Visible Mending: Colorful Knitwear Repair
A course by The Endery, Creative Director
Extend the lifespan of your knitwear garments by developing your own mending style with colorful stitches
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.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 16 downloads
What's included in this course?
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.
- 100% positive reviews (119)
- 4,318 students
- 20 lessons (3h 51m)
- 16 additional resources (1 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Learn how to mend a knitted sweater and a pair of socks with visible mending techniques.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
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.
Requirements and materials
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.
Reviews
The Endery
A course by The Endery
Ellen Saville is the creative director and co-founder of The Endery, a knitwear clothing brand based in Lima, Peru, committed to creating sustainable pieces using leftover yarn from other productions. She is a sustainable fashion advocate, passionate about mending and creating a more sustainable culture in the way we consume fashion.
The Endery’s most recent projects include a collection for designer Lindsay Degen and an accessories collection for Anthropologie. Ellen also develops yearly hand-knitted collections for alpaca mill Inca Tops and has launched sustainable productions for brands such as Nike and Banana Republic.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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What Will We Do in This Course?
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U2
Introducing the Tools You Need to Get Started with Visible Mending
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Materials
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An Intro to Fibers, Yarns, and Mending on Different Textures
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Approaches to Color and Building a Palette
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Repurposing Yarn From Old Sweaters
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U3
Using Visible Mending Techniques
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Holes and Tears in Knits
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Playing with Color and Shape, and Developing Variations on the Same Stitch 1
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Playing with Color and Shape, and Developing Variations on the Same Stitch 2
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Playing with Color and Shape, and Developing Variations on the Same Stitch 3
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Playing with Color and Shape, and Developing Variations on the Same Stitch 4
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Fraying and Unravelling on Cuffs, Soles of Socks and Heels and Elbows 1
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Fraying and Unravelling on Cuffs, Soles of Socks and Heels and Elbows 2
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Fraying and Unravelling on Cuffs, Soles of Socks and Heels and Elbows 3
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Reinforcing with Duplicate Stitches. Swiss Darning
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Combining Mending Techniques to Create Your Own Distinctive Style
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U4
Washing and Caring For Your Knits
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Finishing Your Mends and Washing Your Sweater
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Knitwear After-Care
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Building Your Social Media Community
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FP
Final project
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Visible Mending: Colorful Knitwear Repair
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
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FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational techniques in visible mending, upcycling, and sustainable knitwear repair. No prior experience is required.
You'll need basic mending tools like darning needles, a darning mushroom or egg, yarns in various weights, embroidery thread, scissors, and a mending kit. The course also provides tips for substituting common household items.
You'll learn how to source deadstock and secondhand yarns, evaluate vintage knitwear for upcycling, and apply sustainable practices in textile selection and garment repair.
Visible mending reinforces and decorates worn areas, allowing you to repair holes or damage creatively instead of discarding garments, thus reducing textile waste and promoting sustainability.
Sashiko is a traditional Japanese embroidery technique using running stitches to reinforce or decorate fabric, often applied in visible mending to strengthen and beautify knitwear.
The course teaches you to match yarn weight and needle size to the knit fabric, ensuring a secure, durable, and comfortable repair for various textures and thicknesses.
Yes, you'll learn step-by-step methods for repairing holes in sweaters and socks, including darning, weaving, and patching, tailored to different garment types and wear patterns.
Great course! I loved learning about visible mending techniques through the expertise of Ellen Saville, Creative Director of The Endery. Looking forward to share my works with the community. I highly recommend the course to anyone eager to learn about visible creative mending.
amazing class and teacher
Fantastic information, really well presented.
Muito bem explicado. Soluções praticas e úteis para continuar a usar peças de vestuário que se pensavam inutilizadas.
Starting from the very beginning giving a hint of culture and introducing the tools and showing the technique several times. It is a good course, recommended.