Saving a Shirt with Creative Mending

 

It that time of year again...to clear space around my wood stove so we can fire it up.  Which means getting rid of stuff and taking care of projects that have been collecting all summer.  This mending project has actually been sitting around for longer than the summer and it was really starting to bug me.  Is that what happens to you?  If something sits long enough it starts driving me nuts and I have to do something about it.  

This was a shirt I made using a pattern by Sew Liberated called the School House Tunic.  I made it from purple linen and I love it.  Problem is somehow I got bleach marks on the side.  I thought I could use it as a work shirt but every time I went to wear it for work I thought, I like it too much to do any more damage to it.  

It was just obvious enough that I didn't feel comfortable wearing it out.

I contemplated what to do for a long time but I finally settled on purple leaves.  I could have used some Heat-n-Bond but I just ended up using a glue stick to hold them in place while I stitched them on. 

I used a very small zig-zag and stitched over the raw edges.  I've washed it a few times now and it has come through quite nicely; no big fraying or anything.