse to throw away. I have hardly a clue as to how to fix them without the patch feeling like it is rubbing a hole in my actual thigh.
I stopped the vid to tell you i used to repair the ripped crotch in my husband's pants so often sometimes nightly. i told him for every time he did not wear his belt so his crotch would not rip i would start embroidering silk ribbon flowers on his pants. i did it. silk ribbon flowers, frogs what ever i could think of. *eye rolling emoji* he loved it. Said he would get to work look down and see a teeny tiny frog or lady bug or rose near his hem and it made him happy. I forgot that until i was just watching this. It was a good memory thank you! so all this to say... you should put a teeny tiny lil fish on there. Small enough to think he should pick it off then when he does he realizes what it really is 😂😂😂 fun (ok ok maybe in the same color as pants so only he will notice.
Great ideas! I learned some new things :) I wanted to suggest Japanese Sashiko embroidery to you for repair reinforcing, esp. on fabric that is weaker or needs more sturdiness like an inner thigh. My hubs blows the knees out of his pants and it is amazing for that sort of fix. It *is* decorative, but you can blend it really easily (or not!) and it's really really tough after. It's a historical method used traditionally by fishermen on their kimono, but later gained popularity and is used even today along with other kinds of repair like Boro. I have to admit I have fallen in love with it because it's so easy and so versatile. I also wanted to say I love the first dress you're wearing in this video! My favorite is the star patch. SO CUTE. Thanks for sharing!
the way you reconstructed the frayed corner on the green dress by adding a piece of fabric and darning everything together is really clever, I'd never thought of that ! And the big embroidered flower is really beautiful, it looks like a sacred lotus
Heya Morgan, This isnt anything to do with this video, but i wanted to say something whilst you are still reading comments. I absolutely adore your videos!! Theyve instilled confidence in me that whatever i set my mind to do, i can do it and without feeling guilty. When i first started historical sewing I didnt have any disposable income and i felt that I couldnt take up this hobby, because i couldnt afford the historically accurate materials. I followed your tutorial for a renaissance shirt and i wear it to death. It is the first piece of clothing I made and I still love it to this day. I love the relaxed and comfy attitude you have to sewing, and the time and effort you take to make these videos are really appreciated!! Thank you so much for all you do, and Im sure im gonna love this video!!
@MorganDonner while I am not making historical clothing rn, can't figure it out, I am making jeans with a button fly! Hand stitched too, I don't know what I am thinking....
Morgan, I made a circle shirt after your circles exploration video, and I wear it all the time! The way you did the neck binding was so helpfully illustrative, and the sleeves look so cute when I wear it with an apron dress I made. You have also inspired me to wear more jumper style dresses, and really love it. Hooray for Morgan!!
@@MorganDonnerrelated mainly in the hope that you see this: You kept mentioning things getting damaged in the wash. Sometimes you can prevent things like that tie tearing out by tying it into a bow or knot and inverting the garment so it doesn't get caught or tangled on things, and anything that's too delicate for that can be washed in a laundry bag. It would probably be fine to make your own zipper or drawstring bag out of a thin material, but I usually just buy premade mesh or net ones. If you wear underwired bras, there are even ones with plastic cage-discs built in to protect them. Since a friend blew my mind with this revelation I can now fearlessly get away with washing most of my delicates with my sturdy stuff 😮😮😮
I love how you see your clothing as everyday objects to be used and worn, not saved away in a closet somewhere. The visible mending just adds to the story of the garment. And I LOVE love your hair and what you’re doing to it! Every video it looks differently and I’m here for it!
I just realised I would happily watch videos of people mending their clothes...!! the satisfaction! especially if there's some unexpected and creative art involved. Fuck consumerism and bring me the content of people caring about things! This video was a nice mix of footage, explaining and learning, creativity, experimenting and a little bit of just chatting. 10/10 would watch again 😅
Lovely video. I mend a lot having several children. My mother always made such beautiful mending. Almost completely invisible or very visible and decorative. It was a joy having a stain, hole or something on clothes as mother let us choose how she would mend it. Still remember a yellow butterfly she embroidered on a sky blue dress for me to fix a hole in it. For my children I often make patches out of different fabrics with cute animals on to mend holes. I actually liked your mending of the red garment a lot. The technique was inspiring and I will use it myself before this day is over as the pile is growing and has at least two pants with similar holes in them, pants belonging to a male creature not too fond of cute patches with puppies on his clothes (why that is so I cannot imagine...) Thank you for another very well worth watching video!
I appreciate seeing someone mending holes that occurred through actual wear and use rather than the seemingly more common “I quite obviously cut a whole in this pair of jeans so I could show you how to mend it”. Thank you ❤
19:05 "....MA'AM" is sooo relatable for a fellow cat mom haha, They just loove being all up in your business especially when dealing with fabric! P.S I love your videos Morgan, thank you for always being a source of inspiration as well as motivation to get things done!
Perfect timing! I just put one of my favorite tshirts on the mending pile like 8 months ago! ;) The star patches you put on your sheets are my favorite because they're least likely to cause sensory sensitivity unpleasantness -- I can see why you like the more handmade ones better but I so appreciate the variety of different options you showed for different fabric situations and preferences.
I don't ordinarily think commenting on someone's appearance is polite, but someone needs to tell you- your hair at the beginning of the video is gorgeous!
But you're delivering a kind, thoughtful compliment about something she took time to do, not just making a random comment! I think thats always nice to receive.
I too am a little squicked out by comments on people’s appearance, but complimenting aspects which a person intentionally wears seem less problematic. Especially for UA-cam creators who literally have done videos about hairstyles… Anyhow, the curls on the sides are really cute.
@@MorganDonnerI want to know about that puck with the elastic that you used when mending the green dress. Have you ever mended a sock heel? Would that require a darning egg? I have no clue how that would work.
@fredericapanon207 she is using a brand called "speedweave". There are other brands and some antique types out there. Instead of an expensive "darning egg" look at your local craft store for a wooden egg or just round wooden shape. Cheaper !
FYI that rainbow yarn was in what is called a “Hank” (when it’s twirled up like that. A skein is the oval shape yarn is usually sold in in stores. Yarns in hanks are usually made into a “cake” by using a swift and yarn winder, as a Hank is pretty unusable in that state. Your hand method worked well! But just wanted to let you know there are some tools to help depending how often you use yarn in hanks. Love your vids! - an obsessive crocheter
@@jirupDang, I didn't even know that was possible! I turn all my hanks into balls before I knit; I think it gives me a feel for the yarn even before I start using it!
@@MorganDonnerIf this comes up again (having a hank rather than a skein or ball) you may be able to ask Mr. Donner to turn you a "nostepinne" on a wood lathe. It's a traditional Norwegian tool for winding balls of yarn. My SO crochets, and i recently made her one for christmas and she's really appreciated it. (It's basically a smooth dowel with a handle portion, so not a complicated project)
I really need to learn how to darn socks - my son is really rough on socks! It's hard to pick a favorite, because each of them has a unique functionality. If I have to pick one, it's the sheet repair. It reminded me of watching my grandma make repairs to bedding, jeans and her favorite tops. I still have a couple dish towels that have her repair work (I don't use them because the fabric is pretty fragile after all these years, but I have them none the less).
