Class Title
Visible Mending: Creating a Mending Library
Jessica Marquez
Maker-Designer-Teacher |
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Class Description
At its heart, mending is about creative problem solving. With a myriad of ways to approach mending and repairing textiles, and no one “right way”, it can be challenging to start. In this class we’ll dive deep into the challenges and possibilities of creative repair work by looking at decorative and functional visible mending inspired by time honored techniques like Japanese sashiko, traditional quilting and historical mending. We will repair by hand which forces us to slow down, connect with the materials and deepen our appreciation and value of the textiles we use. This act of resilience is in direct opposition to everyday messaging of more, more, more consumption, helps reduce our waste, is empowering and also just fun!
Students will work directly on their own garments or create a sampler of mending techniques. Creating a mending library is a wonderful resource for future reference for a lifetime of mending projects. The sampler format can take shape in a more traditional two-dimensional format or as a fabric book with hand sewn pages.
In class, we'll focus mostly on a single garment, but bringing multiple items will give us options to choose from and a range of garments (and wear-and-tear) to reference. These techniques can be applied to all kinds of garments and textiles, but sturdier materials are recommended, like denim, canvas, twill, linen, cotton and heavy-weight jersey knits. Lightweight and super stretchy materials can be trickier to work with and aren’t recommended for this intro class.
A variety of upcycled fabrics will be provided for students to use in their projects, but please feel free to bring any additional fabrics or materials you’d like to work with. Like with like is the general rule: denim with denim, cotton with cotton, etc.
Experience Level: All are welcome. Introductory class with flexibility for more experienced makers.
Supply List:
Your kit fee will be due to the teacher at the start of class. It is easier if you bring cash in the exact amount of the fee.
About Jessica: Beyond creating patterns and kits, Jessica has written two books Make and Mend (Ten Speed, 2018) and Stitched Gifts (Chronicle, 2012). She teaches at traveling retreats, online, in-person and virtual workshops. A highlight of her career was being featured in Grace Bonney's best selling book, In the Company of Women. Jessica's easy to follow DIY projects have been featured in online and print publications, like Mollie Makes and Design*Sponge.
Her mission is to share the value of hand work and textiles through accessible skill-focused classes, creative kits, instructional books and soft goods made with intention. Hand-stitching is creative, constructive, useful and playful. Jessica values creative exploration with needle and thread and its varied decorative, functional and meditative qualities. Textiles play a vital role in our everyday lives for warmth, comfort, self-expression, and protection and yet they are undervalued. Throughout her work Jessica's goal is to shift our perspective of our textiles through hands-on personalization, like visible mending. Hand-stitching, whether decorative or functional, is an investment of time, energy and personalization that changes our experience of and value of the object. She helps people tap into their own creativity, extend the life of their textiles, and feel empowered by the possibilities and work of their own hands.
Students will work directly on their own garments or create a sampler of mending techniques. Creating a mending library is a wonderful resource for future reference for a lifetime of mending projects. The sampler format can take shape in a more traditional two-dimensional format or as a fabric book with hand sewn pages.
In class, we'll focus mostly on a single garment, but bringing multiple items will give us options to choose from and a range of garments (and wear-and-tear) to reference. These techniques can be applied to all kinds of garments and textiles, but sturdier materials are recommended, like denim, canvas, twill, linen, cotton and heavy-weight jersey knits. Lightweight and super stretchy materials can be trickier to work with and aren’t recommended for this intro class.
A variety of upcycled fabrics will be provided for students to use in their projects, but please feel free to bring any additional fabrics or materials you’d like to work with. Like with like is the general rule: denim with denim, cotton with cotton, etc.
Experience Level: All are welcome. Introductory class with flexibility for more experienced makers.
Supply List:
- Items to mend
- Scraps for patching
- Olympus Sashiko Needles
- Sewing needles & Sewing thread - Clover Gold Eye Embroidery Needles recommended.
- Sashiko thread
- Button craft thread
- Thimble (I like Clover Protect & Grip Thimbles)
- Sewing Pins
- Ruler
- Fabric Marking tool - water soluble pen or water soluble pencil
Your kit fee will be due to the teacher at the start of class. It is easier if you bring cash in the exact amount of the fee.
About Jessica: Beyond creating patterns and kits, Jessica has written two books Make and Mend (Ten Speed, 2018) and Stitched Gifts (Chronicle, 2012). She teaches at traveling retreats, online, in-person and virtual workshops. A highlight of her career was being featured in Grace Bonney's best selling book, In the Company of Women. Jessica's easy to follow DIY projects have been featured in online and print publications, like Mollie Makes and Design*Sponge.
Her mission is to share the value of hand work and textiles through accessible skill-focused classes, creative kits, instructional books and soft goods made with intention. Hand-stitching is creative, constructive, useful and playful. Jessica values creative exploration with needle and thread and its varied decorative, functional and meditative qualities. Textiles play a vital role in our everyday lives for warmth, comfort, self-expression, and protection and yet they are undervalued. Throughout her work Jessica's goal is to shift our perspective of our textiles through hands-on personalization, like visible mending. Hand-stitching, whether decorative or functional, is an investment of time, energy and personalization that changes our experience of and value of the object. She helps people tap into their own creativity, extend the life of their textiles, and feel empowered by the possibilities and work of their own hands.