What you need to know before mending your clothing.
In today's culture of disposable fashion, the simple art of basic darning and mending has been all but forgotten.
Upcycling and organising are among the ways fashionistas are giving their wardrobes a longer life. Bel Jacobs explores how caring for our clothes also means caring for the planet.
Choosing the right jeans Most of the mending projects I share are pretty extreme examples of patching using sashiko inspired mending techniques combined with my own stitching style. The examples that I share are either my own jeans or those that I've found while shopping at thrift/secondhand shops and garage sales. Whe
Darning is basically small-scale weaving. It isn’t difficult but like anything else, it takes practice but is incredible satisfying. You will need to buy a darning mushroom, although I have…
There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it's up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.
Marquoir anglais de points de reprise par Judith Jannings (11 ans en 1806) d'autres marquoirs sur le blog de Margot Ex, antiquaire textile Home and School Sewing de Frances Patton, New York, Newson and Company, 1901 (admirons les ombres faites par...
Learn how to fix your clothes in a unique and fun way with our visible mending tutorial. Start upcycling your wardrobe with Gathered.
Instead of tossing torn or ripped clothing, try this simple method of Sashiko fabric mending. It even works well on ripped knees!
When I was in St. Louis a few weeks back, my husband and I had brunch with a friend at the most delightful restaurant called Tree House. It's a vegetarian restaurant and the food is amazing. If you are ever in St. Louis, by all means, make your way over for a meal. You won't be disappointed. Our waitress that morning was so delightful, and as it turns out, quite creative. She loves taking old pieces and giving them new life. She was wearing a vintage silk top that had a hole in it when she found it. Rather than pass the piece by, she purchased the top and then did the sweetest little applique over the hole and added an embroidered spider web over the applique. I wish I had taken a picture. With that in mind, I decided to check out mending on Pinterest and I found a few inspirational pictures that I thought you might also enjoy. If you're in the mood, just search visible mending. You'll find lots of interesting ideas. So here's a few that I found, I love how a hole was turned into a window in the 2 pieces below. Another window idea, but with lace. The next 2 pieces are from an amazing artist, Lou Tonkin. She does needle felting over holes. Beautiful work. If you think you might like to give needle felting a try and do a little mending, or just add a sweet touch to a garment, check out THIS POST. Even just a simple little touch can save a garment and add interest. I may be showing my age, but I am not a fan of the ripped up jean look. The Japanese have such a beautiful art form called Boro where garments are pieced and saved, but no holes are left open. I thought this was rather fun, adding the British flag in a subtle manner. Rather than discard a garment because the sleeves are worn, a touch of embroidery will make a worn garment so special. I loved how this artist took a striped denim and matched the mend with plain denim and white thread. A beautiful touch of Boro on this pair of jeans. You can find more of this artist's work at Woman With Wings. Amy Meissner is another textile artist that you might want to check out. Very interesting work. And finally, for a little peek into my hippy personality ;), a pair of jeans that I actually wear. It all began with a hole that I decided to cover with a patch.....and then I went crazy! So now you see, patching no longer needs to be what your mother did to save the life of a pair of pants by ironing a patch over the knees. Happy Monday! Rhonda
The environment and the impact that people have on it is one of the most important topics in today’s world. So it’s no surprise for a lot of people that the fashion industry is known as one of the most polluting industries. Having this in mind, a lot of brands, companies, and organizations have started initiatives and programs to make a positive change towards a better tomorrow.
