There’s lots of ways to mend and patch. We commonly use darning, visible mending, embroidery and bring along books that have examples and further ideas. Since running our workshops we have seen common issues that come up.
If you taking up sewing for the first time, we have put together this guide on the sewing kit which will get you started. If you have a sewing machine, we also have put together Sewing machine servicing and lessons to help you get it back in action.
We also have done Book reviews to help you find the book for you. If you come along to one of our sessions, we bring along a selection of these books for you to look at.
Visible Mending, Sashiko and Boro stitching
There is a big craft movement for Visible mending, usually using Japanese Sashiko and boro stitching to patch to celebrate used clothes and by adding patches celebrating its age and history.
- Patching: Guide on how to get started patching your clothes
- Darning: Darning holes in socks used to be popular and Ealing Repair cafe is bringing it back with this how to.
- Embroidery: Use over patches and stains to decorate and mend clothes.
- Knee patching: One of the most popular mends are trousers needing attention at the knees.
Upcycling
At Ealing Repair cafe we have lots of left over fabric from adjusting and retiring clothes, so we are adding upcycling projects to use up scraps:
- How to make your own Pyramid Bag from scraps of material
- Make a child’s pinafore dress from a pair of jeans
- Upcycling t-shirts into yarn
Our Facebook page has more examples of mends and upcycling
Ealing Repair Cafe 