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What are you going to do if you tear a pant leg or get a hole in a sock after SHTF? Even if it’s only a short term emergency you’re not going to be able to just run out and buy new stuff. At least not for a while. This is where some basic sewing knowledge could come in useful. I recommend that every prepper consider adding a basic sewing kit to their supplies. This should include not just needle and thread, but extra buttons, patches, and a good pair of fabric sheers. It’s a good idea to have a variety of needles including leather and upholstery needles for tent and gear repair. Likewise a variety of thread types and colors is a good idea. It doesn’t require a lot of skill to patch pants or darn a sock but it will make things more comfortable and last longer. There are plenty of sites on line where you can learn the basic stitches and methods. It’s a good way to use up some of that down time at night too.
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Good point!
Pople often are not aware how things detorieate when something serious happens, especially in prolonged period of time.
We forget that things like getting new clothes become not possible, and repairing it is completely on us.
One more point here is that when SHTF everything is harder and gets more stress, that include clothing.Clothes that usually lasts for month gets damaged in few weeks because you use it a lot in hard everyday work.
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Sewing supplies will be great items for trading in a SHTF situation. Packets of needles are quite inexpensive, and I often find other supplies (thread, patches, buttons, even sewing baskets) for next to nothing at yard sales and estate sales. Knowing how to repair things is a great barter skill. It’s a good idea to know how to darn socks, as well.
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If you read books such as Little House on the Prairie, the ladies always had button baskets. It’s a good idea to remove zippers and buttons from clothes you may be throwing away.
Also, use 40% off coupons at Joann’s, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby for any sewing supplies. Black Friday may be another good time to get those items for a fraction of the price. 🙂
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I have a basket of socks with holes beside my chair in the living room. When watching Netflix with the kiddo, I darn socks. I know it’s weird, but I always found darning socks to be relaxing. If I run out of socks, I have yarn and a crochet hook. I’m the kind of person who can’t just sit still and watch a movie – I have to keep my hands occupied.
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Sewing —UGH. I know how to sew, but it has never appealed to me. I do keep all the things I need but my husband does more sewing than I do. Probably because he tears up more stuff than I do while he is working. My daughter however has taught herself to sew by hand, she took my machine as her own, which is good cause I wasn’t using it ;). She taught herself to sew, make repairs, adjustments and is currently tracing a pattern for something she found in a library book. She has the energy and drive I only dream of LOL. I really need to get on the ball because I don’t know a 10th of what she is talking about anymore!
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Sewing is a must have, must know-how, must do whether its pre- or post-SHTF. Learn and practice now while you have the materials and supplies on hand. A few years back, I had some bricks of beeswax and a metal super-mini muffin baking tray to melt down that wax for small sewing aids to wax the thread or cords that I’m working with. (I still have a brick and probably a life-time supply of the small ones) The wax helps the fibers of the thread/cord to last longer and it’s small enough to fit in a sewing kit. An alternative to the metal tray could be a silicone candy-making tray. Also, add a small needle-nose plier to your kit for pulling a needle through a difficult material such as heavy or multiple-layered cloth or leather. Thimbles will give good protection to your fingertips. I’m not a fan of the full metal caps for handwork that I have to put some force behind as they tend to slip; I prefer the Clover leather coin thimble. I’m not too keen on using a thick piece of leather in place of a thimble as I’ve had the eye-end of the needle go through it under strong pressure… scary! Have items in your sewing kit to keep your pins and needles sharp and your scissors sharp. You could get by with a folded up piece of aluminum foil to cut on with your scissors, but in post-SHTF it might be whittled down to aluminum dust. Have a pin cushion with an attached emery sand bobble to sharpen the pins and needles. I use a very compact Sewsharp scissor sharpener by Fiskars; it’s like holding a large coin in my hand, very convenient! Don’t forget to load up on a stash of heavier thread like “button and carpet”, “upholstery” or such like that. I found heavy thread used in model ship building at a hobby store. After figuring out it was cheaper and stronger than the heavy thread at my usual fabric store, I cleaned out that sale bin and those spools are really compact. It will become good as gold when you’ve discovered an inconvenient tear in your tarp, tent, bedroll, heavy coat, etc. after SHTF. These are just a few suggestions that I hope will help with your sewing preps.
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I took Home Economics classes back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and learned to sew and mend both by hand and machine. This was also the era of “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
Which is why I’m continually saddened by evidence of the complete lack of basic sewing skills among younger people. Personal story: on my last job before retirement, I encountered a Millenial crying in the lunch room. Seems she popped a button on her silk blouse and was scheduled for a job performance interview after lunch. I patted her arm and asked for the button. With her wearing the blouse, I took thread and needle out of my purse sewing kit and whipped the button back in place. She watched in silence and then looked at me like I’d just spun straw into gold. “Where did you learn to do that,” she asked in a puzzled voice. I smiled and mentioned YouTube (since she might never have heard of Home Ec) and then asked her how she would have repaired the blouse. “Oh,” she said brightly, “I just donate them and buy another one.”
<face palm>
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It is scary how that so many people have no sewing skills at all. I have recently pulled out my tiny kit from my purse twice at peoples home’s because they had nothing. First time was to fix the hem of my granddaughters dress, DIL has not even got one needle. Second time was at an outdoor wedding and one of the bridesmaids need a quick stitch. Amazes me.
