YAY for Dritz Fray Check!

I was going to blog about napkins, but while I was contemplating what I wanted to say, I was distracted by my deep and abiding love for Dritz Fray Check. See it there? Those two bottles inside my sewing box? There's a third in my husbands basket in the bathroom, as well as a fourth in my bathroom basket. There's a fifth bottle in the laundry room. I should put one in my sons room, and I'm seriously considering keeping one in my glove box in the car.

If you are a sewer, you might already know about this stuff. If you are a sewer and don't know about this stuff, holy cow are you missing out. If you are not a sewer, you still need to know about this stuff! Everyone should know about this stuff!

It does exactly what it says, it "checks" fraying. When you feel the fabric of the knees on your jeans or your kids jeans getting a bit thin and you just know the very next knee-bend will tear a big hole in it, it's time for the Fray Check. Pop the cap, snip the tip, and smear it all over the thinning fabric. It's a bit gummy and takes a few minutes to dry, but it's completely washer safe, and that pant knee will never get a hole in it. It will feel a bit stiff, too, at first, but it softens up with wear, yet holds strong.

When a piece of clothing tears and it seems like the rip is too thin or shredded to be fixable, bust out the Fray Check. Be generous, smear it all along both sides of the tear, where ever it is you want to sew, let it dry, and you will be able to repair the tear that seemed impossible.

Thinning sock heels, fine fabrics like silks and satins that are such a pain to sew for projects, canvas sneakers, even yarn. I got a hole in a thick cable knit sweater over the winter, that I love. The sweater, not the hole. I am not a knitter. I don't even know if you can knit a sweater hole closed. I don't know how other people fix holes in their sweaters. What I do is treat the ends of the yarn with Fray Check, let it dry completely, and sew the ends back together with tiny stitches. Can't even tell there was a hole there.

This stuff has saved me so much money over the years! If I can catch the jeans before the hole starts, I can avoid having an unfortunate looking patch or having to buy new jeans that are perfectly good except for the stupid hole in the knee, you know? My whole family knows to grab one of the many handy bottles and smear it all over a thin area or a tear as soon as they spot one.

I love this stuff. It's sold at any fabric store and a bunch of crafts stores as well. You can buy it one bottle at a time but, do yourself a favor, just get the two-pack.