I love your embroidery! And I love that you embraced the fact that the patches would be visible and made a feature of them! As my late husband used to say “A contrast is better than a poor match” (although that was usually while he was trying to sell shoes to a woman who’d bought a weird colour outfit for a wedding and wanted new shoes to match). Will the patch on your husband’s trousers be hidden by a tunic? I worry for him that from a distance, that slightly darker colour might just look like he’s had an “accident” or spilled something on himself. 😂
Yeah, I can see the wisdom of the contrast, something I'll try to remember for the future! You are on the money - the tunic he wears with this goes to his knees anyways, so neither of us were terribly stressed about the appearance of the patch.
not knowing one bit how to sew myself but still enjoying the vibes with my weekend morning mug of tea. however this does make me want to find a way to help my dad repair his favorite old pair of jeans with a hole in the butt lol someone finally called him out on it at the grocery store and now he's a bit sad he can't wear them out because they're the most comfortable pair he has.
Having two full sets of sheets so laundry day isn't such a rush... that's the dream... Recently repaired my top sheet. One little patch of purple plaid. Very cute.
@@lizzybeary I'm still recovering financially from a thankfully short bought of homelessness. My pennies are pinched at every turn. Thankfully, I do have enough blankets to manage the cold.
You can make Mr. Donner´s pant repair a 10 by just dying them a darker color, like deep purple or black =) Enjoyed the video, especially since I have mending of my own to get to....🌈🌈 the rainbow will be carried on in my home 🏡 🏡
One of my fave dresses had a tie like the green dress and the second time I washed it, one of the ties got caught on a mystery something and ripped the fabric around where it was secured. I had specifically examined the stitching when I bought it to make sure it didn't need any finishing, and sure enough the stitches themselves were intact. So, with loose stitching ruled out I reasoned it was just from the ties flopping around in the wash. Now when I'm washing such a dress, I put it in a mesh bag, hasn't done me wrong since!
Literally _same!_ mine are 5 feet away from me and I've been glaring at them, like "why aren't you fixed already" As if the mending fairy didn't visit overnight to repair them as I slept 😂
I used to hate repairing, but since I got the "speedweve" thingy it became sooo much fun. As you did, I bought some colorful thread (cotton thread) to fix the (numerous) holes in my kids' clothes. Yeah, kids' clothes are cheap and tore easily (especially with my kids lol), but I always hate buying (even second-hand) stuff when I can repair it. Now I really like fixing those, with colors. And the "click" made by the speedeweve when you switch the hooks is extremely satisfying. I'd love to see more of how do you make the embroidery stuff with flowers. Maybe a tutorial on how to start with fixing stuff with embroidery?
The problem with the sock repairs is that you have built layers that were not there before. Also you have added a woven (non-stretch) element to the knit fabric of the sock, so the knit part will pull in a different way, particularly horizontally, which will be noticeable. These are just the weaknesses of darning knits, so you can score it higher. The Swiss darn will be more flexible and inherently more elastic. The sheets are fun, and you did a really nice job of keeping the satin stitches from pulling while you were sewing them. Using the heat and bond under the applique fabric is perfect for providing that stability to keep the machine stitching from pulling too tight. On the pants, you did a really good job. I suspect that the real problem is that the patch is not the same fabric, just a close match. Also, if you are in a bit more of a bind for time, when you are pinning the initial patch, you can insert a piece of cardboard between the layers of the pants so that you can pin only through one layer on the first pass. Another option would have been to put the patch in place with boro (sashiko) type stitches so that you are weaving over the raw edges but not adding that third layer. Ask Mr. Morgan Donner if he notices the third layer of fabric. The sash repair is really nice. The flower is fun, but the off-center location is really jarring on camera, which makes think anyone who sees it going to notice the position of it long before they notice the good details and workmanship.
fantastic timing, I've noticed that the clip I use to hold my service dog's leash when I need 2 hands has caused tiny little holes that would look moth eaten if it wasn't for the fact that all my shirts have the same holes in the same spot. definitely going to on the look for that tiny loom.
Hey!!! your videos have brought me much joy over the years and I was honestly sad when all your hair was cut off but you have ROCKED every stage. This hairstyle looks INCREDIBLE on you as does everything. Your content is amazing
I, personally, love your "Hair rings" in the last section !? At first I thought they were earrings, but realized they must be inserted/braided into the hair as they are behind your ears ! New style. Huzzah !
I can't tell you how happy I was to see one of my favorite sewists upload a visible mending video! I love visible mending and love seeing more examples and more people talking about it. Thank you so much!!
i loved the star patches, and as someone who is discovering hand-sewing anew (sashiko, slow stitching and boro keep my attention atm) , i would have tried hand stitching the edges of the big stars. That would take longer then machine sewing but would ad the personal touch you said was missing. The Flower repairs look so cute too.
So timely! I found a hole near the hem of one of my favorite (homemade) skirts recently and have been dithering over how to fix it. Thanks for the suggestions and motivation to do the thing!
If you still have some of the fabric leftover, you can sew on a patch with an invisible stitch (the one where you only take one thread of the fabric on the good side) and it's bascially impossible to see.
I love your hairstyles in this video! They're so pretty! Also though this video is super helpful. I have so much stuff that needs mended that I haven't gotten around to yet. 😭
I loved the sock mend. Reminds me why I weave plain weave on my rigid heddle loom with fun yarns. You never know what you are going to end up with. The red dress was Super Cute. Loved the flower designs. Can really see it being added to just for funsies. Hair rings. Fantastic.
One thing about superwash yarn is that, while it doesn't felt, it's typically not as durable as non-superwash yarns. This is because wool straight from the sheep has scales that can attach (or felt) together that give the wool a rough texture and also make wool a durable fiber. When wool is superwash treated, it is typically placed in an acid bath or given a coating that strips the scales from the wool. This results in the wool becoming softer and machine washable (though you might not want to put it in the dryer) but also less durable. So, if you're looking for something that you can throw in the washing machine, go with superwash, and if you're looking for something that will last longer and don't mind hand washing, go with non-superwash.
I had never heard the term "swiss darning" before, but it is absolutely the technique I've been looking for to fix the tiny holes that develop at the bottoms of my t-shirts.
If you have a small hole in anything upper garment that is knit, just using that same gather stitch the you started with on the sock, but in a matching color...you can draw it closed enough to blend into the knit. Great for cashmere that the moths have found or cotton knit that the dog has found. My Aunt also used to make little bugs in her darning holes so she had bugs all over her outdoor gardening clothes....to cute!
me not 6 minutes in looking up and buying a speedweve mini loom because oh my gosh that looks so useful!! I always try to properly darn my socks and such but they come out such a mess I know I'm going to use it so much! Thank you so much Morgan!! Also, the weaving in the ends by pre weaving the needle then threading the yarn is something I do all the time as a crocheter. You can be really specific and make sure you're putting it exactly where you want it, without worrying about the small yarns unthreading as you go!
"Patch and pray" 😂 yes! I can definitely agree with that way of living with my creations. I wish I had the gift or enough practice to know why a garment wasn't fitting quite right, but alas 😅 I, too, shall patch and pray!
Pretty much right when the pandemic started, I replaced all of my jeans pockets with pockets I'd made that could fit my phone and also were made of fun patterned fabric. And then I proceded not to wear pants for like three years. By the time I needed to wear pants again, the pants I repocketed didn't fit any more. So, I really haven't been able to enjoy them. But I still have them because the pockets make them so special. Maybe one day I will be able to donate them and the person who gets them will love the pockets some percentage as much as I do.
