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WHAT IS THERE AVAILABLE IM TERMS OF EDUCATIONAL AND PRACTICAL FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR LOWER INCOME BACKGROUNDS TO LEARN MONEY SAVING TIPS TO MAKE CLOTHES AND TEXTILES LAST LONGER?

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WHAT IS THERE AVAILABLE IM TERMS OF EDUCATIONAL AND PRACTICAL FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR LOWER INCOME BACKGROUNDS TO LEARN MONEY SAVING TIPS TO MAKE CLOTHES AND TEXTILES LAST LONGER?

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Spanish with subtitles in English

100% positive reviews (876)

20106 students

19 lessons (4h 18m)

16 additional resources (4 files)

Online and at your own pace

Available on the app

Audio: Spanish

Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch

Level: Beginner

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When something is broken, we usually fix it. So why not do the same with our clothes? That's what Visible Mending is all about: mending any unused or damaged items of clothing so that they can stand the test of time, just as our grandmothers did before us. It's not a new technique; it involves going back to the relationship we previously had with our garments to give them a new life and a fresh new style to go with it! Gabriela Martínez is an expert when it comes to embroidery and textile art, and has made a name for herself in the industry thanks to her project known as Ofelia & Antelmo.

In this course, Gabriela teaches you how to mend and give personality to your clothes, whether they're ripped or stained, using stitches and patches. She teaches her technique from scratch and guides you through it step-by-step, showing you how to revive the garments that are gathering dust in your wardrobe into unique and special favorites.

This course complements her first course, Designing Handicraft Garments from Scratch, where she teaches how to manually design, embroider, and piece together textile garments.

What will you learn in this online course?

Get to know Gabriela, her textile art project Ofelia & Antelmo, and how she started out in the embroidery field. She also shares where she draws inspiration from and her own personal philosophy on creating slow and sustainable textile pieces.

In the second unit, get familiar with the materials and the upcycling techniques that are easy to apply. Gabriela shows you how to use basic embroidery materials to prepare, select, and start mending your clothing. Start practicing by loosening up your hand with pencil and paper, before moving onto embroidery, creating basic patterns that are similar to what you'll embroider to help visualize the outcome.

Practice with scraps of material and create a stitch sampler that you can later transform into patches. Gabriela guides you through a series of different types of stitches (running stitch, flat stitch, raised stitch, and lattice stitch), so you can create beautifully textured compositions.

Start repairing the garment you chose, applying the stitches to the damaged textile, creating interesting compositions through patches and visible mending techniques. See how to create an internal patch (under the rip), as well as external and camouflage patches. Gabriela mends her own item along with you so that you can observe each step along the way, demonstrating how to incorporate left-over embroidery scraps and showing you a range of options and techniques that you can try out.

Lastly, learn how to care for your mended garments-especially if you've embroidered heavily in one area-and get some final advice about how to apply what you've learned to other items.

What is this course's project?

Mend an item of damaged clothing using embroidery techniques and create patches to revamp an unused piece, giving it a fresh new look.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

To all those seeking to develop a deeper relationship with their garments and to give them a new style. Those with an interest in embroidery as a way to express their creativity and personality will also enjoy this course.

Requirements and materials

Previous experience with embroidery is not required to take the course, as Gabriela starts with the basics.

As for materials, you will need blunt needles of different sizes, different colored mouliné threads, the items of clothing you want to mend, textile scraps (plain, patterned, etc,), embroidery scissors and fabric scissors, an embroidery hoop, tailor's chalk, pins, paper, and pens or colored pencils.

Reviews

Ofelia & Antelmo is a project created by Gabriela Martínez-Textile Designer and Artist-which began in 2017 as a contemporary textile art project working across two formats: textile art and wearable art.

Textile art is where Gabriela explores her ideas using color, texture, stitches, and embroidery effects to create artisanal pieces with unique finishing touches that are resistant to wear and tear. Her aim is to focus on the quality of each piece, instead of producing high quantities. There is an intention of longevity in her work as a form of protest against the disposable, fast-paced world we live in today.

