Holes in your clothes? Embrace them with visible mending.
A Redditor on r/VisibleMending shared their cute and clever way of mending tiny holes in their sweater.
"Little holes in my sweater sleeve are now little stars," they wrote.
With just a few threads, the user was able to repair little holes in an otherwise perfect sweater. This type of repair — where the stitches are meant to be seen — is called visible mending. Visible mending, like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, is meant to highlight imperfections rather than hide them.
Visible mending can range from tiny stars or flowers to full embroidery — like this Redditor, who embroidered several leaves on their sweater. It doesn't require a design, though. Many visible mending repairs are simple, colorful stitches.
Making repairs to your clothing prolongs its lifespan, ensuring you get the most out of your purchase. So if your favorite shirt is starting to fray, don't fret — it's an easy fix.
Repairing, donating, and thrifting clothing isn't just great for your wallet; by reusing and recycling textiles, you're helping the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 2018, over 11 million tons — that's 22 billion pounds — of textile waste ended up in landfills, where it emits planet-warming methane that contributes to more extreme weather. A majority of this waste is unsold clothes.
Not only are we over-producing textiles, but we are under-using them. The rise of fast fashion has resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of times a garment is worn before it's thrown away. According to the United Nations Environment Program, "The number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36% in 15 years."
You can help — explore our guides to changing the way you get rid of your old stuff and the way you buy new clothes.
Commenters loved the simple fix, and it inspired others to try out visible mending.
"I am going to try this," one user commented. "Thanks for the inspo!"
"This is such a great idea … I might try this with a cashmere sweater that has holes in really random places," another said.
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