Mending: Torn off Belt Loop

One of my "Thrifting Rules" is to not buy anything that 'needs work'. Time is money, and you don't want to be sinking time into fixing something unnecessarily.

But every so often, this 'rule' can be broken. Maybe it's the greatest thing you've ever seen and you can't let a small hole prevent you from owning it. Or maybe the 'fix' is a simple repair that you know you can easily and QUICKLY do, today, with things you already have at home. Note that if you have to buy something, i.e. a small paintbrush and ceramic paints, to 'fix' a problem piece of porcelain, for example, that there's a very good chance you're either never going to get around to it, or you'll lose your passion for the project and decide against the work after all, or you will eventually get around to it, but it'll have been more work than it's worth and you'll feel a bit bitter about it. 

I've done them all. ;)

Let's take a torn-out belt loop for example. IF you have a needle and thread, and preferably thread in a similar colour to the garment (though it's not strictly necessary), then you're set to do this quick repair at home in 5 to 10 minutes. It's a good one to do while watching TV, too.

View from the exterior

View from the interior. Start on the inside!

Thread your needle. I used about 1.5 arm's length of thread, which I doubled over and knotted. I had a little left over at the end, which is good (otherwise it becomes impossible to sew!).

On the INSIDE of the pants, put your needle tip through one side of the hole, close to the edge (but not so close that you'll pull out the weave and worsen the hole!). Put your needle in where the fabric is still intact, but as close to the edge of the hole as seems reasonable to you.

Push the needle through the fabric, crossing the 'gap'....

...and bring it through the otherside, about the same distance from the edge where the fabric looks 'normal' and sturdy. Pull the thread all the way through (gently) until the knot stops it.

Voila, you're on your way!

Next, do the same thing as before, but do it perpendicular to the first stitch (i.e. instead of east to west, now sew north to south). Gently pull the thread so that it's taut but not pulling so strongly that the fabric is puckering.

Now do the same on the diagonal (i.e. north-east to south-west), and then again perpendicular to that (i.e. north-west to south-east).

Do it a few more times, putting your stitch across the hole and between previous stitches.

Your fabric will pucker a little (a little is okay), but try to keep the puckering to a minimum as you can.

This is what the 'hole' now looks like on the outside!

Bring your needle up through the fabric (from the inside to the outside) towards the belt loop end.

I trimmed off the wispy bits of thread from the belt loop (not pictured). :)

This is the part to be a little picky/cautious about, because your stitches will SHOW on the outside from here on out. So make the stitches as short as you can, and at the edge of the belt loop where they will be harder to see.

If you look carefully, you can see a few 'lemon'-coloured stitches over the mustard fabric and thread at the right. I made maybe 5 or 6 stitches, attaching the belt loop end to the fabric. I tried to put my needle through the 'normal' fabric of the pants and not through my spiderweb of thread I just made, because it is more strong this way.

Here is one of the belt loops that was always attached. Note that it's prettier than mine, but there's not a giant glaring difference! So mend with confidence! :)

To finish up, I pass the needle back and forth through my 'spiderweb' mend (on the inside of the pants) to help anchor the thread.

Once I've woven it through 3 or 4 times, I make a knot. For me, the easiest way to do this is to make a loop with the thread that is going to feed through the stitch (so I don't pull the last stitch taut - I leave a 'loop' of it sticking out). Then I 'spiral' and wind my needle over the thread in the loop 3 or 4 times (see photo). Then I gently pull the needle through, as if I was pulling a normal stitch taut. The knot slowly forms, and I let it slide gradually off my fingers so it doesn't tangle as it tightens.

Pulling the thread and tightening the knot (keeping a finger in it to ensure smooth and gradual knotting in the right place!).

Still pulling slowly, but I slid out my finger. You can see the loop dropping towards the stitches as you gently pull.

Pull it taut now (firmly!) and voila! A knot!

The knot is a bit "sticky-outty", so I like to pass the needle through the stitches (just on the inside, not going through and into the fabric, but just under the stitches shallowly) like I did before I made the knot.

Weaving in the thread after knotting.

And then I snip off the thread ends - I cut off the thread I was sewing with, and I trim the ends of the starting knot that stick up.

The finished product! Can you see which is mended? Yep, the last loop on the right. It's not perfect, but I think you wouldn't really notice unless you were looking for it!

NOTE: If the hole is larger than this one, you might need to patch the pants (on the inside, of course) with a small but sturdy piece of fabric first, and then sew the belt loop back onto the patched pants. This is easy too, but you really must have a thread that matches the colour of the pants (because as you sew around the patch, the stitches will show on the outside of the pants). This is probably a BETTER WAY to mend a belt loop hole than what I've shown, but my way is faster and lazier. ;) And I didn't have mustard-coloured thread. If it rips out again, I'll have to properly patch it (reinforce it) on the inside before reattaching the belt loop.

So that's it! Now be gentle with your belt and your belt loop, because this spot will always be weaker than the rest (just like if you break a bone!). Wear your pants with pride and know that if you can fix this, you can mend just about anything. Most projects take a little more time and patience, and some a little practice, but if you can do this, you can do more complicated things too! Have faith in yourself!

But always remember - don't get in over your head. It's not fun to have to struggle against the odds doing tailoring you're just not equipped to deal with! And time is money! Remember that there are tailors out there, some of which are AMAZING and really cheap (I remember the wonderful woman who did my wedding dress alterations so professionally and beautifully and quickly for one EIGHTH of the price I was quoted elsewhere! Sigh - she was a gift from Heaven, that one!). 

You'll probably not find a cheap tailor in Zuerich, unless you check out the Migros community boards or happen to know someone through a friend of a friend. But these people are worth seeking out - they can really change the rules of the thrifting game! :)

My two cents (rappen) on the subject of mending:

1. If it's a 'quick' and 'easy' fix, and you have the necessary supplies AND the time and patience to try it yourself, DO IT!
2. If it's NOT a quick and easy fix, and it falls into the category of 'professional tailoring with a dressmaker's mannequin', then start scouring the community posts for a seamstress looking for work, and ask all your friends and colleagues if they know of a secret sewing diva that you can pay to make some alterations for you. Amongst the immigrant communities there are often very skilled people who aren't working (many of them wives) due to a language or work-visa impairment, and would be grateful for the work and probably a few franken here and there, too. There's nothing more boring than being an over-qualified hausfrau (ask me how I know!), and sometimes just getting to WORK, let alone earning money, is so welcome. So ask around - maybe someone's mom or aunt is a kick-ass tailor who could help you out. (And if so, and if she's really gifted, PAY HER WELL! She'll probably be happy to keep helping you in the future, and I'll bet she's still WAY less expensive than your other commercial options!). And then tell me about her - I'm looking for one, too! ;)
   

Where to look for the 'secret sewing divas' in your area? Here are a few online places to keep an eye out:

http://zurich.en.craigslist.ch/

http://www.englishforum.ch/search2.php?q=tailoring 
and
http://www.englishforum.ch/search2.php?sitesearch=englishforum.ch&cx=partner-pub-5347464857872075%3A9530137327&ie=UTF-8&sa=Search&q=seamstress&logic=and

A quote from an English Forum posting on mending (someone who takes their clothing 'home' to their country for mending as a result of this experience):

I took a pair of trousers to a dry cleaner here who also did these types of repairs to replace a broken zipper. They charged me 35 francs and the zipper was not really suitable for those particular trousers, and a couple of months later, the zipper pull broke off So much for quality...

So it's worth your while to DIY, or to seek out the help of someone who may have 'golden hands' and little work to do with them! :)

'Til next time!

TiZ