Monday 5 March 2018

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









16 comments:

  1. 6000kg of waste every 10 minutes? Wow, that's incredible. And that's only in Australia. We are ally have become too wasteful. I wear my clothes for years and years , and when they are too old for work, I wear them at home. Then they go to rag pile, or craft pile. I too have a pile of stuff to mend, I should get to it sometime soon.

    I love the stitching you used on the patches. I've seen a similar stitching called Kantha stitching.

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    1. I know, Nil .... that figure is just shocking. I triple checked it to make sure it wasn't a mistake!! Only a small proportion of that clothing is resold in op shops too. With my home sewing, I am being careful to make things I know I will wear often, that are versatile and use natural fibres. I want these clothes to have long lives too! I will check out Kantha stitching, I've not heard of it before. Meg:)

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  2. It's hard to throw away your favourite pieces. Your mending looks great.

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    1. Thanks, Kathy. I'm happy with my first go at mending in this way. Meg:)

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  3. Lovely mending skills, Meg. :) I like that it's hand stitched to make a lovely decorative feature of it, rather than the ugly machine stitching that says: I used to be a hole in fabric. Now you've reminded me to repair my husband's cargo pants. I don't want to tell you how long they've been sitting in the mending pile, lol. ;)

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    1. I think my husband knows that if he gives me things to mend, they may not emerge again for years. There's a jumper of his which seems to perpetually stay on the bottom of the mending basket. Ahem, might have to rename it the too-hard basket. Happy mending! Meg:)

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  4. That's great Meg!
    I was in a big shopping centre on the Gold Coast yesterday, searching for some new shorts for hubby, he is very particular about his shorts, they have a change pocket! Do you realise just how many men's shorts don't?? LOL Anyway I digress a bit, in one brand name store we were in, they were SELLING BRAND NEW CLOTHES WITH HOLES IN THEM!!!! Jumpers made to look like they had moth holes! And so realistic I stared for minutes trying to wrap my head around it!!! Oh dear, I guess it's my age or realism or something, but I find such things too stupid for words!

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    1. Ha! Hubby did say that it's trendy to have holes in denim jeans and the like and that people pay a lot of money for such a look. I was more concerned with just how big the hole on the "rear" of my shorts may get and didn't want to be walking round with my "jocks" showing! Think I'll stick with mending rather than being trendy;) Meg

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  5. Now I have finished work I am doing more sewing, all my life I have had a sewing machine, but now I have time to make my clothes again. I dislike mending things and would rather make something new. But I am now mending things as soon as they start to go, instead of waiting for them to become unwearable.

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    1. I think that mending as soon as things start to go is a good strategy, Marlene. I know I get distracted by new projects and the mending just languishes in its basket usually. Meg:)

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  6. Meg I LOVE your Boro mending and have bookmarked the Sashiko denim repair tutorial to read (and maybe have a go at) later. Your little crosses are so cute!

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    1. Thanks, Fran. I hope you find the tutorial useful and get to do a little sashiko too. I really loved the little repetitive stitches and am keen to learn more and use it in other ways. Meg:)

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  7. Those look so sweet, Meg. You are so talented and creative. I am always mending, as I wear my clothes for years and years, too. I especially love hand knit sweaters. My knitting teacher is from Japan, and she has shown me how to repair my sweaters using the leftover yarn. The Japanese are excellent at mending. Our next door neighbor as a child, Yoshiko, used to do my mom's mending for her when she came over for tea. She was so kind and giving.

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    1. Thanks, Stephenie. I would love to learn how to mend knitted jumpers, how lovely that you have such a wonderful teacher to show you. Meg:)

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  8. Goodmorning Meg,
    I just love it, I had never heard of this Japanese art of mending before, so practical and beautiful. I too wear my clothes (mainly gardening clothes) for a little too long, but they are comfy and practical and all you need for dirty work. Have a wonderful day,
    Fi

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    1. Hi, Fi. I am happy with how my first try at mending in this way turned out. I should get more wear out of my favourite shorts now. Meg:)

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