Visible Mending as an art form.

I’ve been known to swear about the mending pile. I’m sure many of you are with me. I avoid it and wait till it builds up – aaaand finally get around to it when it is absolutely necessary.

However after years of having little kids I have come to love the fact that a bit of creative mending means that I am able to extend the life of their clothes in a way that non-menders can’t*. One way that I do this is to add cuffs to things like the top below. This was a size four that I purchased for him when he was 3, that he is still wearing at 7. I call that a win. It's longevity has come with a very small price and that is maintenance. Small boy puts a hole in it and I put a patch. You will notice the difference in the pictures between the top patch and the bottom. Same fabric for cuffs, patch on the sleeve and patch on the bottom but each patch has a different type of mending. There is a third that you can't see.

*What do people do about leggings in real life. Those cheeky things seem to breed holes. Do they just chuck them? Btw - All photos today except for the top two are new and were thoughtlessly taken in the tent. The tent is blue inside - which means we have super whacky light that

no amount of creative Lightroom work could fix. Squint a bit maybe. It might help?

The fact that I can extend the life of their clothes so much, means that I am able to love the product that comes out of the process of mending. However, I admit that I still struggle with the process. Which leads to today's post - I have just read about a new way to think about it….

It came from something I read on the Fringe Association the other day about a course Karen did on "Boro and Embroidermending". And as part of that course she talked about the idea of visible mending. And those words - visible mending and embroidermending changed something for me. Karen's post is about a shift in her thinking, which in turn has caused a slightly different shift in mine.

Different leg - slightly blurry Fix #2

Two down and one (still) to go.

Now I generally do visible mending as I am a little bit too lazy and not skilled enough to do invisible mending. But what I love about this idea, is that it is taking visible mending and with a little shift to my thinking, making it a thing of beauty rather than simply ease or utility. I started thinking about the idea of visible mending as crafting - or as another art form if you will. Rather than a mending as a hassle, I could make mending part of my craft. Thinking about enhancing a garment as part of the mending process should ultimately make it more enjoyable? I'm going to try it and see.

These were favourite small person jeans (that are BRIGHT red) that have been fixed once about 9 months ago. I have avoided this one quite a bit second time around.

Patches on top of patches on the super messy back.

If you need a little inspiration for your mending pile have a look at these lovelies on pinterest. Especially these as they are amazing!

How do you feel about mending? Avoid it, love it? Swear about it or does it make your heart sing from the sheer utility of your work?

Felicia x

PS. My apologies (again) - today was supposed to be a post about the extra workshops at the retreat this year. Unfortunately we have had a little car trouble this week and I haven't had time to finalise the post. Soon I hope - Rex is fixed and we are back on the road tomorrow.

Original article and pictures take http://thecraftsessions.com/blog/2014/6/13/visible-mending-as-an-art-form site