Thursday, April 9, 2015

Mend, darn, repair

I've been itching to learn how to darn since last year. My alter ego, who is hanging from a very appropriate spot in my living room is a constant reminder of that, so when this past saturday I entered a yarn store, and lo' and behold Tom of Holland was there, and my knees were all shaky, I thought; "now or never." I mean, if an encounter with the king of darning won't persuade you, who will??

I love, LOVE imperfection, rough around the edges,  a wabi-sabi sort of view, and most of all fabrics with holes, tears and mending.

It is a fascination that I have, that hopefully doesn't have any roots in my childhood, or maybe it does (like most things), but I really don't want to know.

 I don't know how to darn, and I don't want to watch any how to's videos, I just want to learn as I go.

Some months ago my father called me to say that his "precious" sweaters had been under attack, and I was very insistent that he brought them over to me, and not to the trash.  Moths love cashmere, and so they were enamored with this sweater in particular. Which I am too. I'm hoping my father doesn't want it back.

The good thing is that not much is needed to repair a sweater, only a bit of knowledge (which right now, I don't even have a bit). The mushroom and wool on the left are for some socks that also need mending.

These are my first attempts. The sweater has soooo many holes, that I think I will be able to graduate with honors when I'm done repairing it.

I have started a new board on Pinterest with the exact same title as this post. Before I used to put all of those darns, under the embroidery board, but it really isn't embroidery, it is more like weaving.  Maybe you remember how my attempts at weaving went?  It is here, in case you don't.

For more darning inspiration head over to this amazing blog.

Next week is this blog's 3rd birthday and what better way to celebrate than a giveaway. So I hope you tune in.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Giova

13 comments:

  1. Los "remiendos" estan permanentemente en mi vida!!!! Son verdaderamente "magicos"!!!!!! Historicos!!!! de tiempo...............

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  2. You have inspired me to try darning too.Great darning on the cashmere sweater, it's going to be so colourful when you finish.

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    1. I'm so happy you're inspired. I really hope it will be super colorful, when I'm done with it.

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  3. I am so absolutely thrilled to see your work of darning/mending; and I also perused that site that you recommended in your post. As a young girl, I did the mending for my family that included 6 brothers. It was all socks....About 17 years ago I started sewing shirts for myself, out of old damask tablecloths. As they aged even more and grew holes, I applied a piece of linen that I picked threads out of all sides, and hand-sewed neat rows of small stitches all around the holes. I really liked doing the visible mends even though other people teased me about being so frugal. Anyway, it is a joy to see others doing this, as well.

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    1. So you're a darning expert, how amazing! I would have loved to see one of these shirts. People always tease when you don't conform to the ideas they have in their head. Too bad for them, I think frugal is a great quality, because it makes you be more mindful of all the things you have, in this day where everything is disposable.

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  4. I think your darning looks amazing!

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    1. Thank you so much, I feel like a beginner but I'm very happy with that :)

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  5. Hi Giova, I love the darning inspiration! and the mushroom. I have a very old one but have never used it. I once had a very resourceful boyfriend who darned the elbows in his jumper! It's great to meet you. x

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    1. It is so nice to meet you too :)
      What a wonderful boyfriend you had, did he teach you?
      My mushroom is a new one unfortunately :)

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  6. Just wonderful, Giova x

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  7. You might like to check out this take on mending
    http://tomofholland.com/
    Enjoy!

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    1. This is the person I mentioned above (2 times)! If you read the first paragraph you would see that I actually met him by chance :)

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