Mending is a very honorable use of your time. I, too, had a coat with a lining that needed lots of repairing and finally sat down and painstakingly stitched it by hand for my mother-in-law‘s funeral last winter. While I was at it, I repaired the hole in a tip of a finger on my leather glove that had been there for a decade. It is easy to put those things off, but when you accomplish them, it is most gratifying and worthy of your time spent. I would like to add that the coat and glove are over 35 years old ☺️
Visible mending to me has very much the philosophy of kintsugi, in that any breaks or tears are simply a part of the journey and the mend is also part of that journey. Love to see this content, keep slaying it.
I think 2024 is the year of mending for me! I've been trying to make my wardrobe as sustainable as possible lately, and mending is definitely a big part of that!
You are halfway around the world and I'm so grateful for your channel. I've been mending socks and jeans and home made clothes for 25+years. I'm so glad that there are other people out there who are finally making this normal again, or at least not shameful. I would hug you if i could reach.
I decided to avoid my own mending pile by watching some RU-vid. Clicked the top video in notifications. It was about halfway thru when the irony registered. I wasn't sure wether to laugh or berate myself. Well, I better go get started.
I learned to sew out of self defence… because there is more than one entire size difference between my waist and my hips. Mending joined that skill because… well, I’m cheap and at various times in my life simply out of necessity. When I became a mother, visible mending kept me from traipsing to the shops every other week because my daughter was a very active child. Ripped clothing was a reality that chafed my budget and my sense of logic. Store bought patches are ridiculously expensive. Old shirts, completely worn and unsalvageable jeans etc became the primary source of material for patches. A bit of embroidery thread and if a patch got ripped, I just sewed on a new one. Stains that don’t wash out got hidden by embroidery as well. I have a throw that’s quilt-style in the sense that the print looks like patchwork. It was gifted to me by someone I loved and when it started to wear through I added patches over the holes. Over the past 25 years it’s gone from a white-and-grey crazy quilt print to a multicoloured crazy quilt with white and grey bits. When I spy a new worn bit, a new patch joins the others. None of the patches come from fabric I bought. It’s all from fabric I scavenged off old clothing or from scraps that were donated to me. The only thing I don’t do is to mend socks that weren’t hand knitted. I tried and it just doesn’t work in a way that won’t drive me absolutely bonkers when wearing the mended ones. As for pantyhose: Small holes get halted from causing ‘runs’ by applying a dab of nail polish. When the holes get too large, the pantyhose turns into shoe polishers. There is nothing better to get leather to shine after applying shoe polish like pantyhose. As I use maybe one, maximum two pairs of pantyhose per year, my rate of usage is perfect for my shoe-and-boot needs… because those polishing pads and brushes don’t last long either. The handles break and the bristles fall out. In that case a rag and a leg off old pantyhose are the lesser carbon footprint. Unless you mean the thick wool pantyhose. That gets mended!
Make FIX IT FEBRUARY a thing! I'm weird in that I enjoy repairing and mending stuff and clothes. Everything is a small creative challenge, and nothing is the same. It's an act of rebellion against the buy buy buy just throw it away society, and I'm here for it. Bring me a suitcase of clothes to fix and I'll teach you how to, or do it for you.
It is a small creative challenge! So many possibilities: invisible or a visible fix? What colours of thread will I use? Will I make a pretty embroidery or just a patch?... Endless!
I so agree with you! As I ve seen my grandmas mending everything until it’s fall apart and made some new stuff with the pieces…I mend a lot myself and I think it’s a way of life to keep alive our things. It includes also the maintenance of my electrical staff and mechanical things 😊 keep going, I love your Gobelin’s vibes!
I love everything about this video. It’s definitely a wonderful act of rebellion to mend our clothes, and I love the fact that mending them visibly gives us an opportunity to engage with other people about this subject.
Back at the peak of sewing blogs (2014?) I participated in a Retail Fast , where no ready to wear was bought for an entire year, so to encourage sewing with what we already had on hand. Other than a clean T when I was staying in the hospital with my mom, I bought nothing. On the downside, I also sewed nothing. It just showed me how much clothing I had already....I used to thrift damaged garments and mend them, usually sweaters, but others as well. In the past four years I find very little except fast fashion, almost nithung worth buying even second hand, but I still have lots of fabric and yarn!
