Visible Mending: Colorful Knitwear Repair

A knitted garment is often appreciated beyond its colors and designs, by reminding us of who made it, or the time and place it was found. The ability to mend and repair our beloved knitwear clothing helps preserve the memories found in their stitches and is a great way to extend the lifecycle of our garments and live more sustainably.

Ellen Saville is the co-founder and creative director of The Endery, a brand devoted to creating handcrafted knitwear in Lima, Peru, made from leftover yarn. She believes that developing your own mending style is a conscious way to fight consumerism and deepen your relationship with your clothes. In this course, she shows you how to mend your knitwear from scratch and develop your own colorful mending style to upcycle your favorite pieces.

Begin by learning about how Ellen Saville, co-founded The Endery and her love for visible mending. She shares her inspirations and what has moved and influenced her throughout her textile journey.

Explore the materials Ellen recommends to start building your mending kit and learn about the differences between cotton, alpaca, and wool threads. Then, see how to build an unruly color palette that defies the concept of fast fashion.

Next, it’s time to start mending! See how to prepare your knitwear by learning the difference between rips, frays, and holes. Then, work colors and shapes into your knits and learn variations of the basic weaving mend. Understand how to adapt your mending techniques to different textures when working with both chunky and fine yarn. Define your own distinctive style by creating your own style guide with the stitches Ellen has taught you as inspiration.

Discover how to finish your mends and set them with an iron. Get Ellen’s advice on caring for your knits when washing them. Finally, share your mended knitwear creations on social media with Ellen’s expert tips.

Learn how to mend a knitted sweater and a pair of socks with visible mending techniques.

This course is for anyone interested in learning visible mending techniques that give a new, sustainable life to clothing. Upcyclers and lovers of crafts will discover new colorful ways to customize their knits.

No previous experience is required to take this course.

As for materials, you will need a knitted sweater or a pair of socks (Ellen will be working on both garment types), darning needles, darning tools (or a glass and an orange), fabric scissors or clippers, a selection of yarns for mending, a packet of pins, denim patches from an old pair of jeans, and an elastic band.