Friday 20 January 2012

Mending a GREAT Find!

A recent valuable find at the thrift shop...  a Youth MEC down coat in nearly new condition!   These coats sell for well over $100, so I was thrilled to pay just $14.99 as it will be in use for 3-4 years between our 2 youngest kids.  With our frigid winters (-40C recently!), down is the absolute BEST for keeping warm while being lightweight and comfortable.


The only flaw - 3 TINY holes from fire sparks landing on the nylon...  easily repairable!



I hauled out the manuals for my machine (Mom's old 1970's Husqvarna) and got busy learning how to use the darning foot.



Turns out it was WAY easier than I thought and the whole operation took less than 5 minutes!  It's truly shocking how I can make these tasks out to seem so "hard" in my mind ~ fuelling my procrastination.



You can see the stitching in this close up, but from any distance, none of the 3 repairs are visible :)


The coat is now repaired, washed and put away for next winter when it will likely begin it's faithful service.  The weird looking sheen on the coat is purely from the flash - the coast is in pristine condition!  


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8 comments:

  1. Hopewell20 January 2012 at 11:44

    Great job! I never knew a "darning foot" existed!

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  2. Joolz20 January 2012 at 12:54

    Don't you just love a good bargain. What a great find!

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  3. becky308620 January 2012 at 19:55

    Humm, never heard of these coats and never knew a sewing machine could do those kinds of repairs. I would have just used a needle and thread. Must be a very good 1970 sewing machine because my new digital one won't do that. Good job.

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  4. Little Home In The Country21 January 2012 at 07:59

    The company is Mountain Equipment Co-op. Good quality outerwear/sportswear/outdoor equipment. It's well known here but perhaps not elsewhere :)

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  5. becky308621 January 2012 at 15:07

    I am going to have to look over my machine again and see if it can do this :)
    I guess there is not a whole lot of call for good winter clothes here in GA but then I don't really buy any name brand stuff or anything that might be expensive, lol.

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  6. Little Home In The Country21 January 2012 at 16:19

    Becky, we don't buy brand name clothing, but we do usually buy good quality outerwear. We NEED it to be warm and because we wear it for 6 months straight, it needs to be durable and reliable with good strong zippers and sturdy stitching, etc. As well, I like to hand down to younger kids. It's cheaper in the long run to buy good quality winter coats and have 2 or 3 kids wear them for 1-2 years each. We do luck out occasionally (like this post) and find great coats second hand :) Balances out for the times we pay for new...

    My darning foot worked rather like a stipple quilting/free motion quilting foot - it lifted up after each stitch to give free motion of the garment... I had control over what direction the stitches went... sideways, backwards, forwards.... etc.. totally freehand.

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  7. Karen21 January 2012 at 20:14

    Great find Sis !!!!

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  8. Karen21 January 2012 at 20:16

    Now I have to remember how I posted that !!! hahaha

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