Mending My Way

On a sultry weekend, when the cloud covered the sky outside our windows and stepping outside our doors felt like walking into an energy-sapping oven, I prioritised lots of little inside chores. Things I would normally procrastinate over, or leave in favour of being outside, made it to the top of my to-do list. 

One of these chores involved needle, thread and the big zip-up cover of one of our lounge cushions. After much enthusiastic jumping upon our lounge by our young son, who fancies himself a cricketer diving for imaginary catches, the seam hiding the end of the zip had busted and the zip itself had split. To get someone else to mend this gaping zip would cost a small fortune so I did it myself. 

 The busted stitching and zip.

 Sewing stitches over and over the zipper teeth.

( to stop the sides separating)

 Pinning up the seam to cover the end of the zip.

 Stitching to close the seam. 

Finished!

While my way of mending it may be far from perfect, it's functional. The end of the zip is hidden, the seam neat and, unless someone inspects it very closely, no-one (except you) would be any the wiser. I decided that I would use the same stitch I used to close the seam on my elephant softie. Ladder stitch. It's strong enough (to hopefully stand up to the dives of would-be cricketers) and brings two edges of fabric together in such a way that the stitching is practically invisible. 

Years ago, I wouldn't have attempted this mending myself. I would've continued to leave such a job languishing in the "too-hard" pile underneath many laments involving being too busy and lacking the skills required. Now, through the interests of making-do and learning new skills, I have discovered that I can actually mend things! If not perfectly, then at least well enough to extend their life span. That's a saving for our budget and for an Earth creaking and groaning under the weight of all that is thrown away.

Meg