What is visible mending?

Visible mending is a practice of repairing an “item-in-need”, in a way that adds charm and character! When doing visible mending, as opposed to invisible mending, the mender’s stitch work or patchwork is intentionally obvious, and sometimes even “over-the-top!”.

It is an act of love toward our belongings when we recognize their worth and use our resources to keep them as functional as possible, for as long as possible; it’s an even greater act of love when we outwardly celebrate our mends by way of “showing off” the stitches.

I have personally mended plenty of items in my home, from my favorite overalls to my son’s little chair, but I am not blogging today to teach you how to mend clothes or quilts. There are some amazing artists who have dedicated their time to writing entire books on that topic: Katrina Rodabaugh & Arounna Khounnoraj to name a few.

Why should we “celebrate” or focus our attention on such a simple concept?

Because an act as simple as mending a shirt sleeve can make a big, positive impact.

The more we are able to see mending as something beautiful and honorable, the more motivated we will feel to REPAIR instead of REPLACE.

If beauty isn’t a high ranking value for you, how about scrappiness? Or responsibility? Mending our damaged belongings reduces waste and decreases our carbon footprints. Every little action we take for the betterment of our planet counts! We don’t have to be perfect to contribute!

Some common barriers you might be up against:

Inconvenience. Yes, it’s often easier to replace than repair but it’s less satisfying, especially when the item is irreplaceable (like your favorite pair of jeans or maybe an heirloom quilt). Often times we are lazy (guilty) or the replacement is an Amazon Prime shipment and $17.99 away (guilty again). We don’t have to replace everything, we won’t be able to replace everything, but when we can, we should try!

Lacking skill. It can be way too expensive to take most items to local repair shops (if you can even find them), and what if you don’t know how to fix the thing yourself? I encourage you to try. Accomplishing something you didn’t know you could do feels amazing and typically the skill you need is one YouTube search or book away. Consider ordering one of the books written by one of the above mentioned authors to your library. Read through some of the tutorials, borrow some supplies from a crafty friend and see what you can do. Plus, visible mending requires less technical skill than invisible mending in most cases so the barrier to entry is much lower!

If mending your damaged belongings doesn’t feel like something you want to do or are able to do there are some other fun ways you can support the “visible mending” movement.

Other creative ways to support the “Visible Mending” movement:

Learn more about the history of the concept, visible mending traces back to Japan; search “Sashiko” and “visible mending”. Knowledge and conversation are powerful. Tell your friends what you are learning, maybe they will want to try!
Shop in second-hand stores, look for items which have been mended and give them a new home! Mended quilts or jackets are so fun to buy second-hand because the person who owned the item before you loved them enough to repair them; all of that love, sewn into the fibers, enters your environment when you welcome these special items into your space!
Check out some art inspired by this movement. I have made a few pieces myself, hand-embroidered with thrifted fabric. The mending is intentionally front and center, proof that broken doesn’t mean ugly, wrong, bad, or dead.

Reach out about original art shown below

In an upcoming collaboration, I will be creating yet another piece inspired by this practice. Make sure are on my email list to stay in the loop.

What is Visible Mending and why should we celebrate it?