Come Stitch With Me

For the first time in many moons, I have a sense of hope when I think about the future.

Today, my local town lifted the city-wide mask mandate. Outdoor events – still socially distanced – are back on the calendar starting in mid-June. I will once again be able to browse the shelves at the local public library. 🙂

Job responsibilities for next year will change a bit. I’m excited about what’s ahead and working more closely with certain colleagues. A sizable raise has also been proposed by the superintendent, but that won’t be voted on until late June.

I booked my first flight in nearly two years! I’ll be attending a training conference, but I’ll have enough down time to catch up with an old friend who lives in the area.

Some much needed beach time and a couple of short trips with Miss Sadie are also in the works.

Other than my conference in mid-June, I plan to enjoy a mask-free summer. It makes absolutely no sense now that I’m fully vaccinated, but still have to wear a mask. Today, a coworker was sent home to quarantine because she was identified as a close contact for someone who tested positive for COVID-19. If said coworker tests positive, I’ll be identified as a close contact to her, but I won’t have to quarantine since I’m considered fully vaccinated. Say what? That’s not how I read the CDC guidelines. I interpret them as having 10 mask-free days off for quarantine!

All kidding aside, I hope my coworker doesn’t test positive. We have too much to do between now and the end of May.

Hubs has about worn his blue jeans out. I guess that’s what happens when you wear nothing but blue jeans 7 days a week for a solid year. Normally, he wears khakis to work, but since he now works from home most of the time – it’s blue jeans.

I noticed holes next to the back pockets on his jeans when I was sorting clothes for laundry. You know where the corner of the pocket is sewn to the jeans? Well, I could stick my finger through said holes.

Time to get out the sewing machine.

Supplies needed:
1. Iron on denim patch in similar shade
2. Regular polyester thread in a matching shade
3. Size 90/14 denim needle
4. Regular or narrow presser foot

Steps:

1. Trim away loose threads from around the hole.
2. Cut a piece from the denim patch large enough to cover the hole plus .5″ – 1″ extra all the way around.
3. Fuse denim piece to wrong side of jeans. Be sure to center patch over the hole. Follow manufacturer’s directions to ensure the patch sticks.
4. Change needle and thread machine.
5. From the right side, sew back and forth over patch using a straight stitch until hole is filled in. You could also follow your manual’s directions for machine darning, if you like.

For a rip, follow the same directions, only use a 3 step zigzag stitch to go over the ripped area at least 3x to make sure the edges stay together. Use a straight stitch and go back & forth to fill in any remaining holes.

I found some Coats & Clark jeans thread my local Joann’s. It was a spot-on match for the jeans. Unfortunately, it shredded like crazy, even after changing the needle. I switched to regular C&C thread. Worked like a charm.

My Featherweight actually did a better job of repairing the hole than my big fancy sewing machine. I think the narrow, hinged presser foot made all the difference. A narrow, adjustable zipper foot might also do the trick on machines with a 5-7mm stitch width opening.