If garments have not been well cared for from the first and beyond a certain point, "making over" is poor economy. Never attempt cleaning and making over old clothes unless the material is good enough to make it worth while to do the work well.
Mending Baskets
The mending basket is an important adjunct of mending and should be well supplied with darning cotton of all colors and sizes, good English tape, black and white, of different widths, linen tape, bias tape, different kinds and sizes of needles,—sewing, darning, shoe, carpet, and tape needles.
Use of Tape
For repairing bands and facings, where buttons have been torn off by wringer or iron, and for strengthening weak places, tape is invaluable. It saves the time required to turn in the edges of the cloth and is less clumsy and bungling.
Use of Judgment in Mending
The mender should use good judgment as to the amount of work to be applied to each garment. She should substitute the machine needle whenever possible and not put tiny stitches by hand into half worn garments or in unseen places. Ripped tucks and bands can be sewed in a few minutes on the machine. Serviceable darning can be done on the machine.
Before putting away freshly laundered clothes it is a good plan to take out the clothes already in the drawers and lay the ones washed last on the bottom, thus all garments will wear alike, each article in its regular turn.