Repair, don't replace: learn how to breathe new life into your wardrobe
Online classes to help you sharpen your mending skills
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Want to learn how to fix your clothes yourself? With the ecological crisis forcing consumers to rethink their fashion choices, it's the perfect moment for the resurgence of a repair culture. We’ve put together a selection of online classes and resources to help you mend your garments with panache. We will add to the list as we come across more, so send us your suggestions.
Original Norwegian sweater with Celia Pym’s white wool darning, originally from Annemor Sundbø’s Ragpile collection. Photo: Michele Panzeri
Celia Pym
The textile artist is interested in the emotional significance of preserving, cherishing and repairing garments that hold value and memories. Her darning workshops, hosted by haberdashery Loop London, among others, regularly sell out – so follow her on Instagram to be the first in line to sign up.
Patagonia
The outdoor clothing brand has championed sustainability for decades. It not only repairs damaged items but also empowers customers to fix their own belongings with online tutorials for basic sewing skills and more advanced repairs.
Hikaru Noguchi
The Japanese knitwear specialist and author of Darning: Repair Make Mend (2019) is a regular contributor to the #visiblemending Instagram hashtag. Her tutorials on IGTV – from darning socks to covering up stains – get thousands of views.
Ray Stitch
The haberdashery has introduced a series of regular online workshops. Learn general skills such as tailoring, cutting and sewing on a machine, as well as hand-embroidery, boro repair and sashiko stitching.
Tilly and the Buttons
Tilly Walnes, author of several books on stitching and mending, offers a wealth of sewing patterns, books and online workshops for DIY dressmakers, as well as troubleshooting, fabric tips and hacks.
TOAST
Lifestyle brand TOAST offers both online and in-store workshops run by Jessica Smulders-Cohen, its in-house Repair Specialist, which are suitable for complete beginners as well as those with sewing experience. Classes cover topics such as darning knitwear: just bring your own beloved blanket, jumper, or any other threadbare item in need of a little TLC.
Visible Mending
Based in the Scottish Borders, knitwear maker Flora Collingwood-Norris has worked for brands including Christopher Kane, Jasper Conran, William Chambers and House of Holland. She also runs a visible mending and creative knitwear repair service, as well as online tutorials on carrying out your own repairs.
The Thrifty Stitcher
Claire-Louise Hardie, who produced seasons 1 to 4 of The Great British Sewing Bee, runs bespoke, small sewing classes for aspiring DIY dressmakers, as well as a monthly membership club for various skill levels. Classes are available via livestream or to access later, released intermittently across the month to make it feel like a real-world sewing club.
Fast Fashion Therapy
Normally hosting repair workshops in London and South East England, Fast Fashion Therapy encourages the repair, upcycling and remodelling of used clothes, aiming to break our habit of always buying new. Its online workshops include refreshing and repairing knitwear, de-pilling or de-bobbling, fixing loose and pulled threads, and more.
