Visible Mending

Examples of visible mending

I started ‘visibly mending’ my sons trousers last year and used lovely bright patches and embroidery thread making a statement with each mend, rather than try to diguise the rips or tears. He often helped me pick the fabric and was always pleased with the efforts I made.

So this year I’m going to tackle some of my own clothes. I have some really cherished items that I’ve not worn for years as they’ve got a hole or a tear, but I can’t bear to throw them away.

I keep coming across examples of visible mending on Pinterest and I’m going to see what I can do with my own clothes.

Examples of visible mending

I didn’t realise that this type of ‘mending’ had a name and originated from Japan. Sashiko is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching (or functional embroidery) traditionally used to reinforce points of wear, or to repair worn places or tears with patches.

Examples of visible mending

Examples of visible mending

Examples of visible mending

By embellishing rather than disguising I hope I can ‘make do and mend’ some of my favourite clothes and get many more years wear out of them. Why don’t you give it a try as well.

Examples of visible mending