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FAQs

What are Domestika's online courses?

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

When do the courses start and when do they finish?

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

What do Domestika's courses include?

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

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1. Courses

2. Embroidery: Clothing Repair

Courses you might be interested in

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Online course - Embroidery: Clothing Repair (Ofelia & Antelmo)

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Learn the Visible Mending technique and revive your garments using original embroidery pieces and patches that express your style. When something is broken, we usually fix it. So why not do the same with our clothes? That's what Visible Mending is all about: mending any unused or damaged items of

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We asked blogger Constance Eyre @savingthreads for her favourite techniques. The days of constantly buying new are coming to an end. In the last 15 years, clothing production has roughly doubled. It is estimated that the average garment is worn only ten times before disposal. Less than 1% of all materials in clothes are recycled into new garments.Enter the glorious art of mending - and not just mending. Visible mending - where each stitch is a glorious sign of who you are and what you love and where your clothes have been.

I have been sewing all my life. To clarify, I have been sewing "a bit" all my life. I learned to sew at a young age, or at least use a needle and thread because I liked to repurpose my elder sisters' clothing, usually without prior consent. The first was a pair of yellow tracksuit bottoms. One leg became a ra-ra skirt. I loved it. My sister was less impressed. I was 5.
I chopped old Scottish kilts into 90s grunge mini skirts (again, this was less than popular as it turns out kilts can be very, very old) and cut necks out of T shirts and jumpers. I mastered a sewing machine by around 14 and could make up basic patterns. I've always loved making something new out of something old but other, adult things took over and I found I had less and less time to sew or be as creative as I had been in my youth.

Along with thousands of others, 2018 was the year my eyes were opened to to the plight our planet due to our extreme clothing consumption and our 'throw away' culture. The piles of clothes discarded into landfill, or incinerated were so far removed from the behaviour of most people, just two generations ago, when it was considered a bit frivolous to have more than one 'formal' dress, or winter coat. Not to mention more than one pair of 'party' shoes.

I have a young daughter and I decided that I was going to take a step away from our fast fashion culture, and find a way back to a more mindful approach to clothing. In the past few months, I've hand knitted my first sweater, of which I'm very proud. But more importantly, I've been researching and learning some really wonderful mending techniques, some I'd seen my mother and grandmother use and some completely new to me.

Visible mending is something I have become passionate about. Something you've worn for years becomes something new overnight and carries a piece of you with it. It becomes unique. It is the antithesis of fast fashion and, to me, it's become a form of self expression. Some of the techniques are really simple, if you have basics of sewing skills. Some take a little practise.

Here is my list of the techniques I've found to be manageable with these small skills, some time and a bit of ambition."

1. Boro or Sashiko Darning

This is very easy in its most simple form. If you have a rip or hole in your jeans, this is the technique for you. Cut a piece of denim or fabric at least an inch bigger than the hole in all directions and pin it behind the hole inside your trousers. Using a fabric pen or pencil draw horizontal lines across patched area around 0.5 cm apart. Using some embroidery thread, do a running stitch along the lines backwards and forwards until the whole patch is secure. If you are feeling brave, you could continue to sew a running stitch vertically up and down the patch, and make small crosses as a feature as well. In fact there are all sorts of patterns that can be done in this technique once you are feeling a bit more adventurous and all use a basic running stitch.

2. Iron-on patch and Blanket stitch

You can buy iron-on fabric patches in most sewing shops. Once you've ironed the patch onto the top of your hole or rip and its stuck and secure, choose your thread colour. Tie a knot in your thread and, starting from the inside, sew through the patch and jeans and work around it in a blanket stitch. This is made by sewing a loop and passing the needle about 0.5cm away from your first stitch. Then pass the needle through the loop and pull tight. Once you make it all the way around, finish your last stitch with the needle on the inside of your jeans and secure through a few loops at the back.

