Modern Mending: How to minimize waste and maximize style

by Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald

Bring new life to your old clothes and fabrics with this fun, easy-to-follow guide to modern mending.

Australia sends millions of tonnes of clothing to landfill each year and our clothing consumption is among the highest in the world. But mending is trending and it’s never been easier to repair and reinvent your favourite clothes.

Inspired by the global slow fashion movement, Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald has created a comprehensive guide to mending your own clothes that combines creativity and sustainability. She demystifies mending and shares step-by-step instructions for a range of techniques, including stitching, darning, patching, needle felting and machine darning.

So next time you tear your favourite jeans or find a hole in your jumper, think twice before throwing it away. With Modern Mending, you’ll gain the skills and confidence needed to rebel against fast fashion and save the planet.

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

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2021

About the author

Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald is Australia’s leading clothes-mending practitioner. Her mending has been displayed in art exhibitions in Melbourne and Adelaide and she teaches workshops online to menders around the world. Erin began her career in journalism at 15 and over two decades worked as an editor, sub-editor, writer, and photographer.

After leaving journalism she founded Bright Sparks, a social enterprise that repaired and reused electrical appliances to keep them out of landfill. When she’s not trying to save the planet (stylishly), you can find her making tiny dioramas for her magic letterbox or cooking up a storm for her cookbook club, the Ottolenghi Appreciation Society.

Her retirement dream is to run a deluxe toy hospital for stuffed toys. You can find her online at erinlewisfitzgerald.com and modernmending.com

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read and a fantastic resource. I had the benefit of a long-term library loan during lockdown, but bought my own copy online about halfway through. Includes really clear instructions (accompanied by step by step photos) and lots of inspiration.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book, which I originally got from the library during the 2020 lockdown, but have now bought a copy for myself. I wanted to learn how to darn holes in socks, to reduce wastage. But after reading this book, I'm completely inspired by the wonderful creative and artistic options for mending, and now I’m keen to try out some much more fancy mends. The instructions are all very clear, with details on all the different stitches and different mending options, and the pictures are amazing, showing many examples of just how artistic you can be with mending. I highly recommend this book to anyone else who’s looking for an activity that’s creative and sustainable.

Edit: I’ve now given my original copy of this book to my sister, along with a starter mending kit, and bought the 2nd edition for myself, with bonus additional content on even more techniques and great examples to inspire me.

[Elizabeth M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comprehensive guide to mending your clothes combines practical know-how with whimsical creativity. There is a light-hearted, creative vibe flowing through this book; mending can be artistic, stylish, maybe quirky, and add to a garment’s charm.
Mending Techniques occupy most of this book: stitching, patching, darning, felting, visible and invisible mends, by hand and machine mends, fixing knits and fixing zips. Unique to mending books (that I know of), the reverse side of the mends are pictured as well.
I picked up some nifty tricks: felting a patch on the garment using wool and a felting needle. Also, combing the fluff off a jumper to use for an invisible felted patch. Genius!
Erin holds your hand with troubleshooting guides interspersed throughout the techniques.
Every household needs a how-to mending reference on their bookshelves, and this one is clear and easy to understand, assumes nothing, is thorough and packed with tips.
Beyond actual mending techniques, the book is enlivened with Erin’s case studies showing garments she’s mended and sometimes re-mended. Another highlight is interviews with menders in other parts of the world, who share their approach to mending, advice and inspiration.
Modern Mending is a beautiful book, and will empower you to tackle any mending situation with skill and confidence. And style.

[Tam G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm doing a survey of darning/fixing/visible mending type books. One thing I really like about this one is that it explains through case studies. Here's this dress made with a knit material. Here's a step-by-step of darning that will work in this situation. This is what it will look like when it's done.

It gives you the chance to see your problem, see a technique to fix it, and see how it will look. A lot of mending books give you a general overview of materials and tools and then hit you with page after page of techniques...and that's good...but it doesn't help you pick a technique when you have a ripped wool sweater vs. a ripped pair of jeans or a ripped pocket vs. a torn zipper. Lewis-Fitzgerald does a good job of reaching out to people who want to fix things, not just learn techniques.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been something like 5 mending books that came out in 2020/2021 (Intentional/Visible Mending is big right now) and this is the only one I have read that is worth the paper it is printed on. This guide is great! It has way more than just the basic mending techniques and actually gives you stitching ideas for making your visible mending look intresting. It also helps you create more than just the basic square patches. The instructions are clear and easy to follow with tons of pictures.