I think RU-vidr Leena Norms is doing the exact same thing this year. Last year I donated a lot of clothes to a local poverty organisation, and even after donating two full bags I still feel like there's so much in my closet I don't wear. Mostly the t-shirts and trousers, actually.
I've been on a quest to avoid buying new clothes and fabrics, but my mending got behind. Listening to mending's radical possibility made me feel much more motivated to fix the giant hole in the leg of my only shorts instead of putting it off eternally and fix my own hulked out winter coat. I've got a long list of things to mend and modify and I plan to turn on some heroic music to accompany me. Thanks for making this video and for being you.
I have a wrap skirt that was purchased in Bali by an old acquaintance then a few years later given to me (in Tasmania) about 25 years ago. Yesterday I spent the day visibly mending the little rips in it with weaving some threads over the holes. We definitely need to make mending normal and accepted again! Thank you for being part of the revolution! 😁
great video. Visible Mending is a fun option - like you have with your coat lining. Make it a 'fashion statement' and who knows, we will see it walking down the street everywhere.
I have a large bin full of clothing and other items that need to be mended (both mine and my husband's). I have two things that make clothes mending a little difficult; my sensory issues mean that any patch needs to be very low profile or minimally different in texture from the original item, and most of my shirts are cotton stretch (T-shirt material) so I need to have a mend that also stretches. I think I'm going to set up a little staging area next to my desk so that whenever I'm absently watching something, I'll have something specific to mend rather than deciding it's time to mend something! About the "pantyhose", I think the thing for me is that the word has a different meaning for you than it does for me. When I think "pantyhose", I think the fragile, sheer, nylon stockings that have a waistband. What I saw onscreen I would call "tights" which are a thicker garment worn for warmth rather than to give the appearance of smoother legs/hide the pasty, pasty color of legs that never see the sun. When the garment that I call pantyhose rips, it will immediately get a run up the entire leg and it's not worth saving. The very act of trying to mend it will likely make more holes. Tights or stockings like you have are nice enough that I would mend them, it's the equivalent of mending socks but they cover your entire leg and bottom torso.
Yeah, that's probably some translation issues. The ones I usually wear in Dutch we call "Kousenbroek", which I thought could be directly translated to "pantyhose", thanks for educating me on the difference! Sensory issues is also exactly why I wear said "Kousenbroek" and not the nylon ones... I cannot stand their texture.
My great grandmother used to layer her pantihose when cold and cut off a leg when too torn, so she'd have like two waistbands, but each with only one leg
A trick I learned long ago as a dancer is that a little dab of clear nail polish will arrest a run in tights/pantyhose. So if the hole is in the top or feet (i.e. won’t be seen), or in dance tights (i.e. expensive), and I get to it when it’s still small, that’s what I do. Zero effort, it doesn’t cause a new hole next to the original, and I can use the item a while longer.
I agree that we really do need to bring back mending. It was even a trend, Sashiko stich work. But prior to that movement, it was a Japanese way to mend their clothes during war times and evolved into a way to make mending beautiful and personal. I love keeping the things I love to wear around for as long as possible! Also, your mending pile isn't that bad- I've had items to do from years ago😅
Something that helps me with mending motivation is "how much would this cost to replace", as I've saved that money by mending the item! I also have a mending death pile i have to work through...
Absolutely mend those pantyhose! Finding some that are comfortable and fit is a big hassle! Also, my goblin friend, I have dubbed your coat, the Tom Bombadil coat. It's bright blue, and it has yellow, just like Tom Bombadil in Tolkien's writings! :)
Go Jente, go! Mending is an art and a necessity for crafters in my opinion. My pile has also been neglected. My current goal is to fix one item a week. Not overwhelming and still leaves room for creativity (and chaotic shenanigans 😉) Thanks for making a video about the underbelly of sustainability and our consumeristic western society🧵
One item a week is a great way to chip away at it! I did mend one item this week as well, I had a shirt with tiny holes in them (because fast fashion doesn't always choose the best fabrics and that shirt is probably 10 years old by now). It just gives a great sense of accomplishment :D
I think I'm going to need to seek out more mending videos. I clicked on this and about thirty seconds in thought to myself, "If I'm going to be watching a video about mending, I'm going to be mending." Anyways, the bag I've been procrastinating fixing is now closer to being finished! Sadly, I think this is just a stop-gap measure. It's very loosely woven, so the weaving is literally tearing apart. I might have to line the whole thing, and secure the lining to the straps to take the weight off of the bag outside. But we carry on
Loved this, thanks for inspiring me to mend my huge pile 😁 (older than your pile). As for pantys, yes, I mend them, to a point. But as I see them myself, unlike them a lot, so it's worth it.
