Do you mend your clothes? I have recently started mending various things, mostly socks. It is very satisfying to do! Both the actual stitching to mend the socks (or whatever it may be) but also knowing that the item can continue being useful and not just be discarded because it has a hole.
One morning I purposefully picked this foxy pair because by mending them they had become some of my favourite socks. They were no longer just a pair of socks but had a personal…attachment because I had spent the time mending them.
That same day I read this post, We love because we care, by Austin Kleon. It mentions exactly the way I was feeling about those socks, quoting artist Amy Meissner:
“Once you’ve mended something, if you didn’t have sentimental value attached to it before, then you certainly do once you’ve taken the time to care for it.“
I don’t think I remember my mormor (maternal grandmother) darning socks, but I definitely remember that she had a sewing basket and it had a darning mushroom in it. I thought that was a very strange object! I didn’t know what it was back then.
I have my own darning mushroom now. Sadly not my mormor’s but it is a vintage one so I imagine women of times past using it much like mormor used hers and feel the connection.
I have had this jacket for many years. It has definitely seen better days but I like wearing it so I’m keeping it! A few years ago I added embroidery to the back.
The jacket has a lot of signs of wear, some are actual holes. I have started mending them. First I tackled one of the front pockets where one of the corners had ripped away from the body of the jacket. I did reinforce it with a bit of fabric on the inside because I wasn’t sure that just the mending with thread would be enough.
I like how it turned out. I like that it is visible mending. I used bright colours on purpose. I want the jacket to say to the world “I am worth mending”. Because it is! :-)
Mending along the hem. There are still more areas to mend, I even noticed that one to the left of the mend as I was going through the pictures I took.
It is a lovely, mindful thing to do, mending. Reminding myself to take care of my clothes, not be wasteful. Don’t throw things away just because they have a small hole.
The stitching of a mend is lovely too, it has a slow quiet rhythm…
