Slow Fashion October: Long-worn

(I'm behind on the Slow Fashion October prompts, so I'm going to be bunching them up a bit!)

Sweater with a dropped stitch in need of repair.

Week 2 of Slow Fashion October centers on the topic of long-worn: "How can we make the most of the clothes already on the planet — from taking care of and mending and wearing things longer, to thrifting, swapping, heirlooms, hand-me-downs, alterations and refashioning."

This is one of the trickier issues for me: while I'm no longer of an age where I'm obsessed with every fashion trend (though I do enjoy adding a few pieces to my wardrobe every year), my clothes wear out fairly frequently--chasing small boys around all day will do that. This is also a situation where better quality clothes aren't necessarily the solution, as even the best made pair of jeans will eventually wear a hole in the knee if you're crawling around on the floor half the day; even the best quality white tshirt is no match for a blood stain--and being a mom means that I don't always have the opportunity to whip off my clothes and clean/soak/treat/mend them before a minor problem becomes a major disaster. I'm sure other busy women struggle with these same issues--we want our clothes to last longer, but finding the time to care for them correctly in order to make that happen is a struggle. 

What to do with these accidentally felted pieces re-inherited from my mom?

But I make an effort to find time to care for my handknits. Why is that? Because I've created them, made them with my own 2 hands, they have greater value to me. It's worth my time to find time to care for them because they're one of a kind. In the back of my mind, I know I can buy a new pair of jeans, I know I can afford a few new tshirts, but I cannot buy another handknit sweater. So how can I reset my brain to approach my "regular" clothes the same way? (It would probably help if I knew how to mend clothes, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, I see you sewing machine, still in the box!) 

I've been collecting inspiration on Pinterest for refashioning, visible mending and other DIY ideas for making the best of the clothes already in my closet. The challenge will be finding time (and energy) for such things after chasing after the boys 12+ hours a day!

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