My repair date: 3.66 pieces

Mai Quynh on 27. May 2024

In March I announced my repair date (by the way, the date was postponed several times 😆). I wanted to make things cosy for my repair date, including the documentation work. On the one hand, this meant that the atmosphere for the repair date itself should be relaxed, on the other hand, taking the photos shouldn't feel toooo much like work. Based on this, I drew up a checklist of things I could prepare so that I could concentrate on the repairs on the day of doing the repairs. Preparation included preparing something for my ears (podcast list), something for thirst (a pot of tea) and something for hunger (pretzel sticks). The clothes had already been picked out in advance, so I knew which broken parts awaited me and was all the more excited. And then, on one of the many May bank holidays, the time had come!

Yield: 3.66 pieces repaired.

Details of the yield follows now. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Piece 1: black skirt

The seam connecting the zip and the skirt came went to pieces. To prevent it from getting worse, I wanted to sew the zip back on properly. I did this with the so-called slip stitch (also called mattress stitch, ladder stitch; a great stitch because the thread "disappears" and the seam is therefore "invisible"). It went very quickly, max. 10 minutes.

Before, outside.
Before, inside.
After, outside.
After, inside.

Piece 2: dusky pink top with flower print

I had a tear in the seam on the right-hand side where the front and back are joined. 1 cm x 0.5 cm. I don't like these areas at all because the proximity to the seam always overwhelms me. I had actually already started the repair during a repair workshop at Fashion Revolution Week in April (organized by Fashion Revolution Germany / Frankfurt) and had used the weaving method.

I continued darning during my repair date. I am so happy about the colour similarity. In this case it was not darning thread I used, but embroidery thread (1 of 6 threads) and I had the thread from the repertoire of the workshop leader (Ekaterina Haak, whom I have mentioned elsewhere). The darned area is actually visible but if it's the right angle, the darned area blends in well with the garment.

Before.
WIP.
WIP (almost done).
After.
After (well hidden).

Piece 3: grey sports shorts

That was the most exciting repair of the day.

The trousers have a waistband cord but actually, there are two cords sewn into the centre in the back. The right-sided ripped somewhere in the middle. To make the trousers somehow usable again, I had used some yarn to lengthen the right-sided waistband. It looked too odd to me and ended up in the as-long-as-you-look-like-this-I-don't-wear-you pile.

For the repair, I rummaged around to see if I had anything that looked similar to the cord and found an old shoelace, half of which had been torn off as well. Ideal!

So I took off the yarn (pink) and then sewed the two loose ends of the cords (waistband cord on trousers and shoelaces) together with lots of stitches. Then I cut off the loose, frayed ends and melted them with a lighter. This left the ends clean and minimized the likelihood of it coming undone again. The join disappears into the waistband anyway + I have a two-coloured waistband cord now. Pretty cool 😀

Before.
Before, connecting point.
WIP, sewing on the new cord.
After, connecting point (working side).
After, connecting point (working side).
After, connecting point (clean side).
After.

Piece 4: black tank top

The top had three small holes on the back. To close these, I tried scotch darning for the first time. It's so much fun! You can work your way and see how the hole gets smaller and smaller.

Even though it is black yarn, you can still see the darned area quite well. This was not invisible mending. I wonder if it would have looked more invisible with the weaving method? In retrospect, I thought it would have been funnier in colour.

I only managed 2 of 3 holes that day, that's where this 0.66 comes from 😀

The third hole was darned by me in the morning a few days later. On the day of my repair date, I found one hole on the front side (this destroys all my calculation for the yield) ... this hole was darned in the meantime, too 😁

Before, back side.
Before, back side, hole 2 and 3.
WIP (hole 1 ... one hole = loads small holes ...)
After, back side.
Nachher, Rückseite, Loch 1.
After, back side, hole 2 (open) and hole 3 (darned).

As always, I am amazed about how long a repair takes compared to how long a garment is spurned because of its flaw. In the extreme case, it is 10 minutes versus X years. A bit crazy!

Will I learn from this awareness and tackle the repairs more quickly in the future?
Me: 🤷🏻‍♀️

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This post is part of the series <Mein stopfendes Leben>.

Spring peels off

Mai Quynh on 2. May 2024

As spring arrives, I slowly but surely peeling off. This observation amuses me. I leave my winter jacket behind and reach for the between-seasons jacket next to it instead. To be on the safe side, I take the knitted scarf with me - as far as my neck is concerned I do better safe than sorry. The choice of shoes changes - same style but now it's the pair without the lining. The number of clothing layers decreases, finally no more four layers on top to keep the centre warm. The tights which has protected the lower part of the body from freezing can also be removed. The onion look is wonderful, nevertheless it's very pleasant not to have to put on and take off so many layers.

It's nice to have you, spring - even though you let April do what it wanted to do - which was snow dropping one day eventually.

Little life things. September 2023

Mai Quynh on 8. October 2023

September was golden. For the 5 km run which I had been preparing myself for, I had the best weather I could wish for. It was pleasantly warm, not too hot. I am very happy with the result: I was faster than my last 5 km run a few years ago. So the training paid off!

I also remember many other warm and sunny days. We went for walks in the vineyards with friends and enjoyed wine and white grape juice with the best view. Nevertheless, I notice that winter is coming. Even though the temperatures were pleasant, the sun sets earlier every day, announcing winter. Once I decided against the planned run because the route was too long for the late hour and I wouldn’t have made it back home before dark. But since I didn’t go running at all, one might think I was a bit lazy that day 😛

In September, I took part in a tea ceremony – or rather enjoyed it. The tea master prepared the matcha tea and we just watched and drank very consciously. In everyday life, tea unfortunately remains a quick hot drink but I like to be reminded that tea is much more than that.

Otherwise, September also comprised: a whiteboard finally hanging on the wall, writing a letter to a friend about favourite places in Dresden, getting to know mushrooms. September was full of big and small memories. September was good to me. Nevertheless, now I’m glad that the quieter October has arrived and I have a bit more time. And can do some preparations for the big holiday.

Since I’m posting my monthly review a bit late again, I had the opportunity to read from others‘ monthly review that their autumn was also very golden. Maybe October will just continue where September left off for another while? I hope so!