r/Visiblemending

Anker Soundcore Life Q30’s my belovèd! Was told you guys would appreciate everything these have gone through and been repaired with. Side plastic snapped so it got duct taped, the logo fell off one side so it got replaced by some artistic stickering, the headband pleather started to turn to dust so I wrapped it in more duct tape, the original ear cup’s pleather burst apart at the seems so I sewed it back together until they too started crumbling to dust, at which point I swapped them out for a new set of ear cups off amazon. I’m gonna take these headphones to my grave at this point lmao - but they’re still going strong!

dont know if this is the place for it, but this is what i got. (pictured above)

as is, it still works. i dont ride in the rain. i store it on the terrace, and when it does get rained on i squeeze it out with a towel. it doesnt absorb much water anyway. but i would like to repair it, or even seal it back over, if i can.

Also, I love how supportive and positive this community is

I have a beloved straw hat that started as my shade on river trips in the canoe and became my every day garden hat. The straw starting cracking and breaking but the fabric on the bottom is a gorgeous fruit fabric so I needed to save her!

I used embroidery floss in yellow to create warp threads aligned in the direction of the straw. I needed to make sure I anchored in the right areas otherwise the threads would slip and slide down. I then would weave with a length of embroidery thread until I ran out, then switch to another color. I want the mend to be as colorful as the fabric below. The curve of the hat was really challenging in some spots so I used a curved tapestry needle. This was my first time weaving so I really just made it up as I went. There are areas I wished I had compacted the warp more but this was all an experiment! To reinforce the straw, I cut patches of fabric and modge podged them to the inside where the worst breaks are.

I really love how it turned out. The hat is way way better than before! I almost look forward to future straw breaking so I can mend more!

All damage is in the photo. The left side of the brim is completely missing and it's shredded all the way around. It's also missing the little circle thing at the top

This cashmere jumper is so warm and soft, it needed saving in some way! It’s messy but I quite like it!

Swipe for before! I had needed to fix these cuffs for a long time but didn’t want to replace them entirely. I cut the frayed edges folded them in and blanket stitched it closed. I used what i had which was this tan embroidery thread so the materials aren’t a great match but i can reinforce it and fix as needed!!

edit: thank you all for being so nice! this is my first attempt at mending ever, and i wore my sweater out this morning and so far so good :)

It was so cute this morning

I sewed everything inside out (you're looking at the inside of the pocket there), I used the wrong stitch, and I extended the wrong pocket

Contact cement to reattach sidewall to right sole and upper and fabric to cover holes, stitches to prevent peeling. Need to get new work shoes but it ain't in the budget so we fix again.

In case anyone wants a tip, I use cardstock (this is just an example using a post-it) to outline the shape of a missing puzzle piece with pencil. I cut it out and usually color it in or I put on a layer of washi tape and cut it out again. (Holding the piece up to the light helps show you where the cardstock puzzle piece is vs where the negative space is).

Whether it visually fits in well or not, it helps me think of the puzzle as mine too :) a secondhand puzzle someone loved enough to donate, and then I loved it enough to add my own creation to it

The first puzzle pictured here is the mythical world puzzle by Laurence King, 1000 pc. The second is the van Gogh sunflower puzzle with gold foil by Hinkler Play, 500 pc

Decided to have some fun with the embroidery on these. There were tiny holes in the fabric at the thighs for some reason, so I decided to patch them up before they grew any bigger!!

I learned a lot doing this project. I ended up completely redoing one elbow. I like how it came out, but there’s lots of room for improvements. (Also the inside might be my favorite part lol)

Brand new to everything about this. This is my first time mending anything and I have minimal sewing experience. I thrifted a pair of pants with a rip at the crotch and I had this vision to do a contrasting thread to sew it up before I even looked up mending techniques and found this subreddit.

I ladder stitched the openings together and pulled tight and then whip stitched over the ridge it left. Hand stitched, no machine. It feels secure enough. I like that it’s imperfect. I don’t mind that it’s buckling the fabric slightly on the bottom. I didn’t want to use a patch.

What I’m asking is…. Is this something that is done? Is there a better technique to get the effect I’m going for? I’ve seen a lot cleaner mending techniques and I’m aware of shashiko, but that uses a patch and is not the look I was going for here. Or is this a rookie move that is not even practiced in the funky world of visible mending?

The straps that allow me to tighten the side pockets broke so I fixed them. The first one broke a few years ago, but I didn't feel a need to fix it when I had another one. The second one broke today, so once I got home and got all my homework done, I stitched the straps back on. That should hopefully keep the bag in use for a few more years.

I wanted to create a nicer grocery bag for running errands, so I covered up the brand using cross stitch on waste canvas!

i know how to darn but i'm not sure if that would be the best for this

Because apparently my last darn wasn't enough of a challenge 😅 , I experimented with some black on black darning. Pictured are two shots of the finished darn and the pattern I used.

Excuse the puckering, I'm still weaving in my ends so I haven't pressed this yet.

So here was my experiment:

My goal was to experiment with the material; I typically use cotton embroidery floss and know pretty well how it holds up over time. This time I used black sashiko thread for both the warp and weave to see how it held up versus the embroidery floss. I'm hoping to see if it will felt after washes, and if it does will the pattern fade as a result or not.

My last post mixes black sashiko thread and grey embroidery floss so I'll have that to compare as they are on the same garment and close to one another.

So far, shorter weave patterns are harder to decern, but longer weaves are still visible. I'm interested to see what this looks like after a few washes.

If people are interested, I'll post some comparison pictures down the road with both this and my micro weave using embroidery floss and sashiko thread.

Thoughts on this scuff repair