Haley Mast is a freelance writer, fact-checker, and small organic farmer in the Columbia River Gorge. She enjoys gardening, reporting on environmental topics, and spending her time outside ...

When you’re travelling or simply on the go, you don’t want to feel embarrassed by a lost button or a ripped seam. And those cheap dollar-store sewing kits never offer enough to get the job done right.

I am on the short side of petite, so clothes shopping is often a problem. But my mother, a gifted seamstress, always came to the rescue with her round, gold sewing tin with the red-and-green, ...