SPEC 52
Visible Mending as a Political Act Winter 2024

This is not the current course catalog

In this course students will explore a variety of hand mending techniques including patching, sashiko, darning, applique and embellished mending. We will approach this activity as both a sustainable practice and a relaxing skill-building experience. Learning about the waste produced by the textile industry will provide us with the impetus to resist our culture of fast fashion. Mending clothes is a political act that gives us a way out of the fast fashion loop and is a step towards divesting from the billionaires who own clothing chains. Visible mending can be a fashion statement that shows others that we have taken the time and care to extend the lives of our clothes. Students will be encouraged to bring in their own clothing with holes, stains, tears, and worn spots to strategize and create fun and fashionable mends of different types. Demonstrations and hands-on work will be supplemented with readings from “Mend! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto” by Kate Sekules. All skill levels are welcome. Some hand sewing experience is good for this course but not entirely necessary. Anyone can learn to mend!