Handy small tool

[Vandy Terre]

Seamstress seam ripper is a very handy small tool.
In addition to the many uses while sewing it can
be used to open shrink wrap without damaging the
box beneath. It is also very handy to help remove
the security tape on new DVD or CDs. It is also
handy to open the plastic tape on medicine bottles
and/ or the seal under the cap. It is also a
decent letter opener or packing tape slicer.

[Mrs Irish Mike]

On Sunday, September 29, 2013 2:16:34 PM UTC-7, Vandy Terre wrote:
> Seamstress seam ripper is a very handy small tool.
>
> In addition to the many uses while sewing

Who sews anymore? When a any minimum wage earner can buy a dozen socks for less than an hour's wages, it's almost cheaper to buy new ones.

it can
>
> be used to open shrink wrap without damaging the
>
> box beneath.

Not much of a concern anymore. Most packaging is those clamshell things, which only scissors will cut.

It is also very handy to help remove
>
> the security tape on new DVD or CDs.

And that's why I haven't bought a CD or DVD in this century. Everything is streaming or MP3.

It is also
>
> handy to open the plastic tape on medicine bottles
>
> and/ or the seal under the cap.

I've noticed that nearly all medicine bottles have that perforated safety seal, now a days. Simple turn and everything falls away.

It is also a
>
> decent letter opener

Letter? What is this "letter" thing of which you speak?



> or packing tape slicer.

Once again, my desktop scissors.


I swear, I don't know what a seam ripper is. I wouldn't even know where to buy one. I have too much crap in my purse these days, anyhow.

Keep writing, though.

[Michael Black]

On Sun, 29 Sep 2013, Mrs Irish Mike wrote:

> On Sunday, September 29, 2013 2:16:34 PM UTC-7, Vandy Terre wrote:
>> Seamstress seam ripper is a very handy small tool.
>>
>> In addition to the many uses while sewing
>
> Who sews anymore? When a any minimum wage earner can buy a dozen socks
> for less than an hour's wages, it's almost cheaper to buy new ones.
>
>

LIkely few actually make their own clothes, but simple sewing is still a
good thing to know. That button comes off at the wrong time, sewing it
back on gets you going again, if nothing else. Yes, the pants are cheap,
but if you get a hole in your pocket you can extend the life by folding
the pocket over and sewing it. Or when the pants are no longer useful for
public use, you can patch them and wear them around the house; unless you
patch them the rip will soon get bigger and bigger.

My good knapsack needs some patching, it will last some time still but
fixing the holes makes sense.

In 1995, I bought a winter parka at a garage sale for five dollars. I had
bought something else, noticed it, and figured it was junk, then saw the
label and it's from a very expensive hiking company, way more expensive
than I'd buy new. So I try it on, and it fits perfectly. It's a bit
faded, and there are some holes, like someone had spilled some battery
acid on it. But still in pretty good shape. So I got some rip-stop tape,
stuck it over the holes, and sewed the tape in place for a more permanent
repair. And some additional holes have broken out since then, and I
recall some of the patches have needed resewing. The insulation has held
up, if anything the parka is too warm. A bit of sewing is well worth the
price of keeping that parka going.


It really costs nothing, since you can do repairs while watching tv or
thinking. Or, in an age when we seem to be constantly reading screens,
this is "menial" work, like making bread dough or seitan, where using your
hands is what matters, a nice change from the constant information flow.

I've kept a recycling bin going for a decade by "sewing it". The
recycling truck people just toss the bin to the sidewalk, and it
eventually cracks, so I drilled holes in it on each side of the crack and
used wire to "sew" it back up. I've done that plenty of times, sometimes
as a prelude to putting epoxy on things, the wire "thread" helping to hold
things together, the epoxy making it all nice and sturdy. I'm not sure
I'd have thought of this except that I can do rudimentary sewing.


If something is a chore, of course people are more likely to pay for
something rather than make or repair. But if you get some secondary value
out of the repair, maybe just "doing something by myself", then it doesn't
matter how much time it uses, or how much money that time could get if
spent at work.

> I swear, I don't know what a seam ripper is. I wouldn't even know where
> to buy one. I have too much crap in my purse these days, anyhow.
>

It's an easy way to remove existing stitches, though a small utility knife
works too. So if you need to make some clothing smaller this makes it
easier to get rid of the old seam.

Michael

[Nyssa]

Michael Black wrote:

> On Sun, 29 Sep 2013, Mrs Irish Mike wrote:
>
>> On Sunday, September 29, 2013 2:16:34 PM UTC-7, Vandy
>> Terre wrote:
>>> Seamstress seam ripper is a very handy small tool.
>>>
>

<snipped>

>> I swear, I don't know what a seam ripper is. I wouldn't
>> even know where to buy one. I have too much crap in my
>> purse these days, anyhow.
>>
> It's an easy way to remove existing stitches, though a
> small utility knife
> works too. So if you need to make some clothing smaller
> this makes it easier to get rid of the old seam.
>
> Michael
>

Or for those of us who still sew, it's a way to remove
a mistake and re-do a seam.

Yes, I still sew. Mostly stuff like curtains and other
household items, plus things like re-hemming pants that
are 'way too long.

I made new full-length curtains and a matching tablecloth
for my bedroom this summer at a tiny fraction of the cost
of custom made or generic store-bought. Not only is the
result attractive and useful, it gave me something useful
to do with my time instead of zoning out in front of a TV
or video game.

Nyssa, who isn't going to let her skills atrophy

[Vandy Terre]

Good idea!

[The Real Bev]

On 09/29/2013 04:12 PM, Mrs Irish Mike wrote:

> On Sunday, September 29, 2013 2:16:34 PM UTC-7, Vandy Terre wrote:
>> Seamstress seam ripper is a very handy small tool.

> I swear, I don't know what a seam ripper is. I wouldn't even know
> where to buy one. I have too much crap in my purse these days,
> anyhow.

Why did you bother to respond? What you wrote is the equivalent of a
person responding to a post about low-calorie diet hints by saying "I
never gain weight no matter how much I eat..."

--
Cheers, Bev
------------------------------------------------------
"Don't bother looking for that key. There is no Esc."
-- M. Tabnik