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Week 08 · Mend It

Monday

Look it over
// Buttons, laces and clothes that last
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Look it over

Chris the Coyote arrives at the den holding one shoe by a flapping lace. "It just came apart. Shoes do that, right?"

Hazel the Hedgehog peers at it. "Shoes do not just come apart. They fray a little, then a little more, then snap. The trick is to notice early."

She opens a small basket of thread, buttons and spare laces. "This is the mending basket. Mending means fixing small things before they turn into big things."

Hazel sews a button onto a shirt with a grown up hedgehog right beside her.

Why mend?

Clothes and shoes get used every day. Small parts wear out: a button loosens, a lace frays, a seam opens.

A small fix takes five minutes. Waiting until it breaks takes much longer, or the thing is lost for good.

Mending is a helper job. You notice, you tell your grown-up, and you fix what you can together.

The look-over

Once a week, look over your clothes and shoes. Hazel checks four spots.

  • Buttons: wiggle each one gently. A loose button spins or hangs on a thread.
  • Laces: look at the tips and the middle. Fuzzy or thin spots mean fraying.
  • Seams: look at the edges where pieces of cloth join. A gap means an open seam.
  • Zippers: zip up and down once. A stuck zipper needs a grown-up.
What you findWho fixes itHow soon
A loose buttonYou, with a grown-up beside youThis week
A frayed laceYou, with a grown-up watchingThis week
An open seamA grown-up, you can hand thingsSoon
A stuck zipperA grown-up onlyAsk today
SPOT THE SMALL THING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A button spins when you touch it. What does that mean?
A lace tip looks fuzzy and thin. What is happening?
Who fixes a stuck zipper?

The mending basket

A mending basket keeps everything in one place. Ask your grown-up if your home has one, or help make one.

Inside: thread in a few colors, spare buttons and spare laces. Also small scissors and a needle case.

Rules for the basket: the needle lives in its case. Pins stay in the pincushion. Scissors are for grown-ups.

What is the word for fixing small things before they break?
Where does the needle live when nobody is using it?
Loose fuzzy threads at the edge of a lace are called what?
StatementTrue or false?
Shoes and clothes just break all at once.?
A loose button can be sewn by a child with a grown-up beside them.?
Pins can be left anywhere.?
A weekly look-over catches small problems early.?
Scissors in the mending basket are for grown-ups.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESmall problems grow slowly. A weekly look-over catches them while they are still small.
How many spots does Hazel check in her look-over?
WHY THIS EXERCISEFour quick checks cover most of what wears out on clothes and shoes.
Try it
Do a look-over of your own shoes and one jacket or shirt with buttons.
Wiggle buttons, look at laces, check seams. Zip a zipper once.
Tell your grown-up anything you find.
Safety first
Looking only today. Do not open the mending basket without your grown-up.
Needles and scissors stay put until a grown-up hands them to you.

Sharp eyes, Helper! Tomorrow Hazel teaches the big one: sewing on a button with your grown-up.