tending and mending as an antidote to despair
if you're looking for reasons to get off your phone, get to that 'to-be-upcycled' pile
This year I’ve been making a concerted effort to prioritize upcycling, mending, and repairing in an effort to reduce my fashion consumption. I’m no stranger to reinforcing a button, but expanding my list of mending skills and projects has been a fun adventure in sustainability. And at a time when people are more online than ever, it serves as a great excuse to put my phone away.
As humans, we were never meant to be subject to a 24-hour news cycle, bombarded with countless stories of shootings, starvation, fascism, war, genocides, greed, climate catastrophe, and so much more.
what are we meant to focus our energy on when it feels like despair is all around us?
Many say that the antidote to despair is action. From a fashion standpoint, this can mean increasing the longevity of our clothing, saying no to buying things we don’t need, and supporting small businesses as much as we can. Of course, it also includes tending to and mending our garments. In an effort to encourage more people to log off and calm their nervous systems, here’s a shortlist of some of the different clothing repair projects I’ve worked on this year:
polishing that new-to-me leather belt
I bought this (above) gorgeous belt from The Vintage Twin last year knowing it was going to need some TLC. Even still, I was more than happy to find some leather polish so it could stay hydrated and maintain its shine. A little bit goes a long way!
After gently shaving some of my favorite sweaters (which were well overdue for some care), I managed to make them look next to new. That said, I think I’ll buy an actual sweater shaver before I do this project again as the razor, while effective, took a very long time. Check out the full DIY process HERE.
Without a doubt, this was my favorite project to date. These shoes turned out absolutely PERFECT and I was able to use my grandma’s old brooches to make them totally unique.
repairing a jacket pocket hole
In April, I hosted a community clothing swap and mending circle which was the perfect excuse to finally repair a hole in a jacket pocket that had been there for years. Plus, I got to see friends and neighbors work on their own upcycling projects. A win for everyone!
embroidering dad’s old denim shirt
After getting appropriately targeted by the Instagram algorithm, I came upon a small business selling embroidery patches in a range of designs. I decided to buy some for me and my bestie, and we spent a ‘crafternoon’ in the park. I think it turned out so perfect and now I have a totally customized shirt!
polishing grandma’s silver bracelet
After rediscovering this silver butterfly bracelet while visiting my parent’s house, I spent a little time removing the tarnish that had built up from its years stuck in my old jewelry box. While I didn’t manage to get all the nooks and crannies, I can’t wait to wear it again!
Love this. Would love to see mending become a habit as popular and commonplace as shopping. That’s why we’re launching a visible mending studio in just four days.
I’m working on these skills this year too! I need to be able to repair more stuff 🙂