Hello fellow sewist!
Fast fashion has dominated our world. It’s given a misconception that clothing can be worn once and discarded. Most end up in landfills or burned, which harms the environment and wildlife.
Before we throw away clothing, when one minor tear or rip appears, let’s think about mending or upcycling them first.
What does it mean to mend and upcycle?
Mending is repairing a piece of garment by sewing or darning. Usually, to reinforce a seam and have it appear as if it were new again.

Upcycling is refashioning a garment by changing its appearance completely and/or changing its purpose.
What are ways of mending?
There are two common types of mending, invisible and visible mending. 

Invisible mending is hiding the repair work done. The aim is to mend the garment as it were originally. Usually, mending stitches are hidden, and the thread used will match perfectly to the fabric.
Visible mending deliberately shows your stitches with a contrasting color to create a design feature on the garment whilst reinforcing it. A great example of this is a traditional Japanese sewing method called Sashiko.
The word sashiko literally translates from Japanese to English as “little stabs.” It is a type of decorative embroidery used to reinforce clothing. There are motifs and designs significant to sashiko that are truly beautiful and can be very calming and therapeutic to stitch out.
With upcycling, you can be really creative with your outcome.
You can turn an old pair of jeans into a handbag, torn sheets into a sundress, braid strips of old t-shirts into a basket, turn curtains into a pair of pants, or even a quilt into a jacket.
So before you decide on getting rid of unwanted clothes, think of creative ways to give them new life for you to enjoy!

Happy Sewing!

Carla
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