A Little Bit of Boro Mending

I tend to live in my favourite pieces of clothing until they are worn, ragged and frayed.  I  keep wearing them unless and until decidedly embarrassing holes, in less than strategic places, emerge in the faded fabrics. Such garments are then piled up for mending where they may languish for a long time. Either that or they become "gardening clobber". My favourite (and only) pair of denim shorts reached this point recently and, rather than send them to a pile from which they may not return any time soon, I decided to mend them but in a way that makes a feature of their patches. 

 Patched shorts.

Boro is a traditional Japanese patchwork where scraps of cloth were used to mend clothing and quilts. In doing so, the life of garments and quilts was extended and they were often passed down through generations as they remained useful. I used this simple online tutorial to help me try a little boro mending to extend the life of my very worn shorts. 

My well-loved shorts.

I cut patches from material scraps I had left over after sewing this dress. I love that this process uses scraps of fabric, reducing waste and finding a purpose for what otherwise may be thrown away. After pinning my little fabric patches in place, I stitched little sashiko running stitches, worked over and on top of the fabric patches. It was a lovely, repetitive and quiet process. While I gather there are certain dos and don'ts in regards sashiko, mistakes are imperfectly perfect too!

My imperfect sashiko stitches.

Stitches securing patches to denim of my shorts.

I experimented with little criss crosses too ...

Little crosses.

I love the little mushrooms, seedheads and flowers that peek out from the patches I've stitched into my old and much-loved shorts. No only have I mended them and extended their life but I've added something to them which I like very much. 

Making some of my own clothes and learning ways in which to mend and alter the ones I already have is in direct contrast to the culture of fast, cheap and disposable fashion that sees Australians dispose of 6000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every. ten. minutes! It seems too that there are many other home sewers like me who are developing or rediscovering their sewing skills and making their own clothes in order to bypass fast fashion and waste associated with it.  As Jane Milburn, whom Chel over at Going Grey and Slightly Green wrote about recently, asserts that we develop a true appreciation of our clothing when we have made it ourselves. I certainly would find it hard to throw away the garments I've made ... I know just how much unpicking I did!

I've no doubt I will need to continue adding patches to my well-loved denim shorts. It might get to the point where they are more patches than original material! I might have to patch the patches even!

Do you sew or mend your own clothes?
Meg