Context: In past times, mending was an art. A meticulous tailor or seamstress could mend rips with thread raveled from hems and seam edges so skillfully that the tear was practically invisible. When the raw material – cloth – was worth more than labor, it made sense to expend labor in saving it. Today clothing is considered a consumable item. Mass-manufactured clothing is less expensive than the labor required to repair it. Many people buy a new piece of clothing rather than spend time mending. The thrifty still replace zippers and buttons and sew up ripped hems.

Question: What used to be considered an art, back in the day?
Answer: mending

Question: What could an accomplished tailor or seamstress skillfully render almost invisible?
Answer: tear

Question: Why did it make sense to spend time fixing cloth?
Answer: worth more than labor

Question: What is clothing considered today?
Answer: a consumable item

Question: What type of person is likely to replace zippers and buttons?
Answer: thrifty

Question: What is still considered an art today?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: A mediocre tail or seamstress could make it so what?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: When cloth was worth less than the labor it made sense to do what?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is not considered a consumable item today?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is more expensive than the labor required to repair it?
Answer: Unanswerable