Proof that progress is not an illusion
I recently had to buy a spool of blue thread to repair a shirt I have, and so I went to Walmart. I purchased a large spool for $2.44, which I think you’ll agree is a bargain in this day and age.
But what really caught my eye was another spool of blueish thread. This was just as large and even cheaper, selling for $1.94. But what fascinated me was that it was labeled as thread for mending denim. Now, I’ve mended plenty of denim in my time, but I’ve always used blue thread, which is good enough but not completely great for the purpose. But then again, I had never in my life thought, “Oh, if only they made denim thread!” And yet here it was, and I couldn’t resist.
Reader, I purchased it:
I may have to rip some jeans in order to try it out.
I presume that the denim thread will never be used to stitch up the designed holes in the jeans of young, and not so young, women. On the other hand, now that denim jackets are fashion statements that are apparently appropriate for all occasions there is probably a need for the thread.
I can recall that at the large public university that I graced back in the ’50s, men were not allowed to wear dungarees, aka jeans, to class. Lots of khaki. Just to be even handed, women were not allowed to wear shorts on campus.
No one revolted and held a sit-in at the Dean of Students’ office to protest this gross violation of our First Amendment right to free expression.
Different times.
If true, I thought when I read it – this is bigger than Bingo. (I know Neo will get the song quote)
I did an internet search and found denim thread in several of the most popular colors. With Jo-Ann fabrics gone, I checked the local Hobby Lobby and found their selection lacking. I never thought of Wal Mart. I’ll have to go check. I am sorry to say that finding fabrics for clothing construction is now online only.
For some projects, such as a quilt, you want 100% cotton thread. The denim thread is cotton/polyester blend which matches the fabric. I noticed that it is also variegated thread which would match the fading aspects of jeans.
Note that there are demin/jean needles for sewing machines to be able to go through the heavier fabric with fewer needle breaks.
And, if you are getting older, there are easy threading needles for both sewing machines as well for hand sewing.
I can see using denim thread for hemming up the pants legs, which I have to do every time I buy pants unless they are capri cut.
On the other hand, I don’t wear jeans at all, so I really don’t care.
On the gripping hand, and this may be a repeat anecdote:
When my grandad ,who was raised as a cowhand until he married and moved to “the city,” first saw those purposely-torn jeans and learned they were the new fashion, he noted drily (and please “hear” this in a good Texas cowpoke accent), “When our jeans looked like that, we th’owed ’em away.”
PS to Neo: You should splurge on a new pair of jeans, rather than redoing some old ones. Please post pictures of your handiwork!
We have a couple of seamstresses here, I see!
My actual eyesight is too bad now for much hand or machine sewing, and I have to get someone else to thread the needle even with a needle-threading gadget.
However, I long ago delegated to AesopSpouse his own pants-hemming and button-attaching (at least for work pants) and he does pretty well.
I have a daughter-in-law handy who sews fabulously, and also makes quilts, so she takes care of my clothing refurbishing needs.
In fact, we first met while working together on costuming projects for my sons’ HS theater classes, and I was very glad she decided to marry one of them.
AesopFan, I’ve done quilting and plan to begin again now that we have completed our move to the mountains and my husband’s knee replacement (recovery going amazingly well). When we lived in Cairo, Egypt, for two years, I joined a quilting group! Amazing! It was in the home of a Dutch woman who had married an Egyptian. The group included British, Dutch, and Australian ex-pats, me as the only American, and some Egyptian women who learned the skill from the Dutch lady. Fun!
Ugh… it looks purple to me.
My wife and I disagree many times on whether an object, usually a car, is purple or blue. Weird.
Steve:
See this post of mine from 2021 on a similar disagreement.
It looks pretty. Please let us know how it turns out.
As this is about sewing, I will post what my quilting cousin in Montana told me. Her weekly quilting club is gradually losing members to the grim reaper. There are no younger quilters who could join the club. My cousin told me that when a sewing machine stopped being a standard household item, there was no longer a ready way to learn quilting.
My mother was a competent seamstress. Her Halloween costumes were evidence of her creative spirit. No store-bought costumes for her kiddos!
When I started my New England public high school in 1964, blue jeans were not permitted. Asphalt jungle and all that. No hoodlums permitted in this college prep-oriented high school.
I observed that males in my grandmother’s small town in Oklahoma wore denim all the time, with the exception of church. So, I didn’t view jeans as hoodlum wear.
By my senior year, the administration had been worn down and stopped regulating blue jeans and hair length.
I wanted to find a blue skinny belt dor an outfit (– never did! Single colored belts are rare here, nowadays), I went to Marshall’s. Took a few minutes to look thru a clearance rack of pants, including jeans. I found many jeans were hem-free! I’m not sure if most hip people wear them hemless, or hem them once purchased.
Hemming is tedious, especially with poor eyesight. So, I admit, I’ve started simply cuffing some pants.
So there, style elitists. Lol.
@ Neo – thanks for linking your post from 2021. The comments there covered every thing I was going to say here about color differentiating and naming, plus much much more!
Fun to take a stroll down memory lane.