3. Portholes with an Eyelet stitch

This visible mend technique is perfect for small moth holes in jumpers or T shirts. This is where you simply outline the holes in a neat eyelet stitch. If possible, draw a circle in pencil around the hole around 0.5 - 1 cm away from the hole. This will be your stitch guide (although it won't be so easy with a knitted garment, you'd have to trust your eye.) The area between the drawn line and the hole will be filled with stitches. Secure the end of the thread, and pass the needle in through the hole and then up through the fabric on the stitch line. Repeat this as near as possible to the previous stitch and continue around the hole. To make the hole bigger, and more of a 'feature' just pull the thread tighter.

4. Crochet mend

Crochet is basically a way of making a continuing chain out of yarn (single crochet) with a hooked needle and once you can do that, you can create all sorts of wonderful lace like patterns. If you have a larger hole in a knitted garment, crochet it a good way of mending as you can secure the hole with one circuit of single crochet, or a chain that weaves in and out of the garment which would pick up any stitches that are running, and stop it from getting any larger. Once you had completed this, you can continue your chain round in a spiral, filling it up the hole with rounds of single crochet until you reach the centre.

5. Darning or Needleweaving

This technique is traditionally used for mending knitted garments like socks but can be used just as successfully on woven fabrics like denim. It looks complicated but it is really quite simple. Using a thread of a similar material to the garment that needs mending, begin 1cm to the right and 1cm underneath the hole. Sew small stitches, in a straight line upwards until you reach 1cm above the hole. Then do the same thing going downwards, next to your first row with almost no gap. Continue to create rows of stitches in this way up and down. When you get to the hole itself, simply let the loose thread cover the hole, trying to apply a similar tension to the rest of the material. Once you have sewn rows of thread across the hole, continue to create a few more, until you have reached 1cm to the right of the hole. This will ensure a strong mend. This is called a 'warp' (the vertical threads). To complete the darn, you will now need to weave the 'weft' (horizontal threads). From the top right-hand corner, begin making small stitches horizontally across the darning area. When you come to the end, reverse your direction, as before. However, this time, when you reach the hole in the middle, direct the needle over, then under each of the warp threads. The next time you cross the hole coming from the other direction, weave the needle in and out the opposite way to the last row. The rows should alternate between going over and under the warp - but don't worry if it's not exact. Continue sewing your horizontal rows until you reach the bottom of the darning area. I like to do this in contrasting colours as it can can look really beautiful.

6. Swiss darning (Duplicate stitch)

This is a little bit more advanced that needle weaving as it follows the types of stitches used in knitted garments to to make what can be an invisible repair. It's better to do this when the garment has worn thin, rather than made a hole, as the stitches are much easier to follow. Chose a yarn that is the same weight as the garment. Using a tapestry needle, bring the needle from back to front at base of the V of the knitted stitch to be covered. Insert yarn needle from right to left under both hops of the stitch in the row above. Insert tapestry needle through the base of the V again and bring it through the base of the V of the next stitch to be covered. Once you have done this a few times, you will see that you are in fact replicating the original knit stitch and covering the original knitting.

7. Embroidery

Most embroidery stitches are straight forward, the trick is to be quite neat and precise. YouTube is your friend for learning these techniques and for getting ideas, but recently I've been having fun covering small holes with little embroidered motifs, often leaves, flowers or insects! You will need an embroidery hoop to do anything, these wooden rings keep whatever fabric you are working on tight and make life much easier. I then draw with a washable fabric marker whatever little shape I'm going to stitch, chose some coloured embroidery floss (this is standard 6 strand embroidery thread) and use and use an embroidery needle (usually longer, thinner and with a wider head than most needles). Satin stitch it the most basic, it involves sewing in and out close together to fill in a shape. If the edges aren't quite in-line you can always stitch around the outside in a back stitch, chain stitch or stem stitch to keep it neat. My embroidered leaves (in the image) were done either in satin stitch, fly stitch or fishbone stitch. This was my first attempt at this sort of mend and I hadn't embroidered for around 30 years. It's not perfect but it worked and it wasn't too hard either!

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Time to relearn how to mend our clothes and make them last longer.

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Not to be mistaken with cross-stitch, this is a series of horizontal running stitches covered by vertical running stitches.

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This is a series of running stitches going in random directions rather than a straight line.

