Announcement: Repair date

Mai Quynh on 11. March 2024

I talk (write) a lot about darning but it's actually been quite a while since I actively reduced my repair pile. The last time was in October 2023 - this was one of three repaired pieces.

So this is my announcement that I will get this on and do some repairing again in the coming weeks!

Inspired by Selmin and her blog post Ein Repairdate – Zack, komplettes Outfit I've been planning a repair date for a long time. The idea is so charming and I've finally set myself a date and put it in my calender! So the date will be the least I will do. But I really hope that I will do some repair before and after the date as well.

It's not so much about HOW MUCH, but rather about THAT I do repair (although "more is more" applies in this case). It doesn't have to be darning but whatever my technical repertoire allows and makes the repair heart beat faster is allowed and desired - it's not called repair date for nothing höhö.

Earliest in May I will give a report. Happy repairing 🪡

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This post is part of the series <Mein stopfendes Leben>.

"Darning is my hobby."

Mai Quynh on 28. February 2024

Darning is my hobby. I am willing to voluntarily invest time into this activity and do enjoy that time. I like to repair a piece of clothing and "rescue" it from being thrown away because it excites me to make something functional again and to lift it out of its broken state. The way I get there is the challenge that spurs me on: understanding the piece in front of me, using a suitable technique and seeing how things come together, row by row or stitch by stitch. Mastering this challenge and making the piece eventually wearable again really hypes me.

I don't "rescue" it for sustainable reasons and to produce less waste. Although this is a very positive side effect when I darn, it is not the prioritized purpose for me. Why do I tell you this?

The narrative

The narrative that I'm mending for the benefit of the environment and for sustainability reasons doesn't apply to me and therefore I don't want to use it (anymore). I never wanted to put sustainability into focus but it probably always resonated somewhere. One conversation stuck in my mind and I've been carrying an uneasy feeling with me ever since. Over the past few days, I have unraveled this feeling and came to the conclusion above.

The conversation

I had to introduce myself at a workshop and mentioned darning as a hobby. At lunch, a participant and I came back to the topic and he said that he wondered to what extent darning was realistic in everyday life. You don't find the time for such an activity and whether it's worth it. I don't disagree with him on any point. Nevertheless, I had the feeling that he was justifying the fact that there is no time to darn, to rescue. And this conversation had stuck to my mind and an uneasy feeling remained and I wondered how privileged I must be to be able to take time for this.

Time and money and value

There must have been times when darning must have been an everyday thing and where people were taught it for life. Times in which (a) there were not masses of clothing available and therefore clothing must have been more expensive due to the reduced supply; and (b) people did not have enough money to buy new clothes; ergo: the clothes they owned had to be looked after and maintained for as long as possible.

But nowadays (b) no longer applies because (a) no longer applies: there is a lot of clothing and clothing is cheap. In many cases, it is probably cheaper to buy new clothes than to repair existing ones. And we know that time is money. Clothes no longer need to be maintained in order to have wearable clothes in the wardrobe. In our world, darning for personal prosperity has become obsolete.

In general: time is time. With so many options for spending your time, I can understand if mending isn't exactly number 1 on the hit list. Or even in the top 50.

I'm sure that in other times, time was as valuable as capital as today and repairing your own clothes was work, just as it still is today. Today, where there is a constant feeling of time scarcity, who would want to do this work voluntarily if one no longer had to?

Not for the environment - for the fascination

For the environment? That would be honourable, extremely honourable. But at least I'm not going to tell you that. Because I'm not acting from that position. I do it for the sheer joy of darning in particular and repairing in general and, as a result, enjoy the individual rescue. It's a hobby. And one likes to make time for hobbies. Being able to live out a hobby is a privilege - generally speaking. In every respect - time capital, financial capital, mental capital.

Of course, I think it's a pity when things are disposed of even though they have a chance of having another life. In my opinion, the work behind every item of clothing should be valued - no matter how cheaply it was made. But I don't want to condemn anyone for that. Nevertheless, I still hope that more people find the same appeal as I do in darning/repairing. It doesn't have to become a hobby and be as much fun as it is for me. But if you're at least willing to give it a go and take the chance at some point, then that's already worth a lot to me. Alternatively, make somebody you know to try out 😛

Who knows which surprise is awaiting and how you or person X will feel once you checked out darning? 🎁

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This post is part of the series My darning life.

Darning - Some technical aspects

Mai Quynh on 20. January 2024

This post is part of the series „My darning life" (the not really nice-sounding working title but it doesn't get any better than this).

Today it's all about technical know-how.

What materials do I need?

I keep it simple: a piece of fabric with an (almost) hole; a needle; yarn; a solid base to work on, e.g., a darning mushroom or drinking glass (I've also used a loo roll before).

Of course there are subtleties and differences in the yarn, the needle and the darning aid. But I want to focus on getting you started quickly, learning by doings will do the rest.

