Soup up your travel sewing kit with these handy tips

A subway snafu snagged your back pocket? I feel you. Whether it’s securing a frayed coat cuff, stitching a backpack zipper, or handling a hem malfunction, managing your mending supplies in advance means less problem solving and more vacation fun.

Follow these tips to soup up your travel sewing kit.

Storage

Got an old zippered wrist wallet or keychain coin purse? Consider repurposing it as a portable supply stash. For those who enjoy needlework projects while traveling, this option provides a bit of extra wiggle room. If you don’t have one at home, these things are abundant at most thrift stores. Simply select a size that suits how tiny or roomy you want your gear rig to be. Anything from a flat pouch sized for credit cards, to a larger one with more compartments is fair game. Other ideas include a clear mint container, an empty lipstick tube or a zippered pencil pouch.

Space

For one-bag travelers, any opportunity to maximize luggage room is welcome. Sewing satchels are no exception. Cardboard strips wrapped with thread strands may be the standard default, but for carving out extra kit capacity, my money’s on toothpicks. A single one holds numerous hues, lets you coordinate with your chosen travel duds, and leaves a larger spot for other supplies. Thimbles may not be on your stitching short list, but one mending mishap with the thicker fabric of your backpack or blue jeans may make you reconsider. Switching from an old-school metal one to a collapsible leather thimble can create just the right-sized slot.

Similarly, small folding scissors are another space-saving solution well suited for travel. Fiskars makes a decent set you can find in most sewing or craft stores, but others exist. For example, Victorinox sells tiny replacement scissors for their Swiss card for less than 10 bucks. Folding keychain scissors also exist in a wide array of designs and price points. According to the TSA website, as long as the blade length of your scissors is less than 4 inches from the pivot point, you are allowed to place it in your carry-on luggage. This restriction still leaves plenty of choices available for one-bag travelers.

Supplies

I find it helpful to consider the kit as a resource for dealing with all sorts of wardrobe situations, rather than just basic mending. To that end, double-sided fashion tape, multiple sizes of safety pins and miniature tubes of adhesive regularly find their way into my supply stash. Having them on hand over the years has enabled me to deal with a loose boot heel during a walking tour, replace a hood drawstring after a laundry mishap and perform emergency patch jobs until I could return to my hotel for a proper repair. When there’s room, a few nifty extras include a small bit of beeswax for thread conditioning, a seam ripper and a small piece of tailor’s chalk.

Style

Not only can temporary alterations to clothing items change up your day-to-day styling options, they can also ensure your carefully chosen, one-bag wardrobe will go the distance on a lengthy travel adventure. An easy way I mix things up is with temporary hat embellishments. Lightly stitching a beaded ribbon around the inner part of a fedora brim or repurposing a chain bracelet to decorate the front of a baseball cap are both short-term ways to switch up a vacation outfit.

Visible mending is another interesting way to manage wear and tear on your apparel. Sashiko, a traditional Japanese method that marries decorative stitching with sturdy reinforcement, uses minimal supplies and simple hand stitches to secure small rips and worn areas in a visually pleasing way.