This just inspired me. I have a Macho Man tshirt that has a hole in it. I think instead of just sewing it up I might embroider a little star there like the stars Macho had on his trunks. 😎 OOOHH YEAH!!
if the shirt ever breaks beyond repair and you want to keep Macho Man, you can cut him out and sew on something else (another t shirt, a tote bag, etc.)
idk if anyone has told you @morgandonner, but the rings in your hair are soooo RAD! i just kept looking at them cuz I've never seen such large rings in someones hair that way, its AWESOME
For dresses with delicate elements like waist ties or embroidery or metal fastenings, I like to machine wash them inside of a pillowcase, so they can mind their business and not get dramatic on me. Loved this video!!
Whoo! I love mending! I mostly do socks and wool jumpers. I do have a speedweave, but none of my holes are ever large enough to justify it. I do use a similar technique on those, except the joy of challenge is in matching the colour (I get embroidery cotton) and getting the weave as fine as possible, especially in visible mends. The effect of the rainbow yarn on the speedweave is amazing!
A day ago I accidentally created a rip on a jacket I was seam ripping to make bigger. Reminded of Morgan's video I decided to have fun and since the jacket is all vampire themed I made it look like a slice with blood coming out
Loved both pieces of your embroidery on the pink dress. I bought some denim jeans online without realising they had a “distressed” tear on the top of one leg. At a glance it actuslly looked like I had spilt yogurt or something on it, so I embroidered a little flower and leaves over the top. V cute! My mum used to talk about how they would take sheets that had worn in the centre, split them in half and stitch the unworn outer edges back together to extend the life.
I've been on an insane decorative (and non-decorative) mending tear, so this is incredible! After watching your videos, I literally only finish my braids with finger-looped cords, and I have a feeling this might make a similar impact.
I taught myself to darn a few months ago and I'm so glad I did, it's a really relaxing activity and it's so nice to be able to wear things again and know you fixed them, I highly recommend trying it if you can!
You could add vines and make the flower then symmetrical. And the green and blue tones used could tie into the embroidery on the arm pit area. 😊 great video
The flower on the pink dress looks great as an asymmetrical decoration. It caught my eye right away and I thought, "How cute to do it that way!" I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one who embroiders patches. I have several shirts and skirts that may have oddly placed vines and flowers but they sure are cute! Another technique that is sort of decorative that I have used is when I've had to put gussets in armholes. I had 3 lovely flowered shirts that had just started to bind under the arm as I put on some weight. I didn't want to do away with the shirts as they still fit everywhere else but I knew I would never be able to match the pattern. So I just took solid colored fabric that matched one color in the pattern and put in some comfortable gussets. And while the armpit part of clothing is not on view a lot, I think it looks very intentional when you can see it.
Tips on darning socks with Swiss Darning/duplicate stitch. 1) Don't wait for the actual hole to develop. When the ball of the foot or the heel or wherever you wear through your socks gets down to 'threads still in the knit pattern', THAT's the point at which darning is the easy fix because you have the yarn path to follow. 2) Use a darning yarn that is no larger than the material of the existing sock if possible. That will keep the mend from feeling so 'lumpy' underfoot. 3) woven patches will always feel denser than duplicate stitch darns (due to having two layers - warp and weft plus the more flexible nature of knit fabric in general). 4) I noticed that the edges of your darned area pull in a bit. When moving from one row to the other, leave a tiny (very tiny) bit of a loop of slack in the yarn as you move to the next row. It should be maybe a half a knit stitch worth of yarn - just enough to let the darn move the same way as the surrounding knit stitches. But what an excellent tutorial for the 'weaving in' and 'patch'. One thing I've learned to do is to keep a 'patches worth' of fabric or a couple yards of sock yarn from each of my projects. The colors of the original may be more faded, but at least I'm 100% sure the materials match.
This is exactly the video I've been needing! I have a tiny hole in one of my shirts. I haven't even worn the shirt that much, but who knows what its life was like before I got it.
For the pink dress: I think it is great that it isn't centered and that you did the reenforcrment only on one side so far. That way it looks absolutely intentional. And I really love both embroideries. So beautiful! For the hose/pants: if it really bothers you, maybe put a fake patch on one or two other spots with the same red fabric you used for the repair. That way it might become a design element instead of a repair.
When you were talking about Mr Donner's breeches tearing along the grain, I knew immediately what you meant. Several years ago, I bought this really pretty flower patterned cotton fabric and made a whole dress out of it. I was really proud of how it came out! Then I washed it... and not only did the fabric start falling apart at the seams, the print faded by half, and it became threadbare in several spots. Needless to say, I only got a few wears out of that dress before it fell apart entirely, and I never again made the mistake of skipping the prewash step.
Lovely work Morgan! What i do with my ties before I wash the garment is to loosely knot the ties together before you put them in the washer. They won't get tangled around another garment and tear out.
This video inspired me to fetch ONE item from my mending pile. The neckline n shoulder seams on my teenager's fave graphic tee had separated and i was able to "mostly" invisibly stitch/mend them together again. 😅 I showed her the tee shirt after mending, and she didnt realize at 1st that the shirt had ever been damaged. 😮😂😊 yay for Mme Morgan's mending magic! ❤🎉❤
My thought on the pants was you could embrace the color difference. Either use that material to sew on a few more fake patches all over to make it look like it was intended. Or change up colors on the other patches to make it colorful. That original patch would just get lost among them all and be considered a design feature. It's like the shirts that get a stain on them. Add more stains all over and outline them to make it look like a map of tropical islands. No one knows it wasn't intentional.
Glorious Kitty Interference at 18:58. We appreciate a Big Helper. This has inspired me to get to work on my mending basket, and given some great ideas for decorative repairs
I love your darning/mending videos so much! I always just get out my own little pile of stuff and mend with you, it's so great. You should do some more mending videos
This is so useful! My dog loves jumping on me, but he has nails and tears up my clothings. My favorite sweater has some holes in it so I will be trying these suggestions
My latest favorite way to hide permanent stains is to sew a decorative buttons on top. I got bleach on the skirt of a whimsical sundress, so I just added buttons, with a few extra to make it feel balanced and intentional. I have a large button collection, and this works well for those extra fun buttons that you only have one or two of.
I personally absolutely adore embroidery and re-weaving as repair tactics, and will attempt to fix a pair of jeans that has started to fray along the thigh seam in a similar manner to the dress seam, it seems like very appropriate for my purposes at least. I also have a pair of those jeans with a top flop in the front with a little pocket (I forget the word for it every time) that has ripped in the front of the leg due to the mighty thigh disagreeing with the "fashionable hole" in that area, creating a canyon all the way down to the knee... which I took the liberty of turning into a nice lace up feature by simply adding eyelets along the sides of, very pretty with different ribbons through there and slightly size adjustable as well!
