Tips for taking care of your clothes from Make Do and Mend;

In 1943, a booklet titled Make Do and Mend was widely distributed in England in an effort to encourage and teach households how to make their clothing last longer in a period of clothing and other shortages. This booklet became the cornerstone for households with information on how to reuse and reinforce old clothing as well as heaps of laundry tips and ideas on how to upcycle old clothes into something new. In today’s world, clothing has become disposable with most of what we buy to wear only being worn on average 7 times before it’s thrown out; this is causing so much destruction to our planet and it’s environment so sharing knowledge from decades ago, might just inspire us to take care of our garments better and reduce the amount we discard.

Previously, I shared some general tips on washing and ironing from the Make Do and Mend booklet, this post proved to be really popular so I thought it might be fun to share some more tips from the booklet. I also plan to expand my previous post with more detailed hints from the book but I love the fact you guys are so keen to learn these retro laundry tips with me. Today, I thought it might be great to share how the booklet encourages you to make your clothing last longer. The booklet points out, that “if you want to feel happy in your clothes as long as they last, start looking after them properly from the very beginning”. So let’s look at some helpful tips!

Tips on Taking Care of Clothes

1. Mend clothes before washing them or sending them to the laundry, or the hole or tear may become unmanageable. Thin places especially must be dealt with, or they may turn into holes.

2. Always change into old things, if you can, in the house and give the clothes you have just taken off an airing before putting them away.

3. Don’t throw your things down in a heap when you take them off; when they are still warm the material will crease Brush them with a short-haired brush (a long whisk picks up the fibres) and shake them well. Then hang them on hangers, making sure that the hangers are wide enough. A hanger that is too narrow will ruin the shape of the shoulder and may even make a hole. For skirts, cut a notch each end of the hanger to stop the loops slipping off.
Do up all fastenings before hanging clothes. This helps them to keep their shape. And see that the shoulders are even on the hanger and not falling off one side.

4. See that the wardrobe door shuts tightly, to keep out fust and moths.

5. Remove all stains at once, as they usually come out fairly easily before they are set. For grease, use a hot iron on a piece of clean white blotting paper placed over the stain.
For all other stains, try plain tepid water first, and then soap and water If you still can’t get the stain out, send the article to the cleaners, and put a note on it saying what the stain is.

6. Keep a look out for loose buttons and other fastenings, frayed buttonholes and split seams, and mend them at once.

7. It is best to wear clothes in turn, as a rest does them good. Shoes, too, are better for not being worn day after day.

8. Never let clothes get really dirty. Dirt injured the fabric, so clean or wash clothes when slightly soiled.

9. Use dress shields to protect clothes from perspiration, but don’t leave shields in when putting clothes away for any length of time.

How to Store Clothes

1. Put away clothes in the condition in which you will want to wear them when you take them out again.

2. Make quite sure they are absolutely clean; dirt attracts clothes moths

3. Give clothes a good brushing and airing in the open air – in the sun if possible – taking care to turn out pockets and look behind collars and seams for dust and fluff and moth eggs.

4. Never store clothes in a damp place, or they may get mildewed.

5. It is well worth while to tack down all pleats, pocket openings and revers, and sew together button holes if you can spare the time.

6. Cover all shoulders on hangers with a collar of newspaper

7. When folding clothes, put bunched-up newspaper between the folds to prevent creases

8. Finally, don’t forget all about the things you have put away, but give them a thorough airing, and examine for moths as often as you can.

The Moth Menace

From September to spring is the time when your clothes are in most danger from moths. It is the grub which eats the material, and although the moth lays its eggs mainly in wool, it sometimes lays them in other types of material. So keep a look out for moth eggs in all your clothes. If you carry out the following suggestions you can be reasonably sure of keeping the clothes’ moth away.

1. Moths like warm, dark cupboards – anywhere in facts, where they are not disturbed. At least once a month, more often if possible, beat, brush and shakes your clothes well, particularly woolens, and air them in the sunlight out of doors. Sun and air kill the grub.

2. Turn out pockets and look behind collars and in turning for any signs of eggs or grubs. The eggs are each about the size of a pin head. The grubs are whitish-yellow, about a quarter of an inch long when fully grown.

If there are any signs of moth, brush vigorously first, then iron with a hot iron over a damp cloth. Even if you can’t see the eggs it is a good plan to iron in this way. This is particularly effective method for carpets.

3. When putting away clothes make quite sure there are no signs of moth.

4. Scrub out cupboards and drawers, being sure to get into the cracks and corners, and when you have put your things away seal up the drawer or cupboard as tightly as possible.

Until I started reading Make Do and Mend, I never realized how much of a scourge the household moth was. Even though this post is all about what the magical mending book says, I wanted to add my own thoughts on moths and keeping moths away by sharing information that my great grandparents passed down to each generation. The best way to keep away moths in your wardrobe is by putting bars of scented soap all around. That’s it. The scent from the soap is mild enough to not bother you, but will keep the moths away as it’s too strong for them. Yes your clothes may smell a little like soap but that’s better than being destroyed by moths. I sometimes keep them in little pouches on coat hangers, I pop them into the pockets of items and they are all over my winter storage bags to keep my wool items safe. Grabbing the multi-buy packs of soap bars for just a few dollars really can save you from the moth menace. Now that I have passed on ancient familial knowledge, I’d love to encourage you to start looking after and caring for your clothes more. Saving clothing from land fill (not everything we donate gets sold on), really makes a difference to our world and will also save you some dollary doos overtime! Let’s get mending!

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.