Mend It Better: Creative Patching, Darning, and Stitching

by Kristin M. Roach

Overview

Revive your wardrobe with these creative visible mending techniques to make worn-out clothing not just wearable, but better than ever. 

Welcome to the new face of mending! Don’t hide patches—make them into bold, beautiful embellishments. Repair holes with colorful thread and a creative darning stitch, or use fun embroidery to bring new life to a stained shirt. With detailed step-by-step photography, Kristin Roach teaches you a wide range of patching, darning, and repair stitches using both hand and machine sewing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603427784
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kristin M. Roach, creator of the popular website Craft Leftovers, is the author of Mend It Better. She enjoys teaching art classes, organizing community art programs, and inspiring others to live creatively. Her designs have been featured in a variety of publications, including Interweave Knits, KnitScene, Craft, and the book Button It Up, by Susan Beal.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Mending, Then and Now
Chapter 2: Mending Tool Kit
Chapter 3: Stitch Smarts
Chapter 4: Patchwork
Chapter 5: Surface Fixes
Chapter 6: Seam Fixes
Chapter 7: Straight Hems
Chapter 8: Around the Waist
Chapter 9: Darning
Chapter 10: Fasteners and Closures
Chapter 11: Zippers
Chapter 12: Getting Fancy
Chapter 13: Decorative Accents
Chapter 14: Care and Prevention
Resources
Glossary
Project Contributors
Metric Conversions
Index

What People are Saying About This

CraftyPod.com Diane Gilleland

"I used to put my mending tasks off as long as possible, but this book has changed my ways. Kristin not only shows you how to repair all kinds of clothing, she shows you how to turn a repair into a beautiful creative detail that makes a garment like new again. The next time my favorite shirt or sweater has a mishap, I'll be ready to work some magic!"

Diane Gilleland

"I used to put my mending tasks off as long as possible, but this book has changed my ways. Kristin not only shows you how to repair all kinds of clothing, she shows you how to turn a repair into a beautiful creative detail that makes a garment like new again. The next time my favorite shirt or sweater has a mishap, I'll be ready to work some magic!"
— Diane Gilleland, CraftyPod.com

CraftSanity Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

“Kudos to Kristin Roach and her contributors for making mending cool. This book offers just the right mix of practical instruction and creative inspiration to motivate readers to repair their well-worn, favorite garments. Let's stitch!”

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

“Kudos to Kristin Roach and her contributors for making mending cool. This book offers just the right mix of practical instruction and creative inspiration to motivate readers to repair their well-worn, favorite garments. Let's stitch!”
— Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, CraftSanity

Kathy Cano-Murillo

“Kristin Roach is a creative mastermind when it comes to celebrating crafty leftovers. In her new book Mend It Better, she doesn't only offer clever ideas for repairs, but they each come with an impressive designer twist!”
— Kathy Cano-Murillo, founder of CraftyChica.com and author of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter

founder of CraftyChica.com and author of Waking Up Kathy Cano-Murillo

“Kristin Roach is a creative mastermind when it comes to celebrating crafty leftovers. In her new book Mend It Better, she doesn't only offer clever ideas for repairs, but they each come with an impressive designer twist!”

Editorial Reviews

Craft blogger Roach's first book is an excellent addition to any sewer's collection. Instead of presenting another plethora of patterns, she seeks to empower her readers by teaching the skills they'll need to mend nearly any piece of clothing, from ripped buttonholes to torn hems. While there's no substitute for learning in person, the publisher and author should be commended on creating a book with excellent, clear photographs that show, step by step, how to complete basic repairs. The chapter Stitch Smarts, which covers everything from the blind hem stitch to the little-known prick stitch, is particularly outstanding. Roach also presents a few patterns, most from other crafters, that provide inspiration towards more mending, less discarding of torn clothing. With the exception of the odd placement of two projects before instructions on the stitches required to make them, the book unfolds in an accessible manner; great layout (and lovely photos) provide eye candy. This is the rare sewing book that will be pulled off the shelf for reference again and again. Full color photos and illustrations, 13 patterns. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Craft blogger Roach's first book is an excellent addition to any sewer's collection. Instead of presenting another plethora of patterns, she seeks to empower her readers by teaching the skills they'll need to mend nearly any piece of clothing, from ripped buttonholes to torn hems. While there's no substitute for learning in person, the publisher and author should be commended on creating a book with excellent, clear photographs that show, step by step, how to complete basic repairs. The chapter Stitch Smarts, which covers everything from the blind hem stitch to the little-known prick stitch, is particularly outstanding. Roach also presents a few patterns, most from other crafters, that provide inspiration towards more mending, less discarding of torn clothing. With the exception of the odd placement of two projects before instructions on the stitches required to make them, the book unfolds in an accessible manner; great layout (and lovely photos) provide eye candy. This is the rare sewing book that will be pulled off the shelf for reference again and again. Full color photos and illustrations, 13 patterns. 

From the Publisher

Mending is one of the more unglamorous handwork tasks—many consider repairing holes in garments to be drudgery. Craft blogger Roach aims to change that view with her first book, a collection of instructions and simple projects intended to make mending fun. The projects have a definite "hipster handmade" feel, but the instructions, which include everything from sewing on buttons and repairing zippers to repairing snags and pulls in knitwear, are useful to a variety of audiences. VERDICT This is a clever take on a subject that, while commonplace, is not covered in most sewing books.

Library Journal