@@dontcallmegerbs could end up with a full year of these if we work hard enough. Dammit December when you frog any failed/frustrating WIPs from the year. Just do it June where you cast on without a care Could put a few mending months together with Mend it March, Sew up September and Darn it December. World is your oyster I suppose
I love how eloquently you were able to express your thoughts. As to the pantyhose question I don’t wear them and the last time I had some they got cut up for supporting heavy garden fruits lol
So powerful, I feel like I need to stand tall and put my right hand over my heart while you recite the pledge. It is a speech I think we need to memorize and teach our children to memorize and say every morning before breakfast. Thank you for being an example we can look to for inspiration and encouragement 😊
Ik heb onlangs nog een nieuwe knoop aan een rok gezet. De oorspronkelijke knoop was er maar meer dan een jaar geleden afgegaan. Maar voor de rest moet ik enkel een paar stuks ontpluizen. Ik koop wel eens iets nieuws, maar enkel als het stukken zijn die ik letterlijk jaren kan dragen, en dat doe ik ook :). Tot ze uit elkaar vallen beyond repair (en dan worden het vodden), of niet meer passen (en dan worden ze gedoneerd).
Ja, ik heb dezelfde tactiek voor kleren die niet meer passen. Ik heb vorig jaar nog twee zakken naar Sint-Vincentius gebracht toen de realiteit van een aantal kg te zijn bijgekomen me begon te dagen :-)
ohhhh.mending leggings are so tough for me.... unfortunately regardless of how I try to patch, sew, ect the thigh wears out within weeks or sometimes days. interestingly this does not happen with hose or looser garments (they wear out in the same amount of time but patching once has kept it wearable for years after) so Im seek legging alternatives for the winter skirt wearing. honestly think I might go the old fashion knit stockings and suspender method tbh, but Ive heard woven wool bloomers are warm and might be fun to sew....
i'm all for for darning wool socks but i once tried to mend cotton socks.... i spent hours on that pair trying to make the spots feel similar to the rest of the sock, the next time i wore them i got new holes on both of them 😂 i mend my clothes but i draw the line on regular everyday socks (i live in portugal, i basically only wear wool socks at home)
I don't wear cotton socks a lot either... But that's mostly because I'm practically always wearing pantyhoses or tights, so socks are a bit redundant then
Jeej🎉 sabaton yet again! Great album. Great band😊 long live the clothing revelution 🎉🎉 🤩 i alsow mend my clothes ( Some times it oke to get new clothes , when my clothes fal apart i first visit a thrift store😅 if i still need some thing i will go to a store in town. But that is ones every 3 to 5 years...)🎉🎉🎉
Opinion on demand: you can fix holes in pantyhoses, no problem, until the fabric thins out and it becomes like unevenly transparent. In that case, they're kinda dead I will say. But then, they might age differently depending on what material they were made with
Definately repair your panty's! I've fixed holes in the super thin tights with nail polish (prevents the hole from getting bigger), and in thicker tights with darning (stoppen, zoals je met sokken ook doet over een ei of paddestoel). I should also sit down and do some meding. Both the pockets of my parka have holes so big my entire phone can disappear into the guts of the coat... I also have a pair of corduroy pants that are wearing down between the legs, but I have no idea how to fix that! I'd prefer not to have super obvious patches there, so maybe I have to find some corduroy in the same colour and repair it with that? If anyone has suggestions, let me know!
@@MijnWolden Sock weight works fine for tights. In honesty it is no more than a sweater. I'm also trying to convince myself here because I have played around with the idea.
