Mend and Make do is easier than restraints

So, Nicole had this thing going for a few months there where she didn’t want to wear jeans, just ‘comfypants and leggings' as she said. I went with it, as long as she didn’t wear Leggings As Pants (with a normal length tshirt) outside of the house. But then she and some other kids in preschool became quite entranced with this game where they crawl on the floor at about 100km/h … and within two weeks, she had worn the knees out of three pairs of leggings and two pairs of jeans.

WELL, says this mommy. WELL. Those leggings can be cut short and sewn up into skorts for the summer. As for the jeans, well, I patched this pair up all cute, and left the other pair and declared her a feral child. It’s easier than tying her down.

Because honestly? Sometimes mend and make do has nothing to do with money. First of all, I have been waiting to use up the scrap of this fabric for patches forever. This is adorable, in my opinion. I should add more detail shots later, I did a bunch of random hand stitches with coral and mustard embroidery thread.

Secondly, there are so many needs to fill in this world, and two new pairs of pants a week for a monster that crawls at 100km/h is completely not one of them. She’s actually worn a new hole in these jeans already, and I don’t care, I think it adds to the ‘vintage charm’… or at least that’s what I tell myself. Sometimes I wish she didn’t love dressing like such a girly girl, then the ripped pants wouldn’t look so weird.

Cute little patches like this are easy. Just hand-sew the holes shut in a weaving-type manner – doesn’t have to be pretty, just fix that fabric the best you can. Then heat’n’bond cute patches over it, and add more all over the pants. Stay away from the bum. I did both knees, and the bottom left seam on one side and top right under the pocket on the right side. But avoid the bum; after diapers and before they’re too old to heed your thoughts on bums, it’s not so much cute as weird to draw excess attention to your little girl’s bottom.

She was quite wired and hard to photograph, we’d just gotten back from the dentist and as you can see, she got a new toothbrush, a bracelet, and a ring. It was a good day for her.