We all use the tools we are familiar with. Smokey uses a screwdriver to tighten a screw, I will sometimes use a knife. Real gardeners use a wooden or bamboo stake to keep a houseplant upright, I use a knitting needle. Others might have used string or twine to hang the political signs on their car in parades last summer, I used yarn.
Yarn is very handy.
The zipper tab broke off one of my fleece vests several years ago. Eventually I figured out that a coilless safety pin worked perfectly as a substitute tab.
But the appearance was makeshift and non-pleasing, although I did appreciate being able to zip up the vest again. I dug in my sock yarn stash and came up with some yarn that [almost] matched the vest.
Yarn to the rescue!
Nothing like a couple fuzzy photos to liven up a blog.
The other alternative use for yarn actually involved knitting. I have an oversized denim workshirt that I love because it is perfect for layering when a t-shirt isn't enough but a sweater is too much. Over the years, however, it had acquired a couple of rips.
This is the larger hole. The smaller one is smaller and unphotographed.
Those rips have been there for a l-o-n-g time and never really bothered me. But suddenly inspiration struck. I grabbed my needles and a crochet hook and…
…voila!
Related: I once did something kinda similar for a favorite fleecy top. Fleece with new cuffs.
kmkat & her kneedles 
Eventually, you will have a patched-worked shirt. 🙂
Genius with the zipper pull.
I’ve seen similar mending with thread. They even call it “visible mending.” I love it.
I’ve never thought of darning my denim work shirt, but I like it. Thanks for the great ideas!
Love love love what you did to the jean shirt! OMG
I love your ingenuity.
And there I was in my classroom trying to get across midpoint of a segment creates 2 congruent segments and no string or yarn, so I took a piece of tape and twisted it then tied a knot for the midpoint. It would have been so much easier with a string of yarn. 🙂
I’ve been using a paperclip as the pull on my winter coat. Clearly I need to upgrade – thanks for the idea!
My best use of yarn was this.
My sister-law and I were heading back home from shopping for yarn and the cable between the gas peddle and the car’s throttle broke off.
I overlapped the two pieces, wrapped yarn around them, and tied the yarn in a knot. We drove the car home. It idled at 35 miles an hour, but we made the 30 mile trip back home without further incident!
True story.