Sewing expert Jan Zallee provides a few quick-fix sewing tips.
- Whatever you do, don't wash an item with a rip or tear in it. This will cause major fraying and will make your job harder, if not impossible, when you try to mend it.
- Keep a special clear adhesive tape (meant for repairing fabric) in your bag to do quick, temporary fixes. This tape does not leave any adhesive residue and can be purchased at a fabric-supply store. It can be used to fix a loose hem, replace a button, close a rip or to hold a strap in place.
- Keep bread-twist closures in your purse for re-attaching buttons. This works well with sweaters that have large loops because they don't damage the fabric. Just push the wire through the button holes and twist them on the inside.
- Fusible interfacing, normally ironed to fabric to make it stiffer, is an inexpensive quick fix for holding a garment together. If you don't have interfacing, use a piece of transparent tape to hold the fabric until you can sew it.
- If your tear a hole in your pants pocket, try using masking tape or duct tape to cover it until you get a chance to fix it.
- If a zipper pull comes off, slip a safety pin or paper clip through the hole as a substitute pulling device.
- If the bottom of a zipper has broken or there are loose teeth, just stitch a few threads over the area where the break has occurred. This will create a new bottom stop for the zipper. The whole thing will be slightly shorter, but it will still work.
