Do people still sew on buttons?

[marvik]

I just wondered after teaching my 21 year old - who will soon be leaving home - how to do this.

I can sew on a button securely, take up a hem, mend a small rip so it's almost invisible and also sew on scout badges and nametapes neatly.

However, neither of my parents have these skills (I learned from my grandmother).

I'm rubbish at sewing. All I can do is sew on buttons and name tags and repair split seams. If I can do it anyone can.

I can't believe anyone would throw away clothes just because a button had come off. Never heard of that before.

I do. Learned at Brownies.

Of course

I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't?

Sew buttons, darn socks, take up trousers, mend clothes, take in clothes, sew on bloody Scout badges

I do it, I'm 30 and was taught to sew at school. If something can be repaired I'll do that instead of replacing it. But I grew up not being able to replace things instantly.

Yes, of course. Also repair seams and take up trousers, my dc can all do it too.

We've just replaced some press studs on a winter coat. No sewing skills needed. However, enlisted husband as he likes bashing bits of metal!

Yes, I sew buttons on, usually school shirts or blazers, they don't seem to come of work shirts. I have occasionally sewed a ripped seam of a coat but not a lot else.

The kids have both done sewing at school in primary and secondary and my daughter has recently got a sewing machine as she likes making things, she's much more 'crafty' than me.

Absolutely! And I also repair hems and seams. My young adult sons know that things can be fixed rather than thrown away too.

Of course we sew on buttons and I’ve taught DD to do it too. Some items like school blazers frequently need it and are not easily or cheaply replaced so absolutely sew them.

I also see ripped seams.

*sew

My mum was a seamstress, I was being taught to sew by hand by the time I was three, had a child’s sewing machine bought for me at 8 and now at 24 I’m teaching my friends how to sew buttons/holes and darn things.

I refuse to buy new clothes when all it needs is a ten minute fix.

I can sew buttons back on (and use a dewing machine) but can't remember the last time I had a button fall off, we wear a lot of just old tshirts and tracksuits and waterproof jackets, so mainly a zip/elastic affair!

Of course. And plenty of other little repairs.

My 14 & 12 year old sons are both able to sew on their own buttons and put their Scout badges on their shirts. They were encouraged to do it themselves as soon as they went up to Scouts from cubs...

I sew on buttons and darn socks, but only expensive wool ones I don’t want to bin.

I sew buttons back on, sew up fallen hems or holes and I've even been known to make shorts from pairs of my husband's cargo type trousers that have seen betterdays if the hems are trashed.

I will admit I cheat and use fabric glue for Scout badges

Yes, I do!

DS(12) lost both buttons off his school blazer and it didn’t come with spares so I went into the (small, independent) shop that I bought it from and asked if I could buy some spares so I could sew a couple on, and they were gobsmacked, they said that they’d had people try and return blazers as faulty because a button had come off, or just buy a new blazer rather than sew a new button on!

Crazy!

Of course. It isn't exactly hard.

But socks? I'll darn a small hole, but not a bloody great big one.

I darn favourite socks and I most certainly darn cashmere cardigans, specially black ones (as the darns are very hard to see so they can have a lot of darns but still look smart).

Yes if course. I ve taught my nine year old how to see a button on.

I sew a lot, but rarely mend anything. My husband does the mending- he learnt to mend sails and nets when he first started fishing, and as a result he's very good at patching school bags, sewing on buttons and repairing split seams.

Yes, of course and other small repairs - it would be incredibly wasteful and unecological to throw clothing out because of this. For things I can't do myself there is always the repair shop round the corner (any corner).

Prokupatuscrakedatus, do you mind me asking how much the repair shop costs? Clothes are so cheap I can't imagine paying someone to do it unless on a very expensive garment (though luckily I can do most things)