Ooh I didn't make that connection with how I could repair my jeans! Thank you, I was already gonna rewatch this (and have it saved) for my repairing projects to get ideas and learn how. But now I'm gonna rewatch tonight with that idea in mind! Thanks! Are you talking about overalls? Like the green ones Morgan made in a video from 6 months ago? (That's definitely on my project list! 🤩) And OMG I love the lace up idea!! Heck yes! That's gotta look so cute!! 🤯 Thank you for sharing so much in your comment, this and the video have me overflowing with creativity I can apply practically!! ❤
Also, this part made me giggle, I love how you phrased this! : _the mighty thigh disagreeing with the "fashionable hole" in that area, creating a canyon all the way down to the knee_ 😂 I've stayed away from the "distressed" stuff, I will make holes in my own clothes in my own time, thanks very much 😅 Cuz often what I'd find in my size (plus) would be cheap enough that adding any distressing/holes would weaken the fabric enough that it wouldn't last nearly as long ☹️ Like, I'm not looking to buy disposable clothing 😑 Anyway! Thanks again for sharing!! 🤩❤️
Important tip about darning with wool yarn!! If your yarn is superwash, it will NOT felt, at least not in the way that wool does by default. Superwash wool is treated so that it can be machine washable without shrinking and felting. If you have a really fluffy hairy yarn, the fibers may sort of lock up and tangle a bit, but it will not genuinely felt. Just a tip in case anyone is aiming for truly felted wool :)
Yeah, I realized that after I uploaded the video and was hunting down links 😭, thanks for explaining, I'll pin this.
@@MorganDonner I'm sure they'll still hold together great :) not much room to move around in a shoe! I'm tempted to find my own sort of earth tones rainbow yarn now..
@@VermisTerraeIt doesn't in my experience. I have a pair of mittens knitted in superwash, and they kind of just become more and more threadbare. The fibres just wear away and become small balls of lint when I wear them. They also feel a bit plastic-y.
My other (regularly worn) mittens are all slightly felted inside the hand.
I wonder if the type of superwash process makes a difference...
@@MorganDonner It is possible to lightly felt superwash for a repair. I've done it. You'll need some really hot water and rough agitation. Basically put on a pair of gloves to protect your hands from the really hot water and give the area around the patch some good rubbing like you're working stain treatment into something, only do it repeatedly for several minutes. Then carefully roll the socks in a towel, squeeze to get a lot of the water out, reshape (if you've got sock blockers they work great) and let them dry. As people have noted, you won't get "real" felt this way, but I've found it sturdy enough to get more miles on my socks when I totally forgot the yarn I was using for a repair is superwash.
The old "make it worse" strategy is one of my favorites too. "This doesn't match.... So let's make it not match with more intent!".
That's what I was thinking on the red (pants) one. If you can't match the fabric really close, make sure it's clear it's a patch by using a different color family.
I am a Lolita (a person who wears a particular high end variety of Japanese fashion) and the socks I wear are very expensive, limited edition, and collectible. I am tickled with your method of sock repair so I can extend the life of my unique and precious socks!! 💜🦄
Seriously! The price we pay for OTKs, I need them to last as long as possible🥲💕 And also for dresses we are particularly attached to and will never get rid of, embroidery is a neat way to make pieces more personal
Several years ago, I stepped off the bus, slipped on some ice, and ripped a hole in the knee of my new jeans. (And scraped the skin off that knee too.) As a quilter, I took some of my quilting fabric scraps and made a couple of square patches which I overlapped over the hole and appliquéd there. These then became my favourite jeans for as long as they lasted, because I had personalized them in this way.
Ouch to your knee, but I love that it made jeans with a memory!
I have an old pair of overalls that I wore in my animal science class in high school. After high school, I wore them as part of a country girl Halloween costume. At some point, I tore a hole near the back pocket. Not having an appropriate patch for hiding the repair, I went for a colorful patch sewn on with colorful thread. Then I started adding other patches in other spots.
miss morgan's marvelous mending made my morning
So musical ❤🎵
Masterfully mentioned!
@@persiswynter6357 merci!
and this in turn made mine
mmmmmmm
I believe in refusing the fish decoration on his breeches, Mr. Donner was attempting to avoid the inevitable "cod piece" jokes from his mates. 😆 One option moving forward is to cut matching patches of a strong material and stitch them on over the outside of both inner thighs, then quilt that down to the underlying breeches. (You can cut a "filler" piece for the area where the fabric is missing and baste it down to the external patch before quilting to keep the whole thing feeling smooth and even.) This creates a strong reinforced area that will prevent future tears in the fabric on either side, and will look a lot more "intentional" (like a reinforced gusset or friction guards) as if that was the way the breeches were meant to be in the first place.
Oh man, I didn't even think of that, that would have made it even better! 😆
lol before even reading any comments when Morgan was explaining fish patch I just started shouting "a cod piece!!"
Agree completely! I didn't think specifically of "cod piece" jokes, but I do know that men would DEFINITELY be making fun. Absolutely a smart idea to avoid any special attention to the crotch/groin area. I don't understand why Morgan wants to draw attention to his groin area on the pants. It should be about function instead of style.
Hey!!! I came here to make that joke!
Thanks! I have a pair of my husband’s pants that need that repair.
I’m sitting watching with my 4 year old son, and he tunes in and out of what you’re doing. But he looks up and he goes. I like her, she’s beautiful, she makes stuff.😊
This is the sweetest
He's a keeper!
Awwww 🥰
@@Tentaclestudio1yikes
@@spicybeantofu oops... oh hell no! I replied to the wrong message- I thought I was replying to the message about the woman with the sweet HUSBAND.
I love the rainbow thread for mending. It makes it look intentionally obvious, so you're not stuck trying to perfectly match thread. Instead you're making art from an oops 😁
It all turned out wonderful
Agreed! I was just gifted some rainbow yarn and I can't wait to use it to mend some stuff!
Yes, the plaid effect was great!
I made a long skirt out of old cotton curtains and then promptly tore a hole in them walking past a fence with a metal piece sticking out. I had kept the scraps of course, so I was able to find a little patch that matched the pattern on the skirt and cover the hole with a sewn on patch. I used the teeny tiny stitches where you only lift a single thread of the fabric so the patch is almost invisible. You can only see it if the sun shines through the fabric, or if you get up really close. I know where it is, and even I had trouble finding it. My hoarding fabric habit came in handy, so I don't have any incentive to stop. 😁
The edit of Morgan saying "I have my theories" about the way the blanket got holes and then the cut to Mr. Donner sitting down with a tool belt full of pokey things was *chef's kiss*
I think the red dress deserves a solid 10 out of 10. It looks like a whole new garment...I love it! Definitely repeat the flowers on the other underarm. I have always despised mending, so thank you for making it look fun. Next time something has a hole in it, I'll view it as a creative opportunity.
I agree! It was already a personal, handmade item, but now it *really* looks one of a kind!
I feel exactly this too! Somehow I’d never thought about making mending creative before.
I agree with the red dress repair being 10 out 10. It was very clever blending on the petals.
I love that visible mending is being embraced, instead of the throw it away mindset…
cat is HELPING! (the despairing "Ma'am." is often said in my house too
Kitty is freaking adorable and never in the way.
I don't have any cats, but I have a dog I refer to as the most feline canine to ever exist 😂 her name is Phoebe, she is an Australian Cattle Dog, and she is the DEFINITION of "sass". Her brother, Cowboy (also an ACD), is also top-notch at being in my way!
I laughed out loud when she sat on the hose, making it impossible to properly reach the tear 😂
I loved it when she said that. It was sick a cute interaction haha. My sisters dogs always try to lie on top of the clothes or towels that they’re trying to fold that just came out of the dryer 😂 I think they like the warmth lol or in this case, just being involved 😂
These are all beautiful, but I agree with Mr. Donner that a crotch patch should not be decorative.
but....FISH. It could have been so cute!
