Beginner's Tips for Visible (and Invisible) Mending

This text was first written as a contribution to Fett Feministisk Tidsskrift, 2/20 “Textile”

There are many different ways to repair, and it can be a good idea to experiment a bit. You learn through trial and error, and you might discover one or more techniques you prefer and want to use again and again.

THE INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND

There are many good videos and instructions online. Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are great resources. Feel free to search for "visible mending" and "darning" to get started. Remember, it's not a big deal if it goes wrong. The garment you are repairing is already damaged. You have little to lose by trying!

Basically, all you need is a needle and thread. I prefer to repair by hand because it requires few tools and is easy to take on the subway or do on the sofa. It's also inexpensive if you don't already have a lot of equipment, like a sewing machine, etc.

GET TO KNOW THE FABRIC

To know what techniques are suitable, it's good to try to understand a little about the properties of the material and the damage. The two main methods for repairing holes are darning and patching. Darning means using a needle and thread to weave over the hole (or stain) until it is covered. There are several different darning techniques. Darning and patching can be used on both woven and knitted fabrics.

"Fixed" fabrics are fabrics without stretch. Fixed fabrics are often woven (but felt, for example, is also fixed and not woven). Not all woven fabrics are fixed. They can contain elastane or spandex, which makes them elastic. Fixed fabrics can range from thick denim to thin silk chiffon. Jeans, outerwear, formal wear, blouses, shirts, and similar items are usually made of woven, fixed fabric.

Both thick Marius sweaters and thin t-shirts are knitwear, or in other words, knitted. Different thread thicknesses and stitch sizes mean the fabric can be super thin or very thick. What they have in common is that they are elastic due to the way the threads are interconnected, and they often tend to get long runs if a hole develops.

When you are going to repair, it is always a good idea to try to understand the properties of the material you are repairing, and then try to find materials with similar properties. If you are repairing jeans, it is a good idea to patch with denim fabric. If you are repairing a knitted sweater, it is a good idea to use yarn, and if you are repairing wool underwear, perhaps a worn, thin wool sock could become a patch.

PATCHING

When patching, the weight and thickness of the material you are using for the repair should be quite similar to the garment. Sometimes you can find fabric on the garment that you don't need, such as lining in a hood, a wide hem, straps for holding rolled-up sleeves in place, or similar.

Perhaps you have other garments lying around that are more damaged or stained that can be used as a patch? We often have more usable items than we think. Patches can also be attached on the inside, so it doesn't matter as much how they look. If you want the patch to be visible, second-hand shops can be great places to find exciting materials for patches, or you can, of course, buy fabric at a fabric store. There are adhesive sheets, like vliesofix, that you can use to glue fabric pieces together. It's a bit like making your own iron-on patch. You can also use spray adhesive, or even a glue stick to hold the fabric in place while sewing. This is temporary and will wash out. Blanket stitch is a practical way to attach patches. Another technique that is very nice on jeans, for example, is "sashiko." There is a lot of great inspiration for this online. It involves attaching patches with running stitches in geometric patterns over the entire area of the patch. It can also look very nice when done simply with many straight lines of stitches.

DARNING

When sewing on woven fabric, it is usually advisable to use a sharp needle, and for knitted fabric, it is beneficial to use a needle with a slightly rounded tip. When darning a hole, the same material rule applies: you should try to use something with approximately the same thickness as the threads in the garment's fabric. For example, if you use very thick thread on thin wool underwear, the thick repair can cause holes to wear at the edges of the repaired area.

I like to use embroidery floss. Embroidery floss is colorfast (doesn't bleed in the wash), and it consists of 6 thin strands. You can cut the length you want, and then split the thread until you have as many of the 6 strands as best suit the garment you are repairing. It is more difficult to find wool threads in as many different thicknesses as you can get from an embroidery floss without buying a whole skein.

Before you repair, examine the hole a bit. Is it from damage, like a fall or getting snagged on something? Then you can start the repair quite close to the edge of the hole. If it's a hole caused by long-term wear, the fabric will be thin far beyond the area of the hole, and it's important to make a large enough patch or darn over a large enough area so that you don't get new holes very quickly.

START IN TIME!

A final tip is to repair sooner rather than later. You can also reinforce garments with patches and darning inside or outside before a hole even appears! The earlier you discover the damage, the smaller the job. "One stitch in time saves nine," as the saying goes.

And last but not least, try to find a way to enjoy it. A glass of wine, some chocolate, and lovely music, an audiobook, or your favorite TV series can make repairing the highlight of your week.
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Want to get started now? 

• Beginner kit can be found here
• Tools like darning mushrooms and darning looms here
• Sashiko supplies here
• Books about repair and related topics here
• Threads and yarns for various projects here
• Iron-on patches and other "replacement items" are here
• Marking aids such as templates and washable fabric markers, water-soluble stabilizer + can be found here

I also highly recommend joining the MyVisibleMend Facebook group (if you are on Facebook). There you will find lots of tips and inspiration from other repair enthusiasts, as well as a PDF (which you also get if you sign up for the newsletter here) with some instructions for various embroidery stitches and darning techniques!

Feel free to send an email to eva@myvisiblemend.com if you have any questions! And please follow @evakittelsen and @myvisiblemend on Instagram to follow the repair journey!