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I have genuine interest in learning to sew. I bought a secondhand machine at the thrift store and I’ve been buying basic supplies little by little. However, I am going to have to rely on YouTube and books to learn how to sew by hand and machine because I cannot seem to find anyone in my area that has the time to teach me. It’s terrible that women no longer value cooking, gardening, or mending. I mention these skills to the millenials and Gen Z people I am in school with and they look at me like I have three eyes. They have no desire to be self sufficient and its sad.
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I keep a bucket with sewing supplies in it and just keep adding to it when ever I have a few cents to spare. I couldn’t believe how much it cost to get a non power driven machine (that is the foot peddle variety) so its just going to be by hand as usual. When did home ec get such a bad name! I can’t believe how many kids can’t cook or wash these days. I’ve had to wash on a wash board its no fun and sewing get a bit harder when your hands don’t work so well any more.
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Reader’s digest put out a book called “Complete Guide to Sewing”. I have it but hardly use it because I know how to sew. The most important book would be the manual to your particular machine unless it is a treadle.
Many years ago when I was in high school, I had moved to a new school and had never sewn before and the kids in the new school had had two years of sewing. My mother didn’t sew so when she bought the pattern it was a complicated blouse and another girl in the class who had sewn since she was seven years old bailed me out over and over. I am still grateful to her whenever I think about it.
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I recently finished up darning some socks and realized that I had a tiny treasure in my hand! Years ago, I was going to toss out some things that the kids were no longer interested in. One of those things was a hollow plastic egg that came apart in the middle to hold Easter candy, nuts or small edibles. I decided to keep it and have used it as my darning kit ever since. It holds my darning needles and spare strands of darning thread (wrapped on small pieces of heavy, stiff paper) from the nearly-empty thread spools. I use the egg inside the sock I’m repairing to have a surface to work against. This egg is stored in a drawstring bag that I made out of an old sock that was beyond repair; I just cut across the edge at the point of the heel and stitch the edge so it won’t unravel. Then I basted a narrow ribbon around the top as a drawstring, about 1/2-inch from the stitched edge, and finished with tying two large beads at the ends of the drawstring to keep it secure. I added a couple of extra spools of darning thread, too. If I find more socks to repair, I just look for my ol’ sock bag and I’m ready for work!
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So it happens. My sister in law can’t sew and they’re in need of masks. From what she says, she would also like to make some masks for charity and she’s pretty enthusiastic about this. I would like to ask, what do you think – would it be easier to make them with hand-sewing or order a small machine for such purpose?
As for myself, I’m already know how to sew (my mother taught me when I was a kid) so I’m ready to make some masks for them, but that’s a temporary solution. I know that it’d be easier for her to join sewing courses (like the ones from JoAnn), as that’s how I improved my skills. But I’m not fancying the idea of going somewhere nowadays. Any good sources you could recommend? -
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A couple years ago, I bought a Singer sewing machine. I don’t use it all that often, but about once a year I bring the sewing machine out and make something simple such as napkins, table runner or pillow covers. The first napkin or so isn’t the greatest but by the third I am seeing fine.
Last summer I picked up a huge box of thread and fabric remnants at a yard sale. A couple weeks ago, I donated all that fabric and several yards I had to some neighbors to make masks. The gals have sewed all that fabric up. They are seamstresses; I am your basic sewer and darner.
Sewing is a skill. YouTube has some great basic courses, but the best is learning hands on from someone and getting feed back.
As for finding a good basic sewing machine, I would try a yard sale. Over the years, I have seen several and I have bought lots of fabric and notions at yard sales.
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Little sister, not sure on a hand cranked machine but if you don’t have one, look for a treadle sewing machine. I keep seeing a lot of them in yard and estate sales, fairly inexpensively too. I got my great grandmothers years ago, sewed up my maternity clothes on it (and other things). Did okay except for the zippers. Gr Grandma’s was made before the manufacturer had a zipper foot attachment for it. Good thing didn’t have kids then, they’d a learned some interesting language back then, LOL. Did manage to put the zippers in, though.Taught BOTH boys to sew, put buttons on.Both DIL’s are amazed (and very grateful) at what the boys know how to do. But as my MIL always said she wasn’t raising her boys to be helpless and I made sure my boys did the same. All 5 of her sons know how to cook, clean, sew and take care of the babies. The only thing I haven’t mastered is Darning socks and keeping buttons on, still working at it. One of these days I might have a pair that don’t have a lump on them and the buttons will stay on..I keep practicing.
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Buttons: 4-H trick that most of you will know but may be new to someone. After completing all the sewing thru the button holes, bring the needle up thru the back of the fabric to the top surface of the fabric. Not thru the button hole. Wind the thread around the stitching thread — between the button and the top of the fabric. This seems to lock that stitching so it holds. Then dive the needle back to the inside of fabric to knot.
OldMtWoman….hope I explained that clearly???
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Yes, you are right and I will explain why. First of all, it will help you save time and money, which I think is very important. Secondly, it is stupid to throw out clothes because the buttons have come off or there is a small hole. Before, I didn’t value clothes so much and would just give them to someone or throw them in the trash. Once I found here http://www.ShopSKRIT.com/press-kit a very nice shirt that I liked, but a week later, through my carelessness, I slightly tore it. I immediately went to the Internet and found a lot of useful video tutorials about sewing and I realized that this is not difficult for me at all and I can sew everything without any problems. Now, if I have any clothes torn, I first try to fix everything on my own.
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