@@MorganDonner On the crotch? Really?? Do YOU want extra "cute" attention drawn to your nether regions?
It looks like he set his pants!
@@MorganDonnerembroider more fish down the leg perhaps? 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
@@MorganDonnerYou do not want an allusion to fish in that particular area of men's pants lol 🐟🤭
I’m honestly getting solarpunk vibes from your repairs. There isn’t a cohesive aesthetic for solarpunk yet but we’ve seen punk and medieval on this channel so it just comes through.
I've never heard of that but love the name!
@@MorganDonner Solarpunk is a movement around ethically and sustainably living with the land. It's like 100% cooler than cottagecore for that reason
That's a fantastic way of summarising the vibe! Hell yeah solarpunk!
@@MorganDonnerSolarpunk (the art aesthetic) is in the same kinda category as steampunk. But instead of the vintage style and depending on steam energy, it's more modern/futuristic with sleek technological design that highly prioritizes sustainability and working with the land. Think functional green towers, Solar panels, and hydropowered hovercrafts.
But Solarpunk, the movement, is basically just energy and waste consciousness with a helpful handful of "My community deserves to flourish" type punk attitudes usually exhibited through no money trades, fixing public property, flower bombing (for local news), food drives, clothing repair popups, etc
In addition to the other comments, I'll note that the solarpunk genre/aesthetic is also part of the larger "hope-punk" alternative to grim-dark dystopian future vibes. It's meant to provide inspiration that, if we adopt the right mentality and practices, we can come through the current climate crisis having learned, adapted and grown as a species into something communal and sustainable, rather than devolved into a dead-end Lord of the Flies/Mad Max/Blade Runner extinction track. It'd definitely my preferred post-apocalyptic vibe.
Visible mending can be very fun. Personally for reenactment when I fix holes I just reinforce the edges with red thread as if it was a wound! Very fun to do and explain how you got stabbed by the pointy end of a sword lol
I really appreciated being reminded that mending can be visible and fun. I usually find myself fixing the inner thigh of my jeans trying to make it look smooth and invisible, and that kind of takes the fun out of mending I guess?
You asked what kind of mending we'd have liked to see, so that would be my wish: some more tips, tricks and pointers on how to fix up the inner thigh area of jeans.
Would love this too! More mending please 🤩
Yes! Annoying how those areas can be the first to wear out.
Literally what I have in my mend pile right now! So yes jeans inner thigh
Do we all have the same inner thigh/crotch area of jeans problem? Perhaps we all have mighty fencing thighs that the jeans companies haven't yet embraced...?
I have trouble finding jeans that fit, so I currently have three pairs with holes in the inner thigh that I refuse to throw away. I have hardly a clue as to how to fix them without the patch feeling like it is rubbing a hole in my actual thigh.
I stopped the vid to tell you i used to repair the ripped crotch in my husband's pants so often sometimes nightly. i told him for every time he did not wear his belt so his crotch would not rip i would start embroidering silk ribbon flowers on his pants. i did it. silk ribbon flowers, frogs what ever i could think of. *eye rolling emoji* he loved it. Said he would get to work look down and see a teeny tiny frog or lady bug or rose near his hem and it made him happy. I forgot that until i was just watching this. It was a good memory thank you!
so all this to say... you should put a teeny tiny lil fish on there. Small enough to think he should pick it off then when he does he realizes what it really is 😂😂😂 fun (ok ok maybe in the same color as pants so only he will notice.
Great ideas! I learned some new things :) I wanted to suggest Japanese Sashiko embroidery to you for repair reinforcing, esp. on fabric that is weaker or needs more sturdiness like an inner thigh. My hubs blows the knees out of his pants and it is amazing for that sort of fix. It *is* decorative, but you can blend it really easily (or not!) and it's really really tough after. It's a historical method used traditionally by fishermen on their kimono, but later gained popularity and is used even today along with other kinds of repair like Boro. I have to admit I have fallen in love with it because it's so easy and so versatile. I also wanted to say I love the first dress you're wearing in this video! My favorite is the star patch. SO CUTE. Thanks for sharing!
Sashiko would have probably been a better fit for the pants, and I wish I had thought of it at the time!
You can always still do it! That's the best part :) It was a great fix even without.
the way you reconstructed the frayed corner on the green dress by adding a piece of fabric and darning everything together is really clever, I'd never thought of that !
And the big embroidered flower is really beautiful, it looks like a sacred lotus
Heya Morgan,
This isnt anything to do with this video, but i wanted to say something whilst you are still reading comments. I absolutely adore your videos!! Theyve instilled confidence in me that whatever i set my mind to do, i can do it and without feeling guilty. When i first started historical sewing I didnt have any disposable income and i felt that I couldnt take up this hobby, because i couldnt afford the historically accurate materials. I followed your tutorial for a renaissance shirt and i wear it to death. It is the first piece of clothing I made and I still love it to this day. I love the relaxed and comfy attitude you have to sewing, and the time and effort you take to make these videos are really appreciated!!
Thank you so much for all you do, and Im sure im gonna love this video!!
😭💖 Thank you for the sweetest comment! I love hearing that you wear a shirt you made, that's fantastic!
@MorganDonner while I am not making historical clothing rn, can't figure it out, I am making jeans with a button fly! Hand stitched too, I don't know what I am thinking....
Morgan, I made a circle shirt after your circles exploration video, and I wear it all the time! The way you did the neck binding was so helpfully illustrative, and the sleeves look so cute when I wear it with an apron dress I made. You have also inspired me to wear more jumper style dresses, and really love it. Hooray for Morgan!!
@@MorganDonnerrelated mainly in the hope that you see this: You kept mentioning things getting damaged in the wash. Sometimes you can prevent things like that tie tearing out by tying it into a bow or knot and inverting the garment so it doesn't get caught or tangled on things, and anything that's too delicate for that can be washed in a laundry bag. It would probably be fine to make your own zipper or drawstring bag out of a thin material, but I usually just buy premade mesh or net ones. If you wear underwired bras, there are even ones with plastic cage-discs built in to protect them. Since a friend blew my mind with this revelation I can now fearlessly get away with washing most of my delicates with my sturdy stuff 😮😮😮
I love the little star patches and the cute embroidery. Functional, pretty and whimsical at the same time.
I love them too! Cute AND functional is my favorite combo.
@@MorganDonner😅
Mr Donner's mighty fencing thighs 😂 Dibs for this band name
I often say I "wear out the crotch in jeans like it's my superpower" so I giggled when I heard Morgan's mighty fencing thighs comment!
I love how you see your clothing as everyday objects to be used and worn, not saved away in a closet somewhere. The visible mending just adds to the story of the garment.
And I LOVE love your hair and what you’re doing to it! Every video it looks differently and I’m here for it!
I love her hair too! I miss being able to do stuff like that
I just realised I would happily watch videos of people mending their clothes...!! the satisfaction! especially if there's some unexpected and creative art involved. Fuck consumerism and bring me the content of people caring about things!
This video was a nice mix of footage, explaining and learning, creativity, experimenting and a little bit of just chatting. 10/10 would watch again 😅
In a world of very quick and narrow guides on only 1 or 2 ways to mend clothing, I appreciate you being so broad here. Thanks for being so thorough!
