Yesterday’s post sparked something that deserves it’s own post. Yes, I do recommend having a fair bit of sewing gear tucked away. Aside from fabric, it is fairly inexpensive and in an emergency you will find yourself facing two needs: minor repair and major repair/manufacturing.
First, here’s what I’m talking about when I say inexpensive. Individual packs of hand needles can be found for a couple of bucks, though certain specialty needles can get a bit more expensive. Safety pins and other pins are still at a semi-reasonable price. Thread has gone up since the last time I bought any, but again picking up a spool or two a month is not going to break the bank. What you see above is one kit for minor clothing emergencies, and the start to something more.
The kit on the left is a fairly complete and ready to go minor emergency kit. You have assorted hand needles, pins, safety pins, and a small pre-threaded repair kit. You can add more thread options, which is not a bad idea. Meantime, you have with this the ability to sew on buttons, make minor repairs, and otherwise repair your clothing. You don’t have to be Mr. Baggins running from Gollum and the Goblins to end up losing a button or three, or otherwise doing things that require some repair. Tucking a few of these around is a good investment. Heck, I used to have a slightly larger emergency kit like the one bottom center in each suitcase when I traveled on business. Used them a few times too — my buttons were on, even if not always as pretty as those done by the pros.
The kit on the right is a start to a larger kit. The small rolls of thread are on the bottom, the larger rolls above along with the various needles, pins, and such. My plan is to add more large rolls of thread, a cloth tape measure, some larger specialized needles, and some other basics to it. This will be good for major repairs and a start towards being able to make something at need.
Pro Tip: If your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/other sews and has good scissors, do not try to use them for anything else, much less add them to a kit. If you have used them to cut paper or anything else, a new pair and dinner is a good start towards making up for that. Find out what they are, where they were obtained, and buy some new to go into a kit. Get their advice on what to tuck away, possibly including some fabric for repairs and more.
One of the things that stuck with me after the first time I read Alas Babylon by Pat Frank was how breaking a needle almost sent some of the survivors into a meltdown. If you are dealing with an emergency or a disaster, you are probably not going to be able to run to the store or shop online. Needles (hand or machine) and other items we take for granted as being cheap and common may well become expensive and scarce. Also, if you have a sewing machine consider getting a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for it, though it will likely need to be something on the order of what you would get for a sump pump or such. For that matter, having an antique foot-powered sewing machine could provide decoration as well as a functioning machine at need.
Now, I use jars for size and convenience. Pins, needles, and such are not great to put in mylar. For the larger kits you could use gallon or 2.5-gallon buckets, but that is up to you. Also, fabric would work well in mylar and a 5-gallon bucket. Be smart, be flexible, and tuck a few away at need.
Just wanted to sew this up while I could…
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It’s always the little things in prep that one doesn’t consider. My wife is the sewing person, and what a great point — a basic sewing kit combined with a little electrical power would make that one small part of life easier to manage if the SHTF.
Glass jars have a multitude of uses. Why do you ignore plastic jars – like peanut butter – for things like the sewing kit?
Hmmm. That may be tomorrow’s post. Plastic does work for LTS, if it is the right type of plastic. More to come.
If you need a sewing machine that is utterly reliable in the worst of conditions, consider one of the heavy-duty machines that are sold by sailrite.com. They are definitely not cheap, but they can sew just about any fabric (and even some leather) that you can imagine, and with an additional kit can be operated with a hand-crank instead of electricity.
Offshore racers often carry a machine like one of these to do emergency repairs on sails and other gear that might suffer a tear or some other problem during a long stretch away from other assistance.