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While pundits and economists worry about Wall Street’s well-being, Americans worry about losing their jobs, paying their bills and the health of the planet. The capitalist marketplace promotes the exploitation of people and natural resources as cheap fixes. But you don’t have to abandon your values to save a buck. Welcome to the People’s Marketplace.

Stop replacing missing buttons with safety pins, or buying a new sweater whenever a hole appears. Just grab a needle, some thread, and save money by learning a little survival sewing.

To get started find yourself some instructions. If you like learning by watching, search for instructional videos on the internet. Go to youtube.com and search for “how to sew a button”, or “mending seams”, etc. Tons of short videos made by regular folks will pop up. Some of the best are videos by Deluxe Clothing Store. If you want to sit down with a book, and you are new at this, make sure what you buy, or take out from the library, is geared toward the beginning sewer – not the master craftsman with a sewing machine. A newer title for the beginner is ‘How to Sew A Button’, by Erin Bried. For the beginner who wants to eventually graduate to bigger projects check-out Sew Subversive: Down & Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista. Consider this prep making a stitch in time to save nine.

If you don’t have the materials you need, basic colors of thread and sewing needles can be found in many drugstores and grocery stores. Or, you can make a trip to the fabric store for a wide selection of colors and products. When buying materials take the piece of clothing you’ll be fixing with you to match colors and styles. At the fabric store show an employee what you need to fix and ask for help finding the right materials and tools.

The easiest and quickest fix is replacing a missing button. If can’t find an exact match there are a few ways to deal with it. Use a similar button. Or, if the missing button was in a conspicuous place remove the bottom button, use it in the noticeable spot, and then use a similar button on the bottom. Or, replace all the buttons – buttons are cheap. A set of small plastic shirt buttons is one or two dollars. One of many places to find button instructions online is at wikihow.com/Sew-a-Button. The website wikihow.com is a great place to find instructions for all sewing repairs.

Another big money saving skill to learn is darning. Darning is not gently cursing your tattered wardrobe. It is the art of mending a hole. Darning was a common skill back in the day but it may take a little practice to perfect, so try it out on a sock before your favorite sweater. Essentially, to darn is to make a few stitches around the hole to stop it from unraveling further. Then, you’ll sew across the hole in two directions creating a weaved layer. When done properly it creates a strong and subtle patch, not a puckered seam. This will save you from buying new, expensive dress socks or watching your favorite T-shirt unravel, among other things. Check-out instructions for darning at wikihow.com/Darn-a-Sock, or search the internet or youtube for “darning a sock” or sweater, or whatever, and lots of videos will pop up in the results.

Learning easy sewing skills not only saves money, it decreases your financial contribution to the clothing industry, which relies on sweatshop labor and petroleum based materials to make affordable – and even very expensive- clothes.

Survival Sewing – try it, and stretch your dollar to meet your values. Together, we can take back the economy.