Wear, Repair, Repurpose: A Maker's Guide to Mending and Upcycling Clothes

by Lily Fulop

Repair your favorite socks with style, add flair with personalized patches, and turn ripped jeans into an embroidered masterpiece. For beginner and experienced makers, Lily Fulop's guide to mending and upcycling is your colorful companion to ditching fast fashion and extending the lifecycle of all your favorite clothes.
Fulop's vibrant step-by-step illustrations make mending easier than every, demystifying techniques and displaying unique ways to show off your personality. And when your mending possibilities run out, she has simple yet striking solutions to repurpose fabric, including braided rugs, crocheted pillows, and more. Say hello to sustainable inspiration.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts, Sewing, How To, Fashion, Sustainability, Reference

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't a lot here that was new to me, since I already have sewing experience and have read more in-depth books about the problems with fast fashion, but this is a great introductory guide for people who want to rethink their clothing consumption, make their favorites last, personalize garments, and reuse fabric for crafts.

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting little book on sustainability and making your own clothing, or re-purposing the clothing that you already do have, this is a good little resource that maybe could have done with a little more love. This book would have benefited enormously from having a bit more detail put into it, and a little bit more love beyond the illustrations. There's instructions here that could have been put in that simply weren't, and it really lacked for that. I just wish that there was a little bit more that could have been put into this book, but it is still good on some of it's merits.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been sewing since I was a kid, but never learned different mending techniques (aside from “sew up this hole”). This is very beginner-friendly and has a lot of great and practical ideas that are appropriate for a variety of skill levels.

I wish it had a little more on embroidery (and discussion of basic knitting/crocheting techniques would’ve been nice, although I understand why the author opted not to include that), but overall this was a really helpful book that gave me practical solutions for what to do with some of the clothes I have lying around.

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5 or 4 stars... ratkngs are hard. This is a nice little book on beginning to sew and why it is important on an environmental level. It's not super in depth on either front, but it has good ideas and I found how the stitches are drawn to be really helpful. It is also supporting of people with different skill sets. For instance, it has tips for people who sew with machines and those who are more comfortable with iron-on patches, though most of it focuses on hand-sewing. I also thought the fashion aspect of having visibly repaired clothes to be really cool. I'm just starting to sew and it was helpful and inspiring for me!

[Taina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ihan kiva vaatteiden/tekstiilien korjausopas aloittelijoille! Opin uutta ja rohkaistuin kokeilemaan. Tosin mitään mullistavia ideoita teos ei tarjonnut, mutta aloittelijana onkin hyvä ottaa ensin perusasiat haltuun.

[Sarah]

good at showing you that things to do exist, bad at actually teaching you how to do things

also why does "visible mending" so often seem to be code for "buttugly mending"
it can be visible without being garish???? sheesh

[Maddog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very aesthetically pleasing design and helpful information inside. Can't wait to try out what I've learned!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that focuses on reusing old clothing. It goes over the basic techniques, everything from types of needles to understanding varieties of fabric. There are simple projects, like sewing buttons and repairing seams, to more complex techniques like Swiss darning a hole. It also covers some great repurposing projects, like wall hangings, appliques, and pillow covers. As someone who only has very basic sewing skills, I found this book easy to follow along, and it made the projects very approachable for a beginner. I hadn't seen some of these repurposing projects before, such as quilting pillow covers. I recommend this book to anyone interested in repairing and upcycling old clothing!

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted more creative options for repurposing: redesigning shirts into sundresses, sweaters into vests, that sort of thing. I expect the rugs—with knots?—to be lumpy and uncomfortable underfoot, from experience as I've woven many rag rugs. I'd advise against knots when making t-shirt yarn. The tutorial on mending was good. Plentiful photos, that would benefit greatly from better lighting and a bit of styling, and whimsical illustrations accompany the step-by-steps.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good beginner venture into the reasoning of getting into the idea of mending, and slowing down the fast fashion culture we have. Start to learn to mend your clothes for a better fit, or to patch that one spot you have in your favourite pants.

As a crafter, learning to upcycle clothes into tshirt yarn is a fun way to combine two hobbies into one new way to cut landfill clothes. This is a great book to learn all the basics (not to actually knit or crochet).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as an e-book, and there were some concerning formatting issues with large blocks of text and images overlapping each other and making pages of content incomprehensible. Despite those struggles, I enjoyed Fulop's to the point and low stakes attitude to help readers develop the confidence to attempt various projects focused on (like the title says) wearing, repairing, and repurposing their clothing.

