How mending clothes can help you live more simply

Mending clothes is as old as time, and it is about more than simply extending the life of a clothing item. There is a history and tradition that you are a part of. When you pick up a needle and thread and mend your clothes. You will also notice that you slow down and are more mindful without ever trying.

If you’ve ever handsewn anything, regardless if it was to mend something or if it was to create a sewing project. You will have noticed that it takes time and mindfulness. There is something almost meditative about it, and I find that it is very relaxing once you’ve gotten started. Which is just one of the many reasons why learning a craft is so vitally important. Even for crafts like mending that are so often overlooked.

One thing to keep in mind is comfort. Since mending clothes can easily take some time. Especially if, like me, you always let your mending pile up. So choose a comfortable spot with plenty of light. During summer I find there is no pleasanter or more comfortable space to mend clothes than sitting in the garden. With that sunshine on your face and the birdsong in your ears while you work away. You will be hard-pressed to find a better spot to mend your clothes. And before you know it, you will be searching for more clothes that need mending.

Although, I must say that in winter sitting in front of the fireplace with your mending basket next to you and a good light above you will also be very enjoyable.

History of mending clothes

Mending clothes is as old as the practice of making clothes. After all, who would go through all the effort of harvesting fibre, combing said fibre so you can spin the roving, to be able to then weave it into a cloth and then finally be able to turn it into a clothing item. It simply is too much work to then not mend.

After all, when I turn my raw sheep’s fleece into a jumper. It takes me months to get from start to finish. Whereas mending a small hole doesn’t even take me 15 minutes. And that is including getting the supplies together.

Therefore we can reasonably assume, even without written evidence, that people would have mended clothes right from the start. It is one of those things that I find so enchanting about mending clothes. It is that I feel so connected to all those people who came before. Since it feels that nothing much has changed. After all, I’m sitting there mending this shirt just as our ancestors would have done. And hopefully, just as our children will be crafting and mending in future years.

Mending clothes is about more than being frugal

A good way to live a more frugal life is by mending clothes. Since you can mend a shirt as opposed to buying a new shirt. Thereby saving you the cost of a whole new shirt and all you have to use is some leftover fabric and a handful of yarn.

But mending clothes is about more than being frugal. There is nothing wrong with frugality being the main reason for mending your clothes. It is also the main reason I mend my clothes. But it should not be the only reason. After all, if all you care about is being frugal, then why go through the effort of making something beautiful again. So take pride in your work and try to make it as beautiful as you can. And when areas or stitches are less than perfect see them as proof of your labour. All those inevitable imperfections are just little badges of honour, of the fact that you actually did it yourself.

A more sustainable wardrobe

But mending clothes is not just for beauty or frugality. It is also important from an environmental perspective. After all, creating all the new clothes needed for the never-ending demand of fast fashion creates quite the controversy. Since it does not only cost a lot of resources, which put a strain on our environment. But on top of that, there is also a lot of human suffering wrapped up in the production of new clothes.

But by ensuring you buy second hand where possible and mend as many of your clothes as you can, you won’t have to contribute to all of that. If you want to buy environmentally friendly and sustainably produced clothes whose creators were happy and contented while making them. You can expect to search very far and wide, and even when you find it. Most likely, you will have to pay dearly for such clothes.

Better to mend and make do with what you have. Treasure those clothes you do have and possibly even make your own or buy replacements from a second-hand store.

Visible mending vs invisible mending

When it comes to mending you can mend spots in one of two ways. Namely, either by trying to make the mended spot as close to invisible as possible. Which would be called invisible mending or rather just regular mending. Because for most of history, we have mainly tried to hide our mended spots by making sure that it blends in as much as possible.

On the other hand, you have a technique that is becoming ever more popular. Which is called visible mending, in which case you embellish and decorate the mended spot. Aiming for the clothing item to be more beautiful after you’ve mended it than it was before the mending.

What is visible mending?

Visible mending is a wonderful way of mending clothes while at the same time giving them a hint of a personal touch. Just think of the knee patches so many of us had on our jeans as kids. My mom would sew all kinds of colourful patches onto my jeans in an effort to keep my jeans wearable.

Just as I now do for my girls. Just the other week, I sewed on a little bird patch onto my youngest her jeans. Now those are her favourite jeans, and she calls them her bird jeans. Visible mending can also be quite easy to start depending on the type of visible mending you do. After all, sewing on a square piece of fabric on top of a hole might be the oldest and easiest way to mend torn clothes.

But visible mending is more than sewing patches on top of spots. You can also darn or weave a hole in your clothes in a contrasting colour which will make the hole stand out. You could even embroider on top of stains and holes to embellish your clothes further.

What is invisible mending?

Invisible mending might be more for you if you don’t want to attract attention to yourself. And where a little bird patch on your jeans is cute for small children, most older children and many adults won’t want to attract attention to themselves that way. Although darned mending spots can look very classy if a patch is not for you.

When invisible mending is done right, you should not be able to notice that the item has been mended. Which is perfect for when you need to mend clothes in an area where you might not want to attract attention, like the groin area or your rear. I find a nice way to mend clothes invisibly is by darning or weaving the hole closed. In a thread colour and weight that is as similar to the fabric as you can find.

You can also sew patches on worn out areas on the inside of the clothing item. That way, it won’t be very noticeable. And as the general mending rule dictates, it is easier to mend a worn-out piece of fabric than it is to mend a torn hole. A rule that is sometimes hard to keep in mind when we want to procrastinate and postpone our mending work. But it will also go a long way to help keep your mended spots as invisible as possible.

How is your mending basket looking?

Now I wonder how many people still regularly mend their clothes. Do you mend your clothes? Or do you use torn clothes for other projects or do you dispose of them altogether? Do you mend clothes to keep a tradition alive, or do you do it for frugal reasons, or do you maybe do it to embellish your clothes and add a touch of personality? I would love it if you could let me know where you are in your mending journey down in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram.

If you want to get stuck in your next crafting project, then maybe you will like one of these ideas:

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