There is a famous japanese mending technique called Sashiko, that in my opinion (and many other people's opinion) is a form of art. In modern years this technique has been neglected as Japanese started wearing western clothes and they didn't want anything that would remind them of how poor they used to be. I guess it is almost the same everywhere, maybe it works as a reminder to a collective trauma to poverty, but people seem to take mending as something that reminds them of difficult times. But times change and here we are finding old and new ways to avoid unneeded consumption and rediscovering those techniques.
This post is not about Sashiko that I so much admire though. This is about fixing holes with embroidery and simple patching :)
I spent the noon mending some socks and my very old sea towel. Nothing fancy, but it was so calming. Someone could think that I could work a bit more instead of wasting my time on this, but firstly I love my old sea towel and these bamboo socks, and secondly I believe that even moneywise it was a very productive noon since I don't have to buy new ones. Of course I could have done it the quick way, just fix them quickly, but those who know me know I love slow, creative ways of working.
This is how bad my towel looked, and these are the small holes...
I didn't create any piece of art, that's for sure, but I am happy I gave my clothes a second chance and some care, and to me a couple of peaceful hours.
The towel was full of holes, smaller or bigger ones, and I decided to make some playful leaves to cover them. This is a technique by bookhou, aka Arounna Khounnoraj. I loved it. Easy, repetitive and the result is super cute. I will definitely do it on clothes as well, but it was nice to start with a towel as the first ones are never perfect. Actually none of them is, but you know what I mean. Anyway, fixing old clothes is not only about not buying new stuff without second thought, but also about embracing imperfection and zero waste philosophy.
I'll try to show it step by step, it's really easy. At the end of the post there is the video of the tutorial that you mind find easier to follow :)
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For the socks, I decided to do some patching. These are soft bamboo socks and I didn't want to make bumps and make them feel uncomfortable. I used small patches from an old sock that now serves as a donor of patches for other socks :) @fotostef was not around to take some nice photos of the process and I was completely absorbed in what I was doing, so I didn't even think about it. I didn't expect I would post it I guess :)
Thank you so much for reading!
PS. The video of the Fishbone Embroidery to mend a hole by bookhou.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BCrCs2Gr38E
If you would like to know more about me this is my introduction post.
