Well Worn: Visible Mending for the Clothes You Love

As more people become aware of the environmental costs of fast fashion, the movement to repair, reuse, and recycle worn clothing has expanded. Enter visible mending, the practice of creatively patching, darning, and embroidering damaged clothing. Textile artist Pennant provides an accessible overview of the most popular visible mending methods, and she gives plenty of tips and tricks for making sure the results are useful, along with numerous reminders to take it slow and check work often. Concepts, techniques, and tools are introduced in the first sections of the book. That’s followed by projects that provide step-by-step guidance on how to repair holes, worn cuffs and collars, threadbare areas of clothing, and more. The projects are illustrated by both photos and drawings, which can, at times, be a bit challenging to parse. But the variety of the designs presents many practice opportunities, and examples of completed work give a sense of what is possible. How to handle delicate, stretchy, and nonwoven fabrics is covered too. The discussion of the origins of some techniques might encourage readers to explore further.