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Poke a needle through the fabric from back to front then down again about 1/4 inch away; repeat in a straight (or straightish) line.

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These are listed as the most sustainable commercial/mainstream fashion brands, it will be interesting to do some market research and see how affordable these brands are for low income households

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TEACHING AND EDUCATING PEOPLE ON HOW TO REPAIR CLOTHES AND MAKE CLOTHES LAST

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TEACHING AND EDUCATING PEOPLE ON HOW TO REPAIR CLOTHES AND MAKE CLOTHES LAST

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Visible Mending: 10 Basic Principles to Get You Started Mending Your Clothes

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Top 5 Basic Sashiko Tips | To enjoy Sashiko Stitching more - 刺し子を始めるにあたってのヒントのまとめ英語版

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Sashiko Story Vol. 1 | What is Sashiko & Any Rules in Sashiko Stitching?

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Visible Mending: Sashiko Jeans Patch Tutorial

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Learn The Basics of Visible Mending | Made by Me | Better Homes & Gardens

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In Spin Off's Fall 2017 issue, we recommended these 7 practical tips to make your visible mending project a success.
Elizabeth used an embroidery hoop to stabilize her fabric. Photo by George Boe
1. Stabilize the fabric.

Prevent puckering by holding the fabric reasonably taut and clear of folds. An embroidery hoop is perfect for a large area of sturdy fabric, but if you can't find one to accommodate your piece, try adhesive freezer paper or tear-away, heat-away, or wash-away stabilizer.

2. Just as for real estate, it's all about condition and location.
Debbie Held used a woven window patch to repair these jeans, and then she trimmed away the excess frayed threads. Photo by George Boe
A simple, small rip in otherwise new fabric will hold up well once mended. If, however, you've worn through an area, you are likely to wear through it again. The surrounding fabric may also be too weak to hold the repair. Try to anchor your new stitches far enough away from the hole or weak spot so that they have something to hold onto.

3. No loose ends.

Long floats or unsecured patches can catch and rip, leaving the piece worse than when you started. Be sure to stitch down or trim away any extra fabric on both sides of the piece.
Gather a few basic tools before you begin your visible mending project. Photo by Elizabeth Prose
4. Keep it short.

Small stitches are more secure than long, loose ones. When threading the needle, resist the urge to pull off a long piece of yarn so you won't have to knot and rethread as often; anything longer than one arm's length will get tangled (and won't save time anyway).

5. Plan ahead.

It can be difficult to stitch the design of your dreams freehand, but you can help yourself out. Use a wash-away marker to sketch the design before you begin stitching, or draw on the freezer paper or stabilizer.

6. Help your yarn slide on through.

Even worsted-spun yarns can be abraded by stitching. Use beeswax or Thread Magic (often available where seed beads are sold) to condition and lubricate the yarn.

7. What about washing?

Consider the combination of the fabric to repair, the yarn, and the washing method. To mend denim, which will probably make many trips through the washing machine, almost anything goes. Nonfelting fibers will retain their shape, and a little fulling may even be desirable if you wash a wool mend. For a favorite chambray shirt, though, a felted patch might turn into a puckered mess.

For more tips on spinning yarns for embroidery and visible mending, check out Debbie Held's article, "Mending Ways: Bringing Handspun to Basic Visible Mending," featured in Spin Off's Fall 2017 issue and Kate Larson's article, "Sublime Stitches," in the Spring 2016 issue.

Also, remember that if you are an active subscriber to Spin Off magazine, you have unlimited access to previous issues, including Spring 2016 and Fall 2017. See our help center for the step-by-step process on how to access them.

Originally published January 19, 2018; updated April 17, 2019; updated May 9, 2022.

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Visible Mending: 7 Tricks to Know Before You Sew

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Patch it, mend it, or darn it-visible mending is hot! Transforming a worn piece of clothing with vibrant stitchwork offers a great way to show off your handspun yarn.

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TOAST has commissioned the textile artist Celia Pym to explore how a family of TOAST sweaters and a pair of socks has been worn over time. The garments belong to customers, who all responded to Pym's call out on social media.

