I’m not sure how so many of my clothes end up with bleach stains, given that I don’t use much bleach around the house. But they do. Thankfully, many of the clothes that end up with these stains are black. “Wait! That’s good?” you say. “Bleach stains are terrible on black!” Yes, it is good. Because there’s a really way … Read more
I’ve had a cute little short-sleeve sweater I haven’t worn for a while because of a missing button and a hole in the front. It’s been sitting at the bottom of the sewing pile; this week I pulled it to the top. I didn’t have a matching button to replace the missing one, so first I removed the remaining three. … Read more
Earlier this week I was in my office typing, and as often happens when I do this in the winter, my hands felt stiff and cold. I often wear regular hand braces when typing, which doesn’t have much effect on my hands’ warmth, but I remembered seeing fancier wrist supports on Amazon that offer compression, so I looked them up. The … Read more
I picked up this wonderfully soft cashmere sweater by Banana Republic last fall while going through the piles of stuff that local university students throw out when they move to new apartments. Besides being extravagantly comfortable, it is scandalously low cut. Maybe that’s why the previous owner threw it out. I decided to create a less revealing neck line by taking in … Read more
I have an old blanket from Target. It’s not the fanciest thing, but it keeps a body warm. Unfortunately, it’s made out of a fabric that snags easily. There was no easy way to mend this, so I decided to cover it up – and give the blanket a little more personality in the process. I took one of the … Read more
I have an awesome little red wool rug from Ikea next to my front door. It’s the perfect place for standing while kicking off wet shoes. For my cats, it’s the perfect place for taking a nap next to the heating vent – or in Lilo’s case, chewing on raw hide. (Even though the rug is wool, she’s … Read more
You may remember this awesomely damaged camisole from my post about Lilo, the Amazing Wool-Eating Cat. Draped over the shoulder is a folded sleeve I cut off from another shirt during this project. I bleached the fabric by setting it in a solution of 1 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon washing soda, and a dash of detergent overnight until … Read more
How I mended a felted-wool Banana Republic cardigan sweater after my neurotic cat ate a chunk out of it. Same method works for dog- and moth-eaten sweaters. Read more …
Seven years ago, I found this adorable Smartwool shirt on Sierra Trading Post. I immediately fell in love with it and wore it all the time. This shirt has held up to a lot of use and even the occasional accidental wash in hot water. (Wool should always be washed in cold water to prevent shrinkage.) But even the most … Read more