make do and mend

I have copied a garment I liked in the past, made a pattern from the pieces etc, but I'm out of practice, and it's so hard to get decent material these days.
But I did the repair this morning . I found a skirt made of fairly strong cloth, (got it from ebay and it's far too small) and a fair match. Took a pattern from part of the seat and made 2 big patches, which I machined on the inside.
After a long struggle to thread the machine - I find these front loading round shuttles very awkward to insert. You need to be lefthanded.

In the town where we used to live there was a man who could alter anything or copy any garment that you loved and his charges were very reasonable. He retired recently and when trying to find someone else I have realised that such people are sadly a rarity nowadays. It is probably hard work and you need to have that particular talent but a business opportunity perhaps?

It depends on how good you are with your needle but if you unpick it you could make a pattern from it to copy it yourself or do it with a friend.

When I have bought something with which I have fallen in love I have tried to make it a habit to buy another before they go out of stock so that I can put one away. Sometimes I am not quick enough sadly.

Match the colour with some suede or leather and give yourself some back pockets?

Monica - I've decided to do that, because the rest of the garment is till in good condition.
Merlotgran - I had a skirt I was fond of, which had the same problem - I was in company wearing it and someone kindly told me you could see I was wearing white knickers .

Wear an extra long top?

And hope you don't get run over by a bus when you're out shopping?

Why not patch from inside with a matching coloured fabric and darn the worn parts onto the patch. Done with care and good colour matching, they may no longer be fit for smart events but can be worn around the house and pottering around locally.

I've put patches on the elbows of much loved sweaters recently and it worked well. I'm not sure about patching trouser seats though... Depends on how big the hole is and if it could look like pockets perhaps? I'd probably be more inclined to cut them up and use the fabric in other ways so that they are still be useful. It's always a wrench when you have to give up on some well-loved item, isn't it.

I had a similar problem with a much loved pair of wool trousers. Couldn't see how I could patch them, or bring them back to life in any way, so I wore them round the house until they gave up the ghost and became too disgusting even for that! God, was I sad! I have another pair which I foresee will go the same way, so I'm trying to "ration" their wearing to forestall the inevitable.