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Crafts CouncilStories

Repair, don't replace: learn how to breathe new life into your wardrobe


ByCrafts magazine

4 November 2020

Online classes to help you sharpen your mending skills during lockdown


Crafts magazine

4 November 2020

  • Fashion
  • Making tutorials
  • Textiles
  • Knitting
  • Sustainable craft

Celia Pym’s Hope’s Sweater, 1951 (2011). Photo: Michele Panzeri

In the November/December issue of Crafts magazine, we explore how the mending movement is picking up pace in the fashion world, revealing the designers and artists leading the charge. With fast fashion in freefall due to the pandemic, and the climate crisis forcing consumers to rethink their choices, 2020 has created the perfect conditions for the resurgence of a repair culture.

Want to learn how to fix your clothes yourself? We’ve put together a selection of online classes and resources to help you mend your garments with panache. We will add to the list as we come across more, so send us your suggestions.


  • Original Norwegian sweater with Celia Pym’s white wool darning, originally from Annemor Sundbø’s Ragpile collection. Photo: Michele Panzeri

Celia Pym

The textile artist is interested in the emotional significance of preserving, cherishing and repairing garments that hold value and memories. Her darning workshops, hosted by haberdashery Loop London, among others, regularly sell out – so follow her on Instagram to be the first in line to sign up.


Patagonia empowers buyers to repair clothes

Patagonia

The outdoor clothing brand has championed sustainability for decades. It not only repairs damaged items but also empowers customers to fix their own belongings with online tutorials for basic sewing skills and more advanced repairs.


Hikaru Noguchi is the author of Darning: Repair Make Mend (2019)

Hikaru Noguchi

The Japanese knitwear specialist and author of Darning: Repair Make Mend (2019) is a regular contributor to the #visiblemending Instagram hashtag. Her tutorials on IGTV – from darning socks to covering up stains – get thousands of views.


Recent classes by Ray Stitch include hand embroidery with Richard McVetis

Ray Stitch

The haberdashery has introduced a series of regular online workshops. Learn general skills such as tailoring, cutting and sewing on a machine, as well as hand-embroidery, boro repair and sashiko stitching.


Tilly and the Buttons has a wealth of resources for dressmakers

Tilly and the Buttons

Tilly Walnes, author of several books on stitching and mending, offers a wealth of sewing patterns, books and online workshops for DIY dressmakers, as well as troubleshooting, fabric tips and hacks.


Knitwear darning with TOAST's Repair Specialist Jessica Smulders-Cohen

TOAST

Lifestyle brand TOAST offers both online and in-store workshops run by Jessica Smulders-Cohen, its in-house Repair Specialist, which are suitable for complete beginners as well as those with sewing experience. Classes cover topics such as darning knitwear: just bring your own beloved blanket, jumper, or any other threadbare item in need of a little TLC.


Visible mending by Flora Collingwood-Norris

Visible Mending

Based in the Scottish Borders, knitwear maker Flora Collingwood-Norris has worked for brands including Christopher Kane, Jasper Conran, William Chambers and House of Holland. She also runs a visible mending and creative knitwear repair service, as well as online tutorials on carrying out your own repairs.


Sewing tools, The Thrifty Stitcher

The Thrifty Stitcher

Claire-Louise Hardie, who produced seasons 1 to 4 of The Great British Sewing Bee, runs bespoke, small sewing classes for aspiring DIY dressmakers, as well as a monthly membership club for various skill levels. Classes are available via livestream or to access later, released intermittently across the month to make it feel like a real-world sewing club.


A mask and drawstring bag made by Fast Fashion Therapy

Fast Fashion Therapy

Normally hosting repair workshops in London and South East England, Fast Fashion Therapy encourages the repair, upcycling and remodelling of used clothes, aiming to break our habit of always buying new. Its online workshops include refreshing and repairing knitwear, de-pilling or de-bobbling, fixing loose and pulled threads, and more.


Read more about repair culture in Crafts magazine

Buy our November/December 2020 issue now

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