Testing Clothes Mending!

A worn sweater vest sits crumpled at the back of my closet. A hole at its centre means it lives perpetually in the ‘repair or chuck’ schema of my mind. For a year I avoid it...

Sustainability is the current buzz word in the fashion world, but when we’re talking “sustainably made”, the two concepts are often counterintuitive. The most sustainable option is, truthfully, abstinence. The old phrase reduce, reuse, recycle is taught in schools for a reason. Reduce consumption, reuse what you have, and recycle what no longer serves you.

The idea of culling your wardrobe and becoming a hyper-minimalist isn’t appealing to everyone, but there are ways we can breathe new life into our wardrobe without going full-out shopaholic. Perusing through the craft books at our libraries, you can find how-to guides on darning, embroidery, felting, and tailoring, methods used to repair damaged clothes, customise them, or both!

The particularly beautiful practice of visible mending caught my eye, and that worn sweater vest at the back of my closet came to mind. I borrowed two books from our collection Hikaru Noguchi’s Darning: repair, make, mend and Modern Mending: Minimise waste and maximise style by Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald to see me through the process.

I first attempted darning. Darning is, initially, fiddly. A bit of time and patience is required, but once you find the rhythm, it’s a cathartic ebb and flow. The materials needed are inexpensive and easily accessible: needle and thread. The books suggest using a darning mushroom or embroidery wheel to hold your garment in place, but this can be easily fashioned with some household or found materials.

Good as new! This sweater no longer needs to hide at the back of the cupboard.

The most sustainable option is, truthfully, abstinence. The old phrase reduce, reuse, recycle is taught in schools for a reason. Reduce consumption, reuse what you have, and recycle what no longer serves you.

- YPRL Staff

Next, I tried felting. Lewis-Fitzgerald suggests learning darning first or all you’ll want to do is felting! The meditative stabbing motion is undeniably cathartic, and it’s immediately gratifying to see that, instead of creating a hole, the seemingly destructive motion fills it. Felting requires some more unique materials: wool roving (or a similar fibrous material), a block or hessian bag filled with rice, and a felting needle. All of which still came to less than $10.

Mending clothes can seem daunting, time-consuming, or costly, but like many crafts, the initial grunt work is well worth the skill you acquire. Purchasing materials to mend your clothes is also more cost-effective than purchasing a replacement. Meditative, creative and customisable, mending doesn’t just end at clothes either, if you dive into the practice you’ll find yourself overcome by the compulsion to repair everything.

If you can’t get enough of crafts, YPRL has a host of craft books from alterations to zine making. As well as programs such as Craft Club and knitting, crocheting and sewing groups across our 9 branches. You can also find our Textile & Craft Maker Space at Thomastown Library!