When I was in St. Louis a few weeks back, my husband and I had brunch with a friend at the most delightful restaurant called Tree House. It's a vegetarian restaurant and the food is amazing. If you are ever in St. Louis, by all means, make your way over for a meal. You won't be disappointed. Our waitress that morning was so delightful, and as it turns out, quite creative. She loves taking old pieces and giving them new life. She was wearing a vintage silk top that had a hole in it when she found it. Rather than pass the piece by, she purchased the top and then did the sweetest little applique over the hole and added an embroidered spider web over the applique. I wish I had taken a picture. With that in mind, I decided to check out mending on Pinterest and I found a few inspirational pictures that I thought you might also enjoy. If you're in the mood, just search visible mending. You'll find lots of interesting ideas. So here's a few that I found, I love how a hole was turned into a window in the 2 pieces below. Another window idea, but with lace. The next 2 pieces are from an amazing artist, Lou Tonkin. She does needle felting over holes. Beautiful work. If you think you might like to give needle felting a try and do a little mending, or just add a sweet touch to a garment, check out THIS POST. Even just a simple little touch can save a garment and add interest. I may be showing my age, but I am not a fan of the ripped up jean look. The Japanese have such a beautiful art form called Boro where garments are pieced and saved, but no holes are left open. I thought this was rather fun, adding the British flag in a subtle manner. Rather than discard a garment because the sleeves are worn, a touch of embroidery will make a worn garment so special. I loved how this artist took a striped denim and matched the mend with plain denim and white thread. A beautiful touch of Boro on this pair of jeans. You can find more of this artist's work at Woman With Wings. Amy Meissner is another textile artist that you might want to check out. Very interesting work. And finally, for a little peek into my hippy personality ;), a pair of jeans that I actually wear. It all began with a hole that I decided to cover with a patch.....and then I went crazy! So now you see, patching no longer needs to be what your mother did to save the life of a pair of pants by ironing a patch over the knees. Happy Monday! Rhonda
ARGH! Those blasted moths! If you just discovered that your closet has been Golden Corral All-You-Can-Eat Buffet destination for the clothing moths in your neighborhood, then you need this post.
There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it's up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.
We're continuing are discussion on the theme of mending by asking some of our Selvedge writers and contributors to tell us why they mend, and what repairing textiles and fabrics means to them. Explore more in our latest issue, Issue 102 Mend. Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans of Studio Brieditis & Evans Why do
Visible mending is not only a great way to give a beloved garment a new lease on life, it’s also a meditative exercise in creative expression and recycling! Join us for this special workshop to lea…
ARGH! Those blasted moths! If you just discovered that your closet has been Golden Corral All-You-Can-Eat Buffet destination for the clothing moths in your neighborhood, then you need this post.
I am a fiber artist and a photographer. My fiber work includes using experimental materials, unique techniques, as well as traditional stitch in contemporary ways. I travel the world for photogra…
There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it's up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.
It's just over two years since I began mending my one pair of jeans. The first two patches were over the kneecaps: on the left knee is a ...
Instead of tossing torn or ripped clothing, try this simple method of Sashiko fabric mending. It even works well on ripped knees!
Authentic Boro is an historical textile art, but its techniques are plenty relevant today. Here's info and ideas for making your own boro-inspired art.
"Check out my fishy floors. It was either this or thousands of dollars to replace the whole floor because they don't make tile like that anymore. I don't know about you, but like this solution better!"
Learn How to repair clothes by sewing holes and mending them rightly
The environment and the impact that people have on it is one of the most important topics in today’s world. So it’s no surprise for a lot of people that the fashion industry is known as one of the most polluting industries. Having this in mind, a lot of brands, companies, and organizations have started initiatives and programs to make a positive change towards a better tomorrow.
"Check out my fishy floors. It was either this or thousands of dollars to replace the whole floor because they don't make tile like that anymore. I don't know about you, but like this solution better!"
Learn how to mend clothing with these creative sewing techniques. Here, we cover how to sew a hole, mend a seam, and more with visible mending.
Well, after considerable rummaging I have turned up the directions for the Swiss darning mend mentioned in my last post. I hope you can make some sense of it. I have used it twice before, once for a bachelor friend, to fix a hole in his Sunday best sweater, and the other for another friend whose puppy had chewed a hole in her husband's brand new sweater. Oh dear. In the interests of the popularity of both the puppy and my friend I had to make that mend as un-noticeable as possible. The problem, in both cases, was that I didn't have matching wool but found as near a match as possible and both of my friends were happy with the result. The mend is started by using a crochet hook to pick up any stitches that have run, then using a thin strand of yarn connect the stitches at the top and bottom of the hole with long stitches so that you can use them as a foundation for your mend. Next take your mending yarn (the same thickness as the knitted stitches) and work back and forth across the hole in duplicate stitch, working a few stitches into the knitting at each side to ensure that the damage won't spread. Finally turn the work to the wrong side and darn all loose ends away. Your mend may not look as good as new, but it should look better than a darn. Another good way to cover a hole is to crochet little flowers to scatter all over the sweater, covering the hole with one of the flowers. - Presto! A new sweater. Though I'm not sure how a male would take to that idea for his sweater. Must go now. I hope all is well at your place. Bye for now until next time.
Instead of tossing torn or ripped clothing, try this simple method of Sashiko fabric mending. It even works well on ripped knees!
In today's culture of disposable fashion, the simple art of basic darning and mending has been all but forgotten.
There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it's up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.
