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That time a retiree at the co-op taught me how to fix my own jeans for free
I was at the SCV co-op last Saturday patching a hole in my favorite thrifted jacket and this older guy walks over, shows me how to do a ladder stitch with just a scrap of denim he had in his pocket, and I haven't had to buy replacement pants in two years since - has anyone else picked up a weird repair trick from a stranger that saved them a ton of cash?
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jakeb2527d agoProlific Poster
My grandpa once taught me how to fix a zipper with a paperclip and some dental floss at a bus stop. Saved me from throwing away a perfectly good winter coat that would have cost like sixty bucks to replace. Bet that retiree had a whole binder of denim patches in his car just waiting for victims like us to wander by. Did he also give you the secret handshake or just the stitching tutorial?
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the_jason26d ago
Man, that binder of denim patches is exactly the kind of stuff those guys carry around. It's like they have a whole workshop in their trunk waiting for something to break. I've seen old dudes fix a lawnmower with a coat hanger and duct tape like it was nothing. They don't throw anything away until it's completely dead. It's a whole different mindset from the rest of us who just buy new stuff. I respect the hell out of it even if I don't have the patience for it myself.
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leo61226d ago
Oh man, that binder of denim patches thing hit home for me. I had a neighbor growing up who kept an old tackle box full of random hardware and sewing stuff in his trunk. He fixed my backpack strap with a zip tie and a lighter once when I was like 12 and heading to school. It held up for two whole years after that. Those older guys have a whole system for keeping things alive way past their expiration date. I swear they get some kind of secret joy out of watching us realize a zipper or a torn pocket isn't the end of the world.
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