march 3, 2012

i set aside some time tonight to mend my mending kit - the vintage one that the fabulous a.w. found for me on etsy. it's so very awesome, and i love that it arrived both equipped for mending and in need of mending. as i started my mending tonight, my roomie received a call that one of her clients was in labour and started preparing her doula bag to go assist at a birth. i thought it was a nice parallel...remembering that, just like this kit, the people who deliver care also need it.

as you can see from the "before" pic above, the top and bottom halves of the kit are held together by one old-ass piece of cardboard that's tearing more by the day. i'm going to reinforce the cardboard with this scrap piece of red leather that one of n.h.'s roommates had in her mending arsenal. hooray for using what's already around for mending. (seriously, that's my favourite!)

okay...so i decided to reinforce the inside and the outside of the kit with leather panels so that it would be extra strong. i figured out super-quickly that i wouldn't get far in this task without a leather needle, so i decided to go with some adhesive that i had handy.

it turned out pretty well. i wasn't sure about the contrasting reds, but i think it looks alright. and, like i've said a million times before, why make the mend blend?