Chain of Events

Well my intention was to write about something interesting today, but it seems that one of my cats (or possibly both of them) decided to use my newish coat as a swing whilst it was hanging in the hallway. It is a nice classic wool melton coat of the sort not very often seen these days and I really like it. I found it on the floor, being used as a cats nest, and the chain that it had been hanging on was broken in two.
Now this is one of those "stitch in time saves nine" situations...it's very tempting to think that the coat is perfectly useable without its hanging chain, and in a way it is -but if it has to be stuck over a peg, an ugly lump will form in no time in the fabric and it will be ruined. So it's out with the trusty pliers to effect a rescue in less time than it's taken me to write this blog.

I slipped the broken link over the unbroken end, then squeezed the broken link shut with  a pair of pliers: (Rust optional)

 A quick squeeze in the other direction (90 degrees to the first squeeze) in order to make the link round again - and the chain is like new.

My little darlings also made a bit of a mess of the lining with their claws as they pulled the coat into  a nice nest shape. I forgot to take "before" photos of that, so "after" photos are a bit pointless, but I used my usual technique for pulls, which is to scratch back and forth with my nail over the surface of the fabric in the direction of the pull, and bit by bit the pull eases out and the fabric returns to a normal shape. You can also be quite hard and pull or "snap" the fabric back into shape if it's a tough yarn like cotton. I didn't try that with this silky lining though. Any bits of pulled thread remaining can be taken through to the other side of the fabric with a needle - just push the needle into the hole where the pull is and just before the eye disappears through the fabric, push the pulled loop into it. Continue to push the needle all the way through and the pull will disappear. I've had a lot of luck with this technique. Very valuable if you own cats! You can also be quite rough and  sharply pull or "snap" the fabric back into shape if it s a tough yarn like cotton. I wouldn't try that with this silky lining though.