Repairing and reusing our clothes is very much part of the sustainable style equation and in this feature I look at how repairs can add both beauty and extended life to an article of clothing.
I'm ashamed to say that I recently threw out some very nice knitwear which had been damaged by moths. As you will see below, the beautiful repairs which could have been carried out by knitwear designer Flora Collingwood-Norris would have added to the interest and beauty of each piece, making them objects of pride rather than damaged goods.
We need to consume less, both to preserve limited resources and to limit environmental damage from producing the energy needed for manufacture. If we reuse and repair we extend the life of products that otherwise would be throw away - often ending up in landfill.
We need to consume less, both to preserve limited resources and to limit environmental damage from producing the energy needed for manufacture. If we reuse and repair we extend the life of products that otherwise would be throw away - often ending up in landfill.
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| This mending commission combines two different mending techniques, and was on a lovely Peter Scott cardigan - the owner is from the Scottish borders, so it was a nice tie in. |
I featured Flora's knitwear designs here on the blog a couple of years ago (link below) and wanted to ask her how she had come to start her repair business:
GF: You are a knitwear designer and I featured you here on the blog in February 2018 - you have recently appeared on Instagram as Visible Creative Mending offering a repair service for jumpers - how did you come to offer this service as well?
FCN: Mending was a service I had always wanted to offer when I started Collingwood-Norris, but I just got distracted by designing and making initially. I’ve always wanted to create pieces that will last and be looked after, and more recently have become aware of the huge amounts of textile waste that goes to landfill every year (350, 000 tonnes a year in the UK). I started exploring visible mending on my own jumpers, and sharing some of my work on instagram. Then I started getting mending requests, so last year I launched my visible mending service, and set up a dedicated mending account.
GF: Tell us about how you go about repairing the knitwear - what techniques do you use?
FCN: I use a variety of techniques, mostly darning and darning variations, but also Swiss darning, a technique that mimics the knit structure. The first thing I do is assess the damage; a rip is different to a worn elbow or a moth hole. A hole that has been worn through will require more attention to the surrounding area, and moth holes may be partially nibbled areas to look out for that aren’t actually holes yet, so different types of wear may affect what technique I use. Swiss darning really lends itself to areas that are worn but not completely worn through for example.
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This commission was on a 40 year old, well loved Laura Ashley won cardigan. I was given free rein on colours, and used Swiss darning as that worked so well with the pattern.
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Currently within my darning I’m exploring different weave structures to add interest and pattern to my mending. I’m particularly enjoying it as I never studied weave (I skipped a year at Uni), so now I’m discovering how much fun it is in miniature!
GF: This is visible as opposed to invisible mending - why?
FCN: I haven’t been trained to create invisible mends, although I would love to one day, so I don’t want to offer something I’m not confident in! While I can create mends that are very discreet, exact colour matching is very hard, so I decided to focus on creating beautiful repairs that would be seen instead. I personally enjoy having my clothing change over time as I do, and sometimes having a statement mend can make an old garment feel like a new one.
Visible mending really celebrates wear and tear, and I think it’s becoming a badge of honour, to show that you’re caring for your clothing rather than throwing it out.
GF: The repairs draw attention to themselves with beautiful patterns and colours - do customers generally allow you free reign or do some ask for particular patterns and colours?
FCN: I always discuss colours with my customers. I think colour can be quite personal, and I always want to create a repair that my customer will want to wear. I normally ask if there are colours they would like me to avoid using, and quite often get told which colours they enjoy wearing. If it’s blues and purples for example, then I build a colour palette around that once I have the garment in front of me and then check the customer is happy before I get started.
Unless a customer wants added design features like florals, I don’t normally discuss patterns. Each mend always feels like a new design project for me, and I’m not keen to have too many restrictions or voices involved as it can really restrict my creativity. However, sometimes customers have particularly loved a previous mend of mine, and when that’s the case I know to create something in a similar style. I know my customers come to me for my designs skills as well as repair skills, so I think they trust me to create something that works. So far, everyone has been happy!
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| The grey cardigan belonged to my customers great grandmother and the colour palette chosen included colours my customer loves to wear. I’ve combined some different darning/ weaving together to have some variety of texture and pattern. |
GF: As a sustainable approach this is perfect: I think of the knitwear I've thrown away with moth holes with absolute horror, will you repair other items of clothing?
FCN: I can never bring myself to throw away jumpers! Lockdown has given me a chance to finally work through my pile to holes ones! I really specialise in knitwear, but I do occasionally take on wovens and even the odd pair of jeans. I like a challenge, and I enjoy new projects, so I’m always happy to discuss other items, and I’ll say no if I don’t think I can do a good job.
GF: How can people contact you to discuss repairs?
FCN: Please email me info@collingwoodnorrisdesign.com with a description and photos of the damaged areas, and we can chat from there. I have also created some digital mending guides, should anyone want to learn how to repair knitwear themselves, and I also have some packs of colourful lambswool available to use for darning wool or cashmere knitwear. The mending notes can be found here:
GF: Many thanks, Flora. I featured Collingwood-Norris's knitwear on the blog here.
Collingwood-Norris on Instagram.
Visible Creative Mending on Instagram
Read other features in my Sustainable Style series here.
Collingwood-Norris on Instagram.
Visible Creative Mending on Instagram
Read other features in my Sustainable Style series here.
This is an unsponsored feature.