I don't actually have that much experience myself, I usually have similar problems that I solve by using two different techniques. So my experience is not really diverse.

But in the end it comes down to repairing something and getting it out of the "I don't use it because the hole bothers me" pile.

In total, I would say that the material costs are very manageable: the most expensive thing is probably the darning egg/mushroom, the other things are quite cheap to buy. And once you have them, you'll have them for a while. Or you already have one or two things at home anyway.

Darning thread with a price tag in a well-stocked supermarket.

Is it difficult?

It is some tinker work with needle and yarn. But unlike other handicrafts such as knitting or crocheting, the movements are easy to learn if you've already had a sewing needle and fabric in your hand.

I found it more difficult to find instructions and information. That's what this post is for. I'll provide you a few keywords and give you a few further links, hoping that you'll get a picture of darning and feel like getting started as quickly as possible.

Here's a quote from the Schiesser company that I think is very apt: "If you're darning a sock for the first time, we have some reassuring news for you: you can't go wrong. After all, it's an attempt to save the sock - at least it's better than throwing it in the bin straight away." (The quote is translated from the german website as well.)

It's trial and error but I find that the learning curve is quite steep in the beginning.

So with the first few darning pieces you'll already get a good feel for the handicraft and quickly learn what works and what doesn't. So don't start with your favourite piece of clothing :D

Darning mushroom and darning egg

Search terms for the internet

In German I use the word "stopfen" but this misleads me much more often since it also has another meaning than the handicraft. Alternatives are "stopfen Handarbeit“ oder „stopfen Löcher.

In English it's much clearer, either enter "darning" or "mending". (not searched for these terms by myself though)

You will generally find more in English than in German, but that shouldn't stop you. On the one hand, there are now some great German-language posts, on the other hand, a lot of things work via pictures and videos + translation tools.

weave darning

If I assume that you have no experience at all, then I recommend weave darning first. This was also the first method I learnt. It is definitely functional (covers the hole quite effectively) and in my opinion also quite universal. With a little practice and preparation, it becomes really beautiful, but more on that later.

As the name indicates, weave darning is actually weaving. Here is a sketch of the technique: LINK | Pinterest image

Especially when it comes to weave darning, I usually find texts so-so. Here is one that I find quite good and helpful though:

Videos are much better for learning. I've posted the following video from Ein Koffer voll Wolle before, I think it's really good, so here it is again

Another video - in english

Visible Mending

For better visualisation, the instructions often use different colours than the colour of the garment to be repaired. In fact, some people do this very deliberately and really emphasise the darned area. This is called "Visible Mending“

The most fun thing to do with visible mending is to scroll through Instagram and Pinterest.

I know of these Instagram accounts. Use the platforms' algorithm to get more ideas:

  • @visible_creative_mending (english)
  • @Milli_and_the_bee (german, english)
  • @Ekaterinahaak (german, english)
  • @Slowstitchclub (english)
  • @Reparierenistliebe (german)

Invisible Mending

In contrast to visible mending, there is also "Invisible Mending". This means darning in such a way that you cannot see that your cloth was darned and the repair fits almost perfectly into the garment.

Ultimately, in/visible mending is the result of the repair - how the result is achieved can vary greatly. Some techniques are suitable for both, some more/only for visible mending, others more/only for invisible mending.

  • @Alexandrabrinck (english) – very nice invisible mending pieces

Other techniques

Keywords, if you fancy more:

  • duplicate stitch. A darning technique that I love because it imitates knitting stitches and therefore fits perfectly into the stitch pattern aka invisible mending, provided you have a very similar/same yarn at hand.
  • Scotch Darning / .A darning technique that I haven't tried yet. It covers the entire surface, is functional and universal - similar to the weave darning technique. And at second glance, it looks very feasible.
  • Embroidery. Used as a visible mending technique. There are so many beautiful ideas! But you need a bit of know-how with embroidery stitches to implement the ideas well and also a bit more equipment: thread colours are more important here because the ideas are more concrete

Media: Books

There are several books on the market by now which is a very nice evolvement. Books often show several techniques and application examples in one media and are beautifully illustrated, which is an advantage of books. Leafing through them is quick and makes you want to get started. Therefore, I categorise books between Instagram, where you mainly get pictures and ideas, and videos that show you technically how to achieve a result.

Back then, I first looked for books on Amazon (same search terms as above) and wrote down a few titles. Then I went to the bookshop and ordered the books to look through, as preferences in books vary.

My first book was the german edition of „Modern Mending“ by Erin Lewis-Fitgerald, available in Australian and UK/US editions.

Media: Pinterest

Actually THE tool to really fall into a rabbit hole. I just found myself in exact that hole when I clicked on the Pinterest link above. Many more suggestions are displayed (at least for me) immediately which make me want to check out even more!

With this, I'm reaching the end of this post. Now I hope you will enjoy exploring and maybe this topic will become a little Rabbit Hole for you, too - at least I'll disappear into 🐰🕳️