Lovely video. I mend a lot having several children. My mother always made such beautiful mending. Almost completely invisible or very visible and decorative. It was a joy having a stain, hole or something on clothes as mother let us choose how she would mend it. Still remember a yellow butterfly she embroidered on a sky blue dress for me to fix a hole in it. For my children I often make patches out of different fabrics with cute animals on to mend holes. I actually liked your mending of the red garment a lot. The technique was inspiring and I will use it myself before this day is over as the pile is growing and has at least two pants with similar holes in them, pants belonging to a male creature not too fond of cute patches with puppies on his clothes (why that is so I cannot imagine...) Thank you for another very well worth watching video!
I appreciate seeing someone mending holes that occurred through actual wear and use rather than the seemingly more common “I quite obviously cut a whole in this pair of jeans so I could show you how to mend it”. Thank you ❤
19:05 "....MA'AM" is sooo relatable for a fellow cat mom haha, They just loove being all up in your business especially when dealing with fabric!
P.S I love your videos Morgan, thank you for always being a source of inspiration as well as motivation to get things done!
Perfect timing! I just put one of my favorite tshirts on the mending pile like 8 months ago! ;)
The star patches you put on your sheets are my favorite because they're least likely to cause sensory sensitivity unpleasantness -- I can see why you like the more handmade ones better but I so appreciate the variety of different options you showed for different fabric situations and preferences.
I don't ordinarily think commenting on someone's appearance is polite, but someone needs to tell you- your hair at the beginning of the video is gorgeous!
But you're delivering a kind, thoughtful compliment about something she took time to do, not just making a random comment! I think thats always nice to receive.
I too am a little squicked out by comments on people’s appearance, but complimenting aspects which a person intentionally wears seem less problematic.
Especially for UA-cam creators who literally have done videos about hairstyles…
Anyhow, the curls on the sides are really cute.
Do you happen to remember where you got that rainbow yarn? Because you are right and it is the perfect repair material
The rainbow yarn is by THREADSbymegannicole on Etsy!
www.etsy.com/listing/773347420/rainbow-brite-hand-dyed-yarn-lace-sock
@@MorganDonner thanks! i'm 100% buying some for darning my socks!!
LOVE this!
@@MorganDonnerI want to know about that puck with the elastic that you used when mending the green dress.
Have you ever mended a sock heel? Would that require a darning egg? I have no clue how that would work.
@fredericapanon207 she is using a brand called "speedweave". There are other brands and some antique types out there.
Instead of an expensive "darning egg" look at your local craft store for a wooden egg or just round wooden shape. Cheaper !
FYI that rainbow yarn was in what is called a “Hank” (when it’s twirled up like that. A skein is the oval shape yarn is usually sold in in stores. Yarns in hanks are usually made into a “cake” by using a swift and yarn winder, as a Hank is pretty unusable in that state. Your hand method worked well! But just wanted to let you know there are some tools to help depending how often you use yarn in hanks.
Love your vids!
- an obsessive crocheter
OH SHOOT - lol, I totally meant to add an on-screen note correcting myself, but I forgot! D:
Pretend this is in that clip:
*hank
I spin, but don't own a swift or ball winder, when I knit I slip my arm into the middle of the hank and knit directly from it.
@@jirupDang, I didn't even know that was possible! I turn all my hanks into balls before I knit; I think it gives me a feel for the yarn even before I start using it!
@@MorganDonnerIf this comes up again (having a hank rather than a skein or ball) you may be able to ask Mr. Donner to turn you a "nostepinne" on a wood lathe. It's a traditional Norwegian tool for winding balls of yarn. My SO crochets, and i recently made her one for christmas and she's really appreciated it. (It's basically a smooth dowel with a handle portion, so not a complicated project)
@MorganDonner a yarn swift and ball winder would have turned that 2 hours into about 8 minutes. Plus it's fun!
I really need to learn how to darn socks - my son is really rough on socks! It's hard to pick a favorite, because each of them has a unique functionality. If I have to pick one, it's the sheet repair. It reminded me of watching my grandma make repairs to bedding, jeans and her favorite tops. I still have a couple dish towels that have her repair work (I don't use them because the fabric is pretty fragile after all these years, but I have them none the less).
The 'ma'am' got me 🤣
I love your embroidery! And I love that you embraced the fact that the patches would be visible and made a feature of them! As my late husband used to say “A contrast is better than a poor match” (although that was usually while he was trying to sell shoes to a woman who’d bought a weird colour outfit for a wedding and wanted new shoes to match). Will the patch on your husband’s trousers be hidden by a tunic? I worry for him that from a distance, that slightly darker colour might just look like he’s had an “accident” or spilled something on himself. 😂
Yeah, I can see the wisdom of the contrast, something I'll try to remember for the future! You are on the money - the tunic he wears with this goes to his knees anyways, so neither of us were terribly stressed about the appearance of the patch.
not knowing one bit how to sew myself but still enjoying the vibes with my weekend morning mug of tea. however this does make me want to find a way to help my dad repair his favorite old pair of jeans with a hole in the butt lol someone finally called him out on it at the grocery store and now he's a bit sad he can't wear them out because they're the most comfortable pair he has.
‘3/10, beautifully functional’ is how I usually feel about mending. Thank you for some much better ideas!
Having two full sets of sheets so laundry day isn't such a rush... that's the dream...
Recently repaired my top sheet. One little patch of purple plaid. Very cute.
Genuine question, is it a dream that's so unattainable? I try to keep 3sets and 2 comforters.
@@lizzybeary I'm still recovering financially from a thankfully short bought of homelessness. My pennies are pinched at every turn. Thankfully, I do have enough blankets to manage the cold.
You can make Mr. Donner´s pant repair a 10 by just dying them a darker color, like deep purple or black =) Enjoyed the video, especially since I have mending of my own to get to....🌈🌈 the rainbow will be carried on in my home 🏡 🏡
Ooooo, dyeing them would be fun!
One of my fave dresses had a tie like the green dress and the second time I washed it, one of the ties got caught on a mystery something and ripped the fabric around where it was secured. I had specifically examined the stitching when I bought it to make sure it didn't need any finishing, and sure enough the stitches themselves were intact.
So, with loose stitching ruled out I reasoned it was just from the ties flopping around in the wash.
Now when I'm washing such a dress, I put it in a mesh bag, hasn't done me wrong since!
After my first “heavily twisted tie” in washing machine experience, I went to mesh bags, too.
👍👍
I pre-liked this before I finished 😂 Because I was just looking at a pile off jeans I needed the patch the holes in 😅
same XD
Literally _same!_ mine are 5 feet away from me and I've been glaring at them, like "why aren't you fixed already"
As if the mending fairy didn't visit overnight to repair them as I slept 😂
I used to hate repairing, but since I got the "speedweve" thingy it became sooo much fun.
As you did, I bought some colorful thread (cotton thread) to fix the (numerous) holes in my kids' clothes. Yeah, kids' clothes are cheap and tore easily (especially with my kids lol), but I always hate buying (even second-hand) stuff when I can repair it. Now I really like fixing those, with colors. And the "click" made by the speedeweve when you switch the hooks is extremely satisfying.
I'd love to see more of how do you make the embroidery stuff with flowers. Maybe a tutorial on how to start with fixing stuff with embroidery?
The problem with the sock repairs is that you have built layers that were not there before. Also you have added a woven (non-stretch) element to the knit fabric of the sock, so the knit part will pull in a different way, particularly horizontally, which will be noticeable. These are just the weaknesses of darning knits, so you can score it higher. The Swiss darn will be more flexible and inherently more elastic.