Overall, this is a great introductory book for a younger or less experienced audience, likely anyone in middle school and up looking for a more substantial information source than tiktok videos or pinterest projects, but isn't ready quite yet for the niche work and heavy detail/skill that goes into the specifics mentioned in this book (or the daunting length of youtube videos, despite how soothing they are to watch). Fulop does a great job exposing readers to new ideas and techniques, though I was already pretty familiar with most, and I'm looking forward to attempting my own braided rug thanks to her and will update this review when I've hopefully completed it.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

This is a nice book for beginners. For people with sewing experience there may not be anything new to learn, but if you want to fix holes in your socks or jeans or customize some shirts this could be helpful. There's pictures of different stitches and suggestions on how to use them. There's information on recycling vs. upcycling and why it's important for us to continue using materials. There's also some projects that are no sew like rugs. Overall an interesting book.

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid introduction to mending and sustainability. It's not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but it's a manageable, enjoyable read. I've been sewing for years, but wanted to learn about different kinds of mending, so I got exactly what I was looking for out of this book. Even though a lot of the projects don't fit my personal style, they could easily be altered, which is nice. Overall, I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5.

[grim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected something far more substantial from this book. Illustrations and instructions are lackluster, and the projects and mending techniques themselves aren't worth the effort of reading. "Upcycling clothes" in this book just means making t-shirt yarn, and then yapping about the ways to use the t-shirt yarn. Don't expect a thorough guide to mending OR upcyling, this book is honestly a waste of time. 2 stars because at the very least, you can find some bare bones inspiration in this book.

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction of visible mending and repair, with photos that accept the beginner will make big chunky repair in the beginning. Has projects that are practical and speak directly to the repair most people will need to learn. Does discuss knitting and crochet projects without tutorials for either.

[Teacatweaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good primer for someone who is new to sewing and repair. The background information on fast fashion and the misconceptions we have about where those donated clothes really go was a good reminder of why we need to wear, repair and repurpose!

Geared more for the novice, versus the experienced, fiber artist in us all.

[applen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might be useful for kids or something looking to do a few crafts. It felt overall empty because there wasn’t much information, the projects weren’t very creative, and there seemed to be a lot of blank-ish pages. I don’t think this is a good option for someone dedicated to learning mending techniques or looking for new ideas.

[Bellamy Bodiford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would def buy (borrowed it from the library). Lots of techniques for how to mend and even an activisit's view on why we repurpose clothes. I enjoyed the simplicity of this book and the easy to understand diagrams that explain techniques. The intro is very informational and helped me begin to understand sustainable fashion.

[Zoom · Rating 3 out of 5]

How-to book about why and how to mend, darn, patch and upcycle clothing. It covers a lot of the most basic basics, such as how to sew a button back on. It's okay, but I think it's better suited to a younger audience. (I might photocopy the section on darning before I send it back to the library.)

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Resource

This would be very useful for the sewing/craft enthusiast with little or no sewing knowledge. I’ve been sewing since I can remember(Thanks Grandma!) and it was a good refresher for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing read on sustainable clothing

I’ve been reading a lot about sustainable clothing and visible mending, this book was particularly enjoyable and useful. Great for first timers!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been sewing and up-cycling most of my life so, though the information was good, most of it wasn’t new to me. The illustrations were great. I wish I could cut out and keep just the section on mending.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book with lots of techniques and tips along with projects and suggestions.

[Lisa Daleiden-Brugman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. A good book for those who aren’t typically crafty. A very basic section on darning. Meh.

[Tara Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for people interested in reducing their effect on landfills due to clothing! Easy to complete crafts

[Tina Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow techniques and accessible writing.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informational book with illustrations that are clear and easy to read. Tons of ideas and inspiration on mending.

[Becky S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beginners level book on how to mend clothes and make them more interesting than they were when they were new. I was raised by a mother who lived through the depression and taught me to sew on a button or fix a split seam, but this takes mending to a higher level.
The chapter in the beginning describing what REALLY happens to donated clothes is eye-opening.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

great illustrations and instructions for basic mending. maybe too basic for experienced sewers, but helpful nonetheless.

[Vanessa]

Sweet mending and repurposing tips!