The Ancient Art of Mending
Mending clothes is not a new phenomenon but in this age of fast fashion, many people have moved away from fixing garments and simply throw their garments away when they wear out. Unfortunately, the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world, but by learning to mend your clothes, you can do your bit to reduce this phenomenon.
The Ancient Art of Mending is delivered over 5 half days and is run in parallel with the Slow Stitching course. If you are new to sewing, I suggest that you do Slow Stitching as well as The Ancient Art of Mending. The courses run in tandem: Slow Stitching in the morning and The Ancient Art of Mending in the afternoon.
In The Ancient Art of Mending, we start the course by looking at the basics: hemming, sewing on buttons, fixing tears and rips and patching. We then look at how we can borrow techniques from people from India and Japan who have been mending and fixing their clothes for generations. In particular Boro, Sashiko and Kantha.
For part of every day, we work on a personal mending project that is brought from home. We look at how the mending techniques you learn in the course can be applied to your mending project. By the end of the course a garment that may have been destined for the scrap heap will become a wearable garment with creative and individual flair.
Come and learn how to save the planet one stitch at a time.
AGE: Suitable for ages 18 to adult
SKILL LEVEL: Everyone - Suitable for a range of experience and skill. Tutors understand that there will be varying skill levels and will adapt to the needs and interests of all students.
SCHEDULE: Half Days - Monday 13 to Friday 17 January 2025 - 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
VENUE: Bellingen High School
STATUS: Places available
Check out the courses below that could be paired with this half-day course…
Mending clothes is not a new phenomenon but in this age of fast fashion, many people have moved away from fixing garments and simply throw their garments away when they wear out. Unfortunately, the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world, but by learning to mend your clothes, you can do your bit to reduce this phenomenon.
The Ancient Art of Mending is delivered over 5 half days and is run in parallel with the Slow Stitching course. If you are new to sewing, I suggest that you do Slow Stitching as well as The Ancient Art of Mending. The courses run in tandem: Slow Stitching in the morning and The Ancient Art of Mending in the afternoon.
In The Ancient Art of Mending, we start the course by looking at the basics: hemming, sewing on buttons, fixing tears and rips and patching. We then look at how we can borrow techniques from people from India and Japan who have been mending and fixing their clothes for generations. In particular Boro, Sashiko and Kantha.
For part of every day, we work on a personal mending project that is brought from home. We look at how the mending techniques you learn in the course can be applied to your mending project. By the end of the course a garment that may have been destined for the scrap heap will become a wearable garment with creative and individual flair.
Come and learn how to save the planet one stitch at a time.
AGE: Suitable for ages 18 to adult
SKILL LEVEL: Everyone - Suitable for a range of experience and skill. Tutors understand that there will be varying skill levels and will adapt to the needs and interests of all students.
SCHEDULE: Half Days - Monday 13 to Friday 17 January 2025 - 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
VENUE: Bellingen High School
STATUS: Places available
Check out the courses below that could be paired with this half-day course…
Mending clothes is not a new phenomenon but in this age of fast fashion, many people have moved away from fixing garments and simply throw their garments away when they wear out. Unfortunately, the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world, but by learning to mend your clothes, you can do your bit to reduce this phenomenon.
The Ancient Art of Mending is delivered over 5 half days and is run in parallel with the Slow Stitching course. If you are new to sewing, I suggest that you do Slow Stitching as well as The Ancient Art of Mending. The courses run in tandem: Slow Stitching in the morning and The Ancient Art of Mending in the afternoon.
In The Ancient Art of Mending, we start the course by looking at the basics: hemming, sewing on buttons, fixing tears and rips and patching. We then look at how we can borrow techniques from people from India and Japan who have been mending and fixing their clothes for generations. In particular Boro, Sashiko and Kantha.
For part of every day, we work on a personal mending project that is brought from home. We look at how the mending techniques you learn in the course can be applied to your mending project. By the end of the course a garment that may have been destined for the scrap heap will become a wearable garment with creative and individual flair.
Come and learn how to save the planet one stitch at a time.
AGE: Suitable for ages 18 to adult
SKILL LEVEL: Everyone - Suitable for a range of experience and skill. Tutors understand that there will be varying skill levels and will adapt to the needs and interests of all students.
SCHEDULE: Half Days - Monday 13 to Friday 17 January 2025 - 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
VENUE: Bellingen High School
STATUS: Places available
Check out the courses below that could be paired with this half-day course…
course info
Please read all course information below before purchasing tickets for this event.
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DAY ONE
Welcome to country
Introductions and house keeping
Equipment management
History of stitching and mending
Introduction to mending and the visual mending project
DAY TWO
Mending techniques: hemming, buttons, darning
Mending project
DAY THREE
Applique and Japanese Boro
Mending project
DAY FOUR
Trimmings and Indian Kantha
Mending project
DAY FIVE
Japanese Sashiko
Mending project
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Please bring the following on your first day of class:
Erasable pen
A variety of threads
A variety of sewing needles
Small scissors
Dressmaking scissors
Fabric scraps
Embroidery hoop (optional)
Needle threader
Needle case
One or two garments suitable for visible mending projects
Notepad
Stationery such as pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers
An item that needs mending
The tutor will have various items for sale which can be purchased by the students.
Card payment available.
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No experience required.
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YOUR COURSE TUTOR
Suzie Wynn-Jones
Suzie has been a maker and teacher for most of her life.
She started sewing at a young age, creating and designing garments and homewares that she embellished with stitching, trims and applique. Now Suzie continues to design, construct, refashion and fix garments in her small studio in Sydney.
She makes soft toys and creative, useful items for the home. Suzie also sources and prepares high-quality second-hand clothing for sale. To create something new and beautiful, Suzie uses resources that are already available. Genuine sustainable practices include sourcing second-hand materials, using dead stock (excess fabrics the big companies no longer want) and creatively using whatever already exists.
Each item she makes is unique, quirky and constructed to last a few lifetimes. Some are created from scratch; some are transformed a little and some beyond recognition, but all are sustainable, beautiful and loved by their new owners.
