A Little Knit Update - Ive Started And Am Almost Done With The Birdsong Sweater And I Am Over The Moon

a little knit update - I’ve started and am almost done with the Birdsong Sweater and I am over the moon with it.

MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO (1988) • dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Patch on a Pocket

Hello everyone! I'm back with my latest DIY: fixing a cargo pocket that tore out.

I had my work ID badge in this pocket, and I caught it on a truck door. It's a messy tear! When I was brand new to mending, I would've given up. But I have two options: unpick this pocket and use it as a template for a replacement, or try a patch. I tried the patch.

Step one: Clean up the fuzzy edges.

Hmm. Yeah, since chunks of the original fabric are missing, I can't whip the edges back together. I need a patch.

If I'd actually torn the shorts fabric, I'd have put a patch on the inside and another patch on the outside, so the raw edges would be encased in a "patch sandwich." However, this is just the pocket. The inside of the mend doesn't have to withstand the washing machine. I decided instead to...

Step 2: Whipstitch around the tear.

I don't like the look of a whipstitch on a tear, and in my experience, when done on the outside, it disintegrates in the wash. But for the inside of a pocket, it's actually fine. I used marigold thread because I hate the color and have too much of it.

Step three: Prep a patch that's bigger than the tear.

I measured a 4-by-4 square-ish and pinned it flat onto the moving box that's protecting my carpet. Then I used my nail polish brush and my white mystery paint to paint a spiderweb. I've been inspired by goths lately, I guess.

Step four: Hem the patch.

This one isn't necessary--you can do it while you affix the patch--but I just got my machine back from the shop and wanted to try it out.

Step four point five: Pin the patch to the pocket.

I didn't measure well for the patch, and I'm extremely lucky that it just barely covers all the tear. Also I stuck scrap cardboard in the pocket so I couldn't actually sew it shut.

Step 5: Sew on and admire!

Here's the finished look! It took me a few hours (longer than making a new pocket would've taken), but I like it a lot. I did a few tiny stitches on the inside to keep that big corner of the tear anchored to the patch. I also put a few studs on the shorts because why not!

fruits and berries

lestrade: need i remind you, sherlock, of what happens when you interfere with a case?

sherlock: …the case gets solved?