Sustain Your Wardrobe: Overdye, Mend, Repair and Embellish
Give your tired, shabby, drab, worn-out, but much-loved clothes a new life during this day-long workshop.
Garment repair has become much more than a chore. Add pattern and texture through embellishment as seen in Indian Kantha and Japanese Boro traditions. Instead of throwing away a torn or damaged piece of clothing or fabric participants will be shown how the damage offers the opportunity to create a new surface design enhancing the beauty of an object while creating a story relaying it's history.
Each session begins with an overview of the techniques we’ll be using and a private consultation on how to best achieve the result you desire. Then we’ll get to work.
We’ll begin at the dyepot, giving faded cloth a bright refresh, and dyeing scraps and threads to use as patches.
Then we’ll explore hand stitching and embroidery techniques emphasizing textile repair and mending.
During the workshop we will take time to think about and explore the versatility and strength of embroidery for mark making, emphasizing the slow, meditative rhythm of hand stitching and the pleasure of having time to make and mend.
Finally, we’ll embellish items with decorative stitches, buttons, beads and found objects.
Inspiring artists: Tom of Holland, Stewart Easton, Luke Deverall of Darn & Dusted, Celia Pym, Katrina Rodabaugh. You might also like to visit my Pinterest page on visible mending for inspiration.
Classes are held in my Dye Garden Studio in the San Gabriel Valley. (Address will be emailed to you after sign-up)
Private classes are also available. Email me for more info.
As requested by my students, I now offer the indigo-dyed D-Core thread we use in the workshops (You can order it here) and Mending Kits with an assortment of dyed and printed scraps and hand-dyed thread.
Supplies provided:
Dye pots
One Mini-Mend Kit of your choice
Threads (to order what we use in the workshops, visit the sale page.)
Photos of stitches and mending for inspiration
Supplies you should bring:
Damaged item(s) you’d like to repair
Scissors
Needles
Thimble
Patches, fabrics, threads that are meaningful to you (not a requirement)