You know when you notice that the front of a shirt has somehow started coming away from the stitching and you immediately think, “Well, that’s that then…”? Before you put it in the bin, take a closer look. Sometimes the problem isn’t that the fabric itself has torn. It has simply worked its way out of the original stitching. And when that’s the case, it’s often a really straightforward repair.

Have you ever found a pair of jeans that fit perfectly everywhere except the length? If you’re anything like me, the thought of cutting off that lovely original hem can be enough to make you put the scissors down. But you don’t have to choose between jeans that are too long and losing the original hem.