My oldest came up with a way to mark the pairs of his Hanes gray toe socks. He would put a black (or red or blue) on the H for one pair, then on the A for the next pair, then on the N, and so forth.

If he had lots of new socks going into circulatiion, he would mark the H above the bar on one pair and below the H on another pair.

This system made it a lot easier to pair up clean socks.

Yes, I can mend. Years ago my Grandson broke his leg and couldn't get his jeans on over the cast. I made his pant leg bottoms into sailor legs and other boys wanted theirs fixed.

I am so glad that I taught my two GG to mend and sew. One was in Hurricane Maria in the VI. She has had to mend many things (sails, bedspreads,l etc., you name it. She said that she and her sister have now coined the phrase "Nanny-rigged" because I am usually able to figure out a solution to problems. They learned to "think outside the box" and I am so glad they have learned that skill.

My Albuquerque GD wanted me to make her a HS graduation dress. She sent the pattern a JoAnn's employee had helped her size. A 14. I traded it locally for a 6, took up the waist area and it fit perfectly. The pattern measurements were so far off. I find purchased sizes and pattern sizes very similar for me and apparently my GD is the same. 12 and 12 for me. 6 and 6 for her.

Yes I mend just about anything except socks or underwear. I'll even replace a zipper if they ask nice. Haha, if I really don't want to mend something, I'll put it aside and hope they forget about it. Sometimes it works. When I was getting ready to move a couple months ago I found a bag of mending that one of the kids had brought me about 5 years ago. Since they've never asked about it in all this time I tossed the whole bag.

Cari

I replaced a zipper for my neighbor's grand daughter (such a polite young girl), her favorite jacket lost a few teeth in the zipper.

I got paid with a hug and some cookies. :) Worth every bit of the half hour if took to remove, pick the threads away and replace.

Oh, and I got a zipper long enough to make a sleeping bag if I wanted to.....lol The G-ma gave it to me, since she had no use for it.

Ingenious idea! I will have to remember that. Our grandson wears the same type of socks. When he comes over I do his laundry the night before he goes home. Would be a good way to tell his from G-pa's.

I mend if I like the item enough. I have fixed socks on the machine just to see if I could (I could) and sometimes when I go visit the son and daughter in law with the grands they have some things for me. I have mended back packs, soccer pants (on the machine with FMQ method) dance costumes, pajama pants, etc. This last visit there wasn't anything. Kids are getting older. I have a machine and supplies there.

I still darn winter socks, but do it by machine now. I darn once. If more holes develop, I throw them because they are too worn out. Yes, I do repair clothing worn by family members including replacing zippers in jackets. However, I usually only do this 3-4 times a year. Everything piles up and then I take a couple of days to do everything in the pile.

I sew on buttons, hem clothes and sometimes will repair small tears and repair seams. Otherwise, I toss torn socks, torn jeans (or I cut them into shorts) - I know wasteful. No, no, no to zippers (never learned how to do them). I will repair knit sweaters, if possible, especially loose knit ones.

When I was a Boy Scout leader, I taught all the boys how to sew their own merit badges onto their sashes. The Moms loved me - the boys not so much. From what I hear, the badges are now iron-on. Too bad. When my son went into the Marines (1997) he was one of the only guys who knew how to sew.