6 tips to help you start radically repairing your clothes
A visible darn on a hiking sock, using light and dark orange and blue thread - find the pocket guide, here.
There are countless reasons why embracing visible mending is not only a great idea but also a radical and meaningful way to extend the life of your clothing. Here are just a few of them:
It’s a radical act against the toxic and inhumane fast fashion industry
It helps the clothes you love last as long as possible and keeps them out of landfill
It saves you money - woo!
It’s great if you don’t like clothes shopping (like me)
It’s a creative and resourceful act
It makes your clothes even more special and meaningful
It’s satisfying to have mended something yourself
Showing your mends instead of hiding them helps normalise mending and can be a great conversation starter about mending
Also, it’s fun!
Even though there is a mountain of great reasons to do it, it can be overwhelming to get started. So I’ve put together 6 tips to help you make a start with visible mending.
Here we go…
1. Start where you are
Mending doesn’t require you to race out to the shops to buy a giant pile of new things. Likely, you or someone close to you already has everything you need.
Yes, of course, there are things you can buy to make mending a bit easier and efficient, but starting out with whatever needle you have, a pair of kitchen scissors, and a skein of common-as-muck embroidery thread is all you need.
All of these things, as well as some other tools like embroidery hoops and darning mushrooms, can often be found at op shops or lurking in the sewing kit of a grandma near you.
It’s the same with your skills - start where you are. Maybe don’t take on the complex technique of Swiss Darning if you’ve never picked up a needle before - Swiss Darning aside, most visible mending techniques have simple steps and usually only 2 beginner-friendly stitches, the running stitch (over, under, over, under) and the whip stitch (which holds down the edges of patchs like a bunch of parallel staples).
All you have to do is take the first step - you can find some ways to do that at the bottom of this post.
2. Catch and patch early
Paying attention to your clothes as you wear and wash them will reveal the beginnings of worn spots and holes. Catching and patching them early is so much easier than trying to mend a huge hole later on.
They really mean it when they say a ‘stitch in time saves nine.’
3. Pay attention & slow down
Speaking of paying attention, your mending will come along in leaps and bounds when you slow down and observe.
Feel the fabrics and how they move and stretch. Focus on your technique, can you slow down to get the shorter, more even stitches you’re keen on? Tune in to your mistakes, what can you learn for next time? Notice how easy or hard it is to complete your stitches. Is there a better tool for the job to make it more comfortable for your hands, or more efficient to complete?
Don’t give up if your first mend is hard or a bit feral looking. Tweak what you are doing and try something different.
4. Mending is an adventure (You can unpick it)
Remember that there are as many ways to mend as there are holes in knees and elbows. Make sure you have fun and embrace play. Try different ideas, and know that you can always unpick it and try again. Be bold, choose the hot pink thread. Wear your values on your sleeve... literally.
5. Be radical - break the rules
Sometimes folks come to my workshops with a lifetime of sewing experience, often having been taught formally or by a mother or grandmother with exacting standards. There’s often a comment or two about how liberating it is to loosen up and break the rules. Of course, it’s important to know some rules, especially when it comes to structural integrity (you want your mend to last for a long time), but visible mending is more about creative expression and design decisions than it is about perfect stitches.
6. Practice maketh the mender
I know that sounds boring and tright, but bear with me. When I first started, my stitches were loose and uneven, I chose the wrong fabric for patches, and I mended too small, leaving a threadbare area outside of the patched area, which was prone to tearing soon after (this is a common mistake that I’ve since learnt, btw.)
And I see these same mistakes made by beginner menders in every workshop I teach. Don’t beat yourself up. You just need to get a few more mends under your belt (literally maybe?). You’ll get to know how to make neater stitches (or you’ll embrace the wonky ones!), and you’ll slow down to ensure your weaving is looking fab. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t work in no time. I did! And I don’t come from a sewing background. I taught myself through trial and error, from YouTube and online courses. And you can do it, too. Just one stitch at a time.
I hope these tips will help set you free and allow you to pick up a needle and thread and give visible mending a go.
If you are after some detailed instruction on how to do visible mending, I have a downloadable darning pocket guide available right now, and if you are in the nipaluna/Hobart area, I’m currently taking bookings for mending workshops, where I work with you to create a custom workshop that suits your group of friends or community group. You can find that here.
Happy mending.
A butt mend on a pair of jean, using a patch under the tear and colourful reinforcing stitches over.