The sheets are fun, and you did a really nice job of keeping the satin stitches from pulling while you were sewing them. Using the heat and bond under the applique fabric is perfect for providing that stability to keep the machine stitching from pulling too tight.
On the pants, you did a really good job. I suspect that the real problem is that the patch is not the same fabric, just a close match. Also, if you are in a bit more of a bind for time, when you are pinning the initial patch, you can insert a piece of cardboard between the layers of the pants so that you can pin only through one layer on the first pass. Another option would have been to put the patch in place with boro (sashiko) type stitches so that you are weaving over the raw edges but not adding that third layer. Ask Mr. Morgan Donner if he notices the third layer of fabric.
The sash repair is really nice.
The flower is fun, but the off-center location is really jarring on camera, which makes think anyone who sees it going to notice the position of it long before they notice the good details and workmanship.
seconded about the sock darning, i usually use a bit looser of a weave, and i always stagger my stitches to reduce stress points
fantastic timing, I've noticed that the clip I use to hold my service dog's leash when I need 2 hands has caused tiny little holes that would look moth eaten if it wasn't for the fact that all my shirts have the same holes in the same spot. definitely going to on the look for that tiny loom.
Hey!!! your videos have brought me much joy over the years and I was honestly sad when all your hair was cut off but you have ROCKED every stage. This hairstyle looks INCREDIBLE on you as does everything. Your content is amazing
I had a lot of fun with the cut and even more with the grow out - it so interesting discovering what new things I can do with my hair each month!
I, personally, love your "Hair rings" in the last section !? At first I thought they were earrings, but realized they must be inserted/braided into the hair as they are behind your ears !
New style. Huzzah !
I can't tell you how happy I was to see one of my favorite sewists upload a visible mending video! I love visible mending and love seeing more examples and more people talking about it. Thank you so much!!
i loved the star patches, and as someone who is discovering hand-sewing anew (sashiko, slow stitching and boro keep my attention atm) , i would have tried hand stitching the edges of the big stars. That would take longer then machine sewing but would ad the personal touch you said was missing.
The Flower repairs look so cute too.
So timely! I found a hole near the hem of one of my favorite (homemade) skirts recently and have been dithering over how to fix it. Thanks for the suggestions and motivation to do the thing!
If you still have some of the fabric leftover, you can sew on a patch with an invisible stitch (the one where you only take one thread of the fabric on the good side) and it's bascially impossible to see.
I love your hairstyles in this video! They're so pretty!
Also though this video is super helpful. I have so much stuff that needs mended that I haven't gotten around to yet. 😭
Thank you! I recently realized have enough length to braid the sides and have been having fun with that :D
I loved the sock mend. Reminds me why I weave plain weave on my rigid heddle loom with fun yarns. You never know what you are going to end up with.
The red dress was Super Cute. Loved the flower designs. Can really see it being added to just for funsies.
Hair rings. Fantastic.
One thing about superwash yarn is that, while it doesn't felt, it's typically not as durable as non-superwash yarns. This is because wool straight from the sheep has scales that can attach (or felt) together that give the wool a rough texture and also make wool a durable fiber. When wool is superwash treated, it is typically placed in an acid bath or given a coating that strips the scales from the wool. This results in the wool becoming softer and machine washable (though you might not want to put it in the dryer) but also less durable. So, if you're looking for something that you can throw in the washing machine, go with superwash, and if you're looking for something that will last longer and don't mind hand washing, go with non-superwash.
Ah I have a literal suitcase full of things to be mended. I really gotta get to it lol
I had never heard the term "swiss darning" before, but it is absolutely the technique I've been looking for to fix the tiny holes that develop at the bottoms of my t-shirts.
The flower embroidery on the dress is sooooo cute and gorgeous!
If you have a small hole in anything upper garment that is knit, just using that same gather stitch the you started with on the sock, but in a matching color...you can draw it closed enough to blend into the knit. Great for cashmere that the moths have found or cotton knit that the dog has found. My Aunt also used to make little bugs in her darning holes so she had bugs all over her outdoor gardening clothes....to cute!
me not 6 minutes in looking up and buying a speedweve mini loom because oh my gosh that looks so useful!!
I always try to properly darn my socks and such but they come out such a mess I know I'm going to use it so much! Thank you so much Morgan!!
Also, the weaving in the ends by pre weaving the needle then threading the yarn is something I do all the time as a crocheter. You can be really specific and make sure you're putting it exactly where you want it, without worrying about the small yarns unthreading as you go!
It's not just me then. Thank you!
"Patch and pray" 😂 yes! I can definitely agree with that way of living with my creations. I wish I had the gift or enough practice to know why a garment wasn't fitting quite right, but alas 😅 I, too, shall patch and pray!
in the last repair i do not mind that its off center because it ended up so pretty. so well done with the flower!
Pretty much right when the pandemic started, I replaced all of my jeans pockets with pockets I'd made that could fit my phone and also were made of fun patterned fabric. And then I proceded not to wear pants for like three years. By the time I needed to wear pants again, the pants I repocketed didn't fit any more. So, I really haven't been able to enjoy them. But I still have them because the pockets make them so special. Maybe one day I will be able to donate them and the person who gets them will love the pockets some percentage as much as I do.
This just inspired me. I have a Macho Man tshirt that has a hole in it. I think instead of just sewing it up I might embroider a little star there like the stars Macho had on his trunks.
😎 OOOHH YEAH!!
if the shirt ever breaks beyond repair and you want to keep Macho Man, you can cut him out and sew on something else (another t shirt, a tote bag, etc.)
PRE-WEAVING THE NEEDLE JUST BLEW MY MIND
Whenever I watch your videos, you make sewing seem so much more approachable. Thank you for the inspiration!
I never thought about the grain line breaking. This knowledge would have probably saved me many tears and hours of frustration. Lol
idk if anyone has told you @morgandonner, but the rings in your hair are soooo RAD! i just kept looking at them cuz I've never seen such large rings in someones hair that way, its AWESOME
For dresses with delicate elements like waist ties or embroidery or metal fastenings, I like to machine wash them inside of a pillowcase, so they can mind their business and not get dramatic on me. Loved this video!!
Whoo! I love mending! I mostly do socks and wool jumpers. I do have a speedweave, but none of my holes are ever large enough to justify it. I do use a similar technique on those, except the joy of challenge is in matching the colour (I get embroidery cotton) and getting the weave as fine as possible, especially in visible mends. The effect of the rainbow yarn on the speedweave is amazing!
Visible and Invisible mending are the cutest sisters, I love them both!
A day ago I accidentally created a rip on a jacket I was seam ripping to make bigger. Reminded of Morgan's video I decided to have fun and since the jacket is all vampire themed I made it look like a slice with blood coming out
Loved both pieces of your embroidery on the pink dress. I bought some denim jeans online without realising they had a “distressed” tear on the top of one leg. At a glance it actuslly looked like I had spilt yogurt or something on it, so I embroidered a little flower and leaves over the top. V cute!
My mum used to talk about how they would take sheets that had worn in the centre, split them in half and stitch the unworn outer edges back together to extend the life.
I've been on an insane decorative (and non-decorative) mending tear, so this is incredible! After watching your videos, I literally only finish my braids with finger-looped cords, and I have a feeling this might make a similar impact.
