Visible mending is something I have am passionate about. A garment you’ve worn for years becomes something new overnight and carries a piece of you with it. It becomes unique. It is the antithesis of fast fashion and, to me, it’s become a form of self-expression. Some of the techniques are really simple if you have the basics of sewing skills. Some take a little practice.
Here is my list of the techniques I’ve found to be manageable with these small skills, some time, and a bit of ambition.
Boro or Sashiko Darning
This is very easy in its most simple form. If you have a rip or hole in your jeans, this is the technique for you. Cut a piece of denim or fabric at least an inch bigger than the hole in all directions and pin it behind the hole inside your trousers. Using a fabric pen or pencil draw horizontal lines across patched area around 0.5 cm apart.
Using some embroidery thread, do a running stitch along the lines backwards and forwards until the whole patch is secure. If you are feeling brave, you could continue to sew a running stitch vertically up and down the patch, and make small crosses as a feature as well. In fact, there are all sorts of patterns that can be done in this technique once you are feeling a bit more adventurous and all use a basic running stitch.
Embroidery Stitches
Most embroidery stitches are straightforward, the trick is to be quite neat and precise. YouTube is your friend for learning these techniques and for getting ideas, but recently I’ve been having fun covering small holes with little embroidered motifs, often leaves, flowers or tiny fruits!
You will need an embroidery hoop to do anything, these wooden rings keep whatever fabric you are working on tight and make life much easier. I then draw with a washable fabric marker whatever little shape I’m going to stitch, choose some coloured embroidery floss (this is standard 6 strand embroidery thread), and use and use an embroidery needle (usually longer, thinner, and with a wider head than most needles). Chain stitch is a great one to master as a starting point because you can create tiny flowers and leaves with this one simple stitch.
Satin stitch is the most basic, it involves sewing in and out close together to fill in a shape. If the edges aren’t quite in-line you can always stitch around the outside in a backstitch, chain stitch, or stem stitch to keep it neat. My embroidered leaves (in the image) were done either in satin stitch, fly stitch, or fishbone stitch. This was my first attempt at this sort of mend and I hadn’t embroidered for around 30 years. It’s not perfect but it worked and it wasn’t too hard either!
Darning & Needleweaving
This technique is traditionally used for mending knitted garments like socks but can be used just as successfully on woven fabrics like denim. It looks complicated but it is really quite simple.
Using a thread of a similar material to the garment that needs mending, begin 1cm to the right and 1cm underneath the hole. Sew small stitches, in a straight line upwards until you reach 1cm above the hole. Then do the same thing going downwards, next to your first row with almost no gap. Continue to create rows of stitches in this way up and down. When you get to the hole itself, simply let the loose thread cover the hole, trying to apply a similar tension to the rest of the material. Once you have sewn rows of thread across the hole, continue to create a few more, until you have reached 1cm to the right of the hole. This will ensure a strong mend. This is called a ‘warp’ (the vertical threads).
To complete the darn, you will now need to weave the ‘weft’ (horizontal threads). From the top right-hand corner, begin making small stitches horizontally across the darning area. When you come to the end, reverse your direction, as before. However, this time, when you reach the hole in the middle, direct the needle over, then under each of the warp threads. The next time you cross the hole coming from the other direction, weave the needle in and out the opposite way to the last row. The rows should alternate between going over and under the warp – but don’t worry if it’s not exact. Continue sewing your horizontal rows until you reach the bottom of the darning area. I like to do this in contrasting colours as it can look really beautiful.
Sewing Portholes with Eyelet Stitches
This visible mend technique is perfect for small moth holes in jumpers or T shirts. This is where you simply outline the holes in a neat eyelet stitch. If possible, draw a circle in pencil around the hole around 0.5 – 1 cm away from the hole. This will be your stitch guide (although it won’t be so easy with a knitted garment, you’d have to trust your eye.) The area between the drawn line and the hole will be filled with stitches.
Secure the end of the thread, and pass the needle in through the hole and then up through the fabric on the stitch line. Repeat this as near as possible to the previous stitch and continue around the hole. To make the hole bigger, and more of a ‘feature’ just pull the thread tighter.
