#mindful stitching

[swallowsummer]

Insanely proud of these ones. They’re mending and reinforcing a worn pocket and were really fun to do. All done with scrounged scraps of detangled mercerised cotton thread and a scrap of plaid I rescued from the gutter.

It’s almost like it’s Summer and I have time/the mental capacity to actually be creative…

[swallowsummer]

I recently overheard a conversation about how to get kids mending and wanting to mend. I had to try soooo hard not to jump into that conversation. Still, glad people are thinking about mending and that it is a topic of conversation!

My kids now bring me their clothes to be mended. These are not my eldest’s favourite trousers, simply because, “They haven’t been mended enough yet.” But we’ve made a good start.

There are actually two patches here: one quick, strong one made of old cargo shorts underneath the worn area, and this cotton batik mouse print that my mum gave me once on top. I was worried it wouldn’t be strong enough on its own. I hemmed it with blanket stitch and used sesame seed stitch (i think?) to add texture and longevity.

[swallowsummer]

I’ve been experimenting with blanket stitches, inspired by Hikaru Noguchi. I particularly like what she calls ‘tambourine’ darning, which is the pinwheel-like circle. It’s great for those tiny holes you get in t-shirt fabric. All these have a t-shirt backing patch behind.

[swallowsummer]

Loving how mindful the seven treasures pattern is, stitched as a single path, like a labyrinth.

These are my jeans for a change. They’re actually lavender, not that you can tell from the first photo.