Winner? THE CAT! The Cat wins it all.😻😻😻
I taught myself to darn a few months ago and I'm so glad I did, it's a really relaxing activity and it's so nice to be able to wear things again and know you fixed them, I highly recommend trying it if you can!
Doing an eyelet to mend the tiny holes is such a genius idea!!
The first one 1) such a pretty wool. 2) you can make mini pockets with this thing, love it !
I love that the cat was like "mom, thats is my moment to shine on camera!"
You could add vines and make the flower then symmetrical. And the green and blue tones used could tie into the embroidery on the arm pit area. 😊 great video
That Speed Weaver - I think I know what the very cool thing in all my adult kids’ stockings will be next Christmas!
The flower on the pink dress looks great as an asymmetrical decoration. It caught my eye right away and I thought, "How cute to do it that way!" I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one who embroiders patches. I have several shirts and skirts that may have oddly placed vines and flowers but they sure are cute! Another technique that is sort of decorative that I have used is when I've had to put gussets in armholes. I had 3 lovely flowered shirts that had just started to bind under the arm as I put on some weight. I didn't want to do away with the shirts as they still fit everywhere else but I knew I would never be able to match the pattern. So I just took solid colored fabric that matched one color in the pattern and put in some comfortable gussets. And while the armpit part of clothing is not on view a lot, I think it looks very intentional when you can see it.
I love the idea of repairing holes with obnoxiously beautiful colors. :)
The stars come off as whimsical and fun!
Tips on darning socks with Swiss Darning/duplicate stitch. 1) Don't wait for the actual hole to develop. When the ball of the foot or the heel or wherever you wear through your socks gets down to 'threads still in the knit pattern', THAT's the point at which darning is the easy fix because you have the yarn path to follow. 2) Use a darning yarn that is no larger than the material of the existing sock if possible. That will keep the mend from feeling so 'lumpy' underfoot. 3) woven patches will always feel denser than duplicate stitch darns (due to having two layers - warp and weft plus the more flexible nature of knit fabric in general). 4) I noticed that the edges of your darned area pull in a bit. When moving from one row to the other, leave a tiny (very tiny) bit of a loop of slack in the yarn as you move to the next row. It should be maybe a half a knit stitch worth of yarn - just enough to let the darn move the same way as the surrounding knit stitches.
But what an excellent tutorial for the 'weaving in' and 'patch'. One thing I've learned to do is to keep a 'patches worth' of fabric or a couple yards of sock yarn from each of my projects. The colors of the original may be more faded, but at least I'm 100% sure the materials match.
This is exactly the video I've been needing! I have a tiny hole in one of my shirts. I haven't even worn the shirt that much, but who knows what its life was like before I got it.
For the pink dress: I think it is great that it isn't centered and that you did the reenforcrment only on one side so far. That way it looks absolutely intentional. And I really love both embroideries. So beautiful!
For the hose/pants: if it really bothers you, maybe put a fake patch on one or two other spots with the same red fabric you used for the repair. That way it might become a design element instead of a repair.
Always repair later or never. My pjs I have on have several holes and I will probably keep wearing them till I can’t anymore.
When you were talking about Mr Donner's breeches tearing along the grain, I knew immediately what you meant. Several years ago, I bought this really pretty flower patterned cotton fabric and made a whole dress out of it. I was really proud of how it came out! Then I washed it... and not only did the fabric start falling apart at the seams, the print faded by half, and it became threadbare in several spots. Needless to say, I only got a few wears out of that dress before it fell apart entirely, and I never again made the mistake of skipping the prewash step.
The embroidery on the red one kicks. I’d definitely add more as whimsy takes.
I swear, she can pull off EVERY hairstyle 😮
Lovely work Morgan! What i do with my ties before I wash the garment is to loosely knot the ties together before you put them in the washer. They won't get tangled around another garment and tear out.
That's a great idea!
This video inspired me to fetch ONE item from my mending pile. The neckline n shoulder seams on my teenager's fave graphic tee had separated and i was able to "mostly" invisibly stitch/mend them together again. 😅 I showed her the tee shirt after mending, and she didnt realize at 1st that the shirt had ever been damaged. 😮😂😊 yay for Mme Morgan's mending magic! ❤🎉❤
I love how many methods you tried! The flower motif on the red dress is amazing!!!
Off topic but I am loving your accessories and hair loopies :)
My thought on the pants was you could embrace the color difference. Either use that material to sew on a few more fake patches all over to make it look like it was intended. Or change up colors on the other patches to make it colorful. That original patch would just get lost among them all and be considered a design feature. It's like the shirts that get a stain on them. Add more stains all over and outline them to make it look like a map of tropical islands. No one knows it wasn't intentional.
As always your cheerfulness is a joy. I like the floral accent way of mending. As with anything practice & enjoyment make it better😊
Glorious Kitty Interference at 18:58. We appreciate a Big Helper.
This has inspired me to get to work on my mending basket, and given some great ideas for decorative repairs
this video inspired me to finally get around to mending some things off of my own repair chair
I love your darning/mending videos so much! I always just get out my own little pile of stuff and mend with you, it's so great. You should do some more mending videos
Oh dang! 😂
The mending looks sooo cute - I will mend holes that hasn't evolved yet.. 🌈✨🌻
Wow! If I had a Speed Weave and some rainbow yarn, I’d be darning everything all the darn time!!
This is so useful! My dog loves jumping on me, but he has nails and tears up my clothings. My favorite sweater has some holes in it so I will be trying these suggestions
Lol, mood, I have bunch of lil snags from my cat jumping on my shoulders
My latest favorite way to hide permanent stains is to sew a decorative buttons on top. I got bleach on the skirt of a whimsical sundress, so I just added buttons, with a few extra to make it feel balanced and intentional. I have a large button collection, and this works well for those extra fun buttons that you only have one or two of.
I personally absolutely adore embroidery and re-weaving as repair tactics, and will attempt to fix a pair of jeans that has started to fray along the thigh seam in a similar manner to the dress seam, it seems like very appropriate for my purposes at least.
I also have a pair of those jeans with a top flop in the front with a little pocket (I forget the word for it every time) that has ripped in the front of the leg due to the mighty thigh disagreeing with the "fashionable hole" in that area, creating a canyon all the way down to the knee... which I took the liberty of turning into a nice lace up feature by simply adding eyelets along the sides of, very pretty with different ribbons through there and slightly size adjustable as well!
Ooh I didn't make that connection with how I could repair my jeans! Thank you, I was already gonna rewatch this (and have it saved) for my repairing projects to get ideas and learn how. But now I'm gonna rewatch tonight with that idea in mind! Thanks!
Are you talking about overalls? Like the green ones Morgan made in a video from 6 months ago? (That's definitely on my project list! 🤩) And OMG I love the lace up idea!! Heck yes! That's gotta look so cute!! 🤯
Thank you for sharing so much in your comment, this and the video have me overflowing with creativity I can apply practically!! ❤
Also, this part made me giggle, I love how you phrased this! :
_the mighty thigh disagreeing with the "fashionable hole" in that area, creating a canyon all the way down to the knee_
😂
I've stayed away from the "distressed" stuff, I will make holes in my own clothes in my own time, thanks very much 😅 Cuz often what I'd find in my size (plus) would be cheap enough that adding any distressing/holes would weaken the fabric enough that it wouldn't last nearly as long ☹️ Like, I'm not looking to buy disposable clothing 😑
Anyway! Thanks again for sharing!! 🤩❤️