I love this book!
I have been mending jeans for a long time now and a few pairs have so many patches that not much of the original jeans are present anymore. Katrina Rodabaugh’s book is full of mending techniques and ideas but what I really love about the book is the WHY behind mending: how slow fashion is another form of mindfulness, how it changes our shopping habits and helps us understand our needs better.
So much of our donated clothing just ends up in a landfill overseas and I’m trying to do better about not contributing to that cycle. I have a great group of friends that passes clothing back and forth to make it last longer and the things I can’t pass on I’m constantly trying to make into something new. I carry a bag full of mending projects to the DMV, the school pickup line and on any road trip. The process becomes enjoyable…and there’s a design element that’s added with patching and mending! I’ve had people ask to buy my old jeans because of how interesting they look after years of mending. So even if you can’t bring yourself to wear something that’s mended…there’s someone out there who would love to wear it instead. Slow fashion is a revolution and I love that more and more people are becoming aware of ethically made clothing. It gives me hope for our planet and that more and more people are concerned with who is making their clothing and how.
I get so many emails with questions on how to slow down, how to create a simple life…start with things like clothing, toys and food. If you can find meaning in those three things it’s a huge step. It’s very empowering to take control and make hard decisions…and there’s so much joy to be found in the process.
Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch, and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More by Katrina Rodabaugh
“Mending Matters explores sewing on two levels: First, it includes more than 20 hands-on projects that showcase current trends in visible mending that are edgy, modern, and bold—but draw on traditional stitching. It does all this through just four very simple mending techniques: exterior patches, interior patches, slow stitches, darning, and weaving. In addition, the book addresses the way mending leads to a more mindful relationship to fashion and to overall well-being. In essays that accompany each how-to chapter, Katrina Rodabaugh explores mending as a metaphor for appreciating our own naturally flawed selves, and she examines the ways in which mending teaches us new skills, self-reliance, and confidence, all gained from making things with our own hands.”
I’m all about books…here’s a link to more I’ve written about if you are interested!
Ashley, I mend jeans too, the mending tells a story, the one I think about while i am mending and one my farmer tells people about his wife when they comment on his jeans.
Clothes tell a story…
I have two daughters several years apart. I used to make a lot of clothes for my oldest and kept any leftover material. Then when she left home at 19 I made her a crazy quilt out of the scraps (with her baby blankets on the other side). She truly loved it and it warmed my heart. However my youngest daughter wasn’t into the cutesy clothes that my oldest was. But she often became quite attached to her clothes wearing them until they simply no longer fit. So I decided to start saving them unbeknownst to her. I plan to make her a crazy quilt out of those clothes hopefully soon. I hope she enjoys it as much as my 1st daughter! Something tells me she will : )
This is hard to put in words. Five years ago our 17-year-old son died after fighting childhood leukemia since he was eleven. Six years of amazing baseball, football and basketball jerseys and T-shirts but more than that, a super collection of pajamas because when a kid fights cancer…he spends an enormous time in pj’s, whether at the hospital or at home recovering from treatment. I have kept most all of these special clothes (except for the ones his siblings and special friends wanted as heirlooms) and intend to make small quilts for each of us to remember Michael. I think I am ready to cut those beautiful garments into tangible memory squares now….
By the way, I started connecting with you when you were fighting cancer and I will never forget to “choose joy.” Thank you for the inspiration.
This is nice! And it only works for jeans!
ttttThese look great! I tried them but the fabric paint just wouldn’t spread on the fruit. Too juicy! I did try to dry up but didn’t work. My last resort was to put the fruit in the oven to dry. Will try again tomorrow.
I put the book on hold at the library (they had it on order) and just picked it up on Sunday! I’ve skimmed through it, and I think I am going to put it on my purchase list! My jeans wear out on the thighs, and in that spot only, and I’d like to be able to keep wearing them. Back in the day (60s) I actually decorated an entire pair of jeans with embroidery! I think I could make the repair and continue some decorative embroidery stitches on the front. [Confession: I have at least 4(!) boxes of jeans that I was just going to recycle as other things . . . I’ve made a jacket out of old jeans in the past.]