Make Do, Mend & Minimise in 2025 (and 2024)

Green_hopeful

@cherryfudge i cleared out some old toiletries from my step daughters bedroom this week. Quite a lot of the bottles were empty and some I couldn’t imagine anyone using. Some smelled yucky and some self tan had gone a very vivid green in the bottle. She moved out more than 10 years ago so I guess she doesn’t actually need any of it. 

Cherryfudge

I hope, @Green_hopeful, that this isn't the year when green tan becomes popular!

I definitely need to have a clear out of old makeup.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Baby bottle cosies 😉

Cherryfudge

Mrs_Salad_Dodger said:

Baby bottle cosies 😉

Aw, cute! Then you can do some matching ones for adult water bottles!

MSE_Ciara

Hello all, seeking some fabric restoration/repair/excuse to hold onto for longer advice please. I love love love these black corduroy trousers but haven't worn them in almost a year as the cord's just worn away in places. Is there anything I can do to make them last longer, eg patchwork (would anyone have any ideas or something similar they could share?), just can't bear to throw them out!

Green_hopeful

I know it is not make do or mend but I quite often buy clothes again. I have bought the same M&S denim skirt three times. Whenever the current one wears out i look for another one second hand. Otherwise I have a pair of jeans that I have patched with scraps of fabric or patches from HobbyCraft. I currently have a butterfly on my jeans but when I ironed it on it melted a bit so I guess it wont last. It also has flappy wings so that isn’t ideal. https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/butterfly-iron-on-patch/6667881000.html

Cherryfudge

Hi @MSE_Ciara, I will give some thought to the cords, are they cotton? The type of fabric can make quite a difference to what you can do. You could also ask on the Fashion of the Ration challenge, where there is quite extraordinary knowledge on these things.

I've repaired jeans using embroidery, which did help extend their life. I also have a reprint of a wartime booklet on Make Do and Mend (from the Imperial War museum) which suggests reinforcing on the inside with a lighter form of the same fabric when things start to wear thin.

Cherryfudge

@MSE_Chiara, here’s the Government approved advice from 1943! Still useable, though I think an invisible mend could be difficult on your cords and you might have a lot of fun with something bright and contrasting. 

Sarahspangles

We can buy jeans nowadays that have been ‘distressed’ in places that wear naturally, because that’s ‘the look’. I haven’t seen that in cords though. I’d be tempted to over dye them black or indigo and wear them casually. Or convert them to shorts, you can fray cord fabric in the same way as denim.

Cherryfudge

MSE_Ciara said:

Hello all, seeking some fabric restoration/repair/excuse to hold onto for longer advice please. I love love love these black corduroy trousers but haven't worn them in almost a year as the cord's just worn away in places. Is there anything I can do to make them last longer, eg patchwork (would anyone have any ideas or something similar they could share?), just can't bear to throw them out!

Hi again, I had a look after some sleep and in daylight, so here are a few thoughts: the wear on the top of the leg, front RHS is probably straightforward: You could put a very handy patch pocket on there just where you habitually rest on the cord. If you have the skills and patience to put a bit of lightweight lining on the inside it would help too, as the new fabric will pull on the old and that will be where it eventually tears. You could either use a contrast for fun or some similar colour and weight of fabric and overdye the whole lot as @Sarahspangles suggests. You'd need to get the type of fabric as close as possible to the original so the dye would 'take' equally. If they are pure cotton you'll get the best results, as artificial fibre as don't dye as well. I know people sell packs of scarp denim or corduroy (Ebay etc.) so browsing those might give ideas.

I'm assuming the other photo is the back, where you could do a similar patch but I'm not sure the placement would work as well. However, I found this photo of men's cords with some embroidery which I really liked. Would something like this work?