The exhibition was on show at TOAST Notting Hill from the 9 th-14 th May, as part of London Craft Week.

For the project, Pym spoke with each owner, discussing the cause of the damage and hearing about the particular stories attached to each piece. Through her interviews she caught a snapshot of everyday life and the small habits, routines and rituals that fill our time from gardening and train commutes to hospital visits. Pym is interested in how these damaged garments become evidence of our movements and actions, holding an imprint of the wearer.

Pym has always been drawn to the wonky and lopsided, but it wasn't until her father gave her an old sweater, belonging to her Great Uncle Roland, that she became fascinated by mending and repair.

Roly was a painter and the sweater was worn out in exactly the place where he had rested his arms against the drawing board. The sweater had been mended many times by his sister Elizabeth, Pym's Great Aunt. Elizabeth's mending was, Pym says, unselfconscious and practical, the sweater needed to be repaired and she would use whatever colour yarn she had to hand.

Pym was intrigued by the way in which the sweater had captured her Uncle's repeated actions, but also by the care and generosity shown in the act of repair. With a new interest, she headed to the library and came across the Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thrse de Dillmont , published in 1886. From this, she learnt how to darn.

I see darning as a small act of kindness.

Pym has been exploring mending since 2007 and has extensive experience of repairing small holes at heels, elbows and inside pockets, as well as working on more dramatic damage, whether it be from water, animals or moths. For Pym, the greater the damage, the better.

Pym studied sculpture at Harvard and has an MA in constructed textiles from the Royal College of Art. She was a finalist in the Woman's Hour Craft Prize (2017) and Loewe Craft Prize (2017). Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Nouveau Muse National de Monaco and the Textile Arts Centre, New York. Her next exhibition will take place at the Curator's Cube in Tokyo.
Two Customer Interviews: Emily Ashworth - Grey Wool Sweater
When did you get your sweater? 2015, roughly 3 years ago. I am a big fan of TOAST and have this sweater in 4 colours the grey, orange, blue and green. I didn't get the plum.

What do you wear it with? I live in these sweaters. Wear them almost everyday. Love being able to throw it on. I wear the grey one especially at the allotment. I have sensitive skin but am never irritated by these sweaters.

How/why is it damaged? I have sharp elbows. My Dad has sharp elbows too and goes through his sweaters in the same spot. The hole is on my left arm. I'm left handed.

Why do you want it mended? Of my sweaters I wear this one the most, that's why it's got a hole in it. Grey goes with everything and now that it's stretched, I don't feel restricted in it. So comfy.

When was the last time you wore it? 2 days ago.

Anything else you want to tell me? I don't think so. It's an everyday piece of my life.
Mel Whewell - Chatreuse Green Lightweight Sweater
When did you get your sweater? It was a gift from my Mum. My Mum is a big TOAST fan. Through her, my younger sister and I were introduced to TOAST. She gives us sweaters for our birthdays and Christmas.

What do you wear it with? It's a fine sweater. I quite often wear it with something underneath like a petrol, blue long sleeved top.

How/why is it damaged? There are several small holes that just sort of emerged. It's a fine fabric so maybe it's where I've nicked or caught it. Or it could be a moth. I've already done some darning. My Mum's Mum used to darn socks and jumpers over a tobacco tin. I've repaired it a little, made chunky stitches. I'm embarrassed by my darns.

Why do you want it mended? I've been staring at the holes in this sweater wondering what to do about them. When I am on the train coming home from work, I look at instagram to relax I like looking at lovely things and then I saw the TOAST mending call out. It was perfect.

When was the last time you wore it? Probably wore it at the end of last summer. Had become concerned that by wearing it, it was getting more holes

Anything else you want to tell me? Intrigued about what colour you'll chose to mend it. I'm ok with bright contrast.

Photography by James Bannister. The photographs were taken at our launch Q&A event. Sign up to our emails below to hear more about our events and workshops.

Take part in our Art of Repair workshops, run in all our shops across the UK.

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We asked the textile artist Celia Pym to mend a family of TOAST sweaters.