One alternative to hoarding that I've found comforting and productive is mending!
I would have never ever thought that mending would become one of my solutions to hoarding! The large scar looking mend is my first and spells out Frankenstein. It was mended many times before it finally held, it usually ripped open again just from a couple of knee bends.
The above Frankenstein scar patch was fixed without a back patch.
I've been working on these pair of jeans for about a year or so and mending seems to be a never ending project! A couple of weeks ago I a new tear opened up right over the Frankenstein scar and I fixed it with a back patch.
When I was working on the new mend with a back patch, I noticed that some of the Frankenstein mend was starting to fray and open up, so I added a back patch to it also. You can see the back patches on the inside of the jeans below.
I like the way the reverse side looks and am thinking of actually mending from the inside next time because I like my messy boro look.
I also add the date next to each patch mend, but it's difficult to see them, unless you are super eyes or they are pointed out because it just looks like part of the messy mend.
I used some cloth ribbon here (the crown) and there (a bee) to patch up some small holes. I have short legs and rarely find jeans that don't need to be hemmed, as you can see by all the fraying, I just left these too long.
I can't even remember how long I've had these jeans, but I bought them used at least five to ten years ago.
Once I find a place to mend, another one always seems to pop up!
This has a large back patch about 3 inches wide by 8 inches long. I can barely see the bias stitch I used to hold it down and I just left it in too!
I just got an idea to try reverse applique on the next nice rip! Something to look forward too on the next mend!
I do like to watch how these mends evolve and disintegrate. Below is my experiment. I put an old tattered piece of fabric as a patch on a t-shirt just to see how well it will hold up after a wash and see if the vintage red embroidery floss will run or not.
The above cloth patch is so old and tattered, I don't even need scissors to cut it. I just rip them to size. For some reason I really like to just rip it. I've been embroidering several patches free style and will share the photos next week.
I've been trying to be better about documenting my creative outlets as an alternative to hoarding, but I usually forget or the photos pile up and I can't remember where they are on my computer.
So if you want to see a "before" photo of these jeans, there's only one photo here. There's also a close up of the Frankenstein scar and the date can be seen better.
What I Learned:
1. As a recovering hoarder, it's an ongoing struggle for me to break the viscous cycle of retail therapy as easy stress release and I think I need several, perhaps many creative outlets as alternatives to hoarding.
I've tried several different fun projects. Most of them you can see in my Etsy shops under the section, "handmade by me for you," but right now mending seems to hold my interest the longest and doesn't need a lot of space or use a ton of supplies.
I love to mend my favorite clothes, like the jeans above and my favorite gauze summer shirt, which I've been working on since last summer. And several other projects I work on, so as one project gets tedious or boring I just rotate on to the next.
Other Creative Outlets I've tried: some have sold at a couple of my Etsy shops! Just click on the shop names and it will take you to the "handmade by me for you" section of each shop. VintageToGoEasy, Hoarder Rehab , The Destiny of Things and JunkDrawerandMore. Enjoy!
What alternatives have you found to make your life more positive and healthy?
Related Stories:
1. Other Creative Outlet Stories on this blog, here
"Dream today, create tomorrow!"---Anonymous
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