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a useful book! I learned to sew 16 or 17 years ago, and I’ve grown a lot in my knowledge since then. But mending was something I’ve spent very little time on, so when I saw a friend had this book, I was interested to get to read it. There are so many practical, useful skills demonstrated here. I’d heard of a few of them, but many others were completely new to me. I love that Erin starts with the basics—what fabric pairings you can make, and which ones are not such a good idea—and which needles and thread work best for which projects. Then she goes on to talk about how to do different kinds of stitches and ways to patch or darn things, and a lot in those sections were things I’d never heard of before. Full of illustrations as well as descriptive text, this book gives me hope that one day I could maybe mend things in such a way that I’d be happy with the outcome, rather than looking sadly at a bunchy, ill-fitting piece of cloth. One day, I hope I can get my own copy of this book to have available as reference material. It’s well worth reading if you’re at all interested in fixing your clothing instead of replacing it.

[Rachael Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got interested in mending last year, and borrowed two books from our local library on the topic. Both were interesting, and got returned the following fortnight, without me picking up a needle, holey jumper, or even a cup of tea (Erin's first step!).

I mentioned it to my mum, and she lent me another 2 mending books (it was lockdown- I had time!). One was beautifully styled, almost entirely about denim, and again was returned without me doing a single stitch.

Then I opened Erin's book. Before I was halfway through I had found a sock in need of repair, and was having a go in front of the TV. I've now used her instructions and inspiration to mend T-shirts, jersey dresses, woolen jumpers, work shorts and jeans.

I ordered 4 different mending books from her recommended further reading, and while I enjoyed them all, and got a few new tips and tricks from them, Erin's book is the one I go back to time and time again. She's found a beautiful balance between inspiration, creativity and simple down to earth instruction- I really cannot recommend her book highly enough!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great contemporary book on clothes repair using a variety of techniques including Swiss darning, sashiko and needle felting. Includes tips from experts and honest advice about pros and cons of different techniques. The illustrations are really clear and the advice (including what to do when things go wrong, and when to take on projects) very practical. This book also has lots of personable tips that you won't get elsewhere - for example you should make a pot and not a cup of tea when you are about to sit down to darn as darning is a slow meditative activity and you don't want to ruin the flow by having to get up to make a new cup! Also the picture of the cat's arm on page 35 to demonstrate the ideal thread length for stitching is hilarious! This book's layout is simple and straightforward and will appeal to beginners. I am a middling clothes mender but learnt a lot of new things from it. Recommend.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a slew of recent books about MENDING, of all things, and this one is both beautiful and inspiring. The author is an Australian mender-extraordinaire who teaches mending workshops and has an extensive on-line presence. This is a visually appealing book with excellent photographs and step-by-step instructions illustrating her projects and techniques. If you, too, feel a need to step away from "fast fashion" and get more life from clothes you love and want to preserve this is an excellent resource.

[Mrs Victoria Bruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a total game changer. It is full of detailed tips and clear photos to help even the non-sewer tackle their mending pile. It covers a wide variety of techniques, and has an inspirational project section to show what can be achieved. It is written in a very readable and engaging style, and is an excellent « how to » manual.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure mending porn. This is a beautifully presented book filled with practical advice, clear instructions for even the novice mender, all in an inspirational and often quirky approach. Highly recommended.

[Dustyloup · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
Inspiring book about mending. I especially appreciated the profiles of menders near the end. I always find the supplies section of a craft books to be boring and a weird combination of duh, of course you need that + what the heck is that I'm a beginner?! This one's no different. I don't think I've ever successfully learned a craft from a book. I need videos and/or human interaction to really get going but if you're looking to demystify the process, this would be a great choice.

[Emma Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald's surprise at her recent accolades on making Readings Books, List of 100 Great Reads by Australian Women Authors of 2020 & Good Reads, Highest Rated English-Language Mending Book, it was absolutely no surprise to me!

I purchased this little book of gold in early 2020 as my next step in my Zero-Waste Journey. I'm a self-taught sewist (sewer?) but had intentionally been avoiding any attempts at sewing or mending clothing because it was all too daunting. However, equipped with my copy of Modern Mending (aka my "Mending Bible"), I delved into the world of mending and haven't looked back.

Erin's book is a fabulous resource for learning mending techniques; darning, patching, stitching, and includes multiple case studies to assist in the learning process. Erin's writing style encourages you to relax - with a cup of tea of course - and have fun with the mending process - nothing daunting about it! The written instruction and accompanying images make it suitable for beginners like myself, as well as the more experienced menders. The book itself is beautifully constructed and I especially love the hard cover.

Some 6-ish months on and I've mended multiple pieces of clothing; socks, jocks, pyjamas, jumpers & shirts, 2 blankets, a picnic rug & a backpack.

When my mother learnt of my recent uptake of mending, she passed on my Great Grandmother's Darning Mushroom. And now, accompanied by my heirloom darning mushroom and my mending bible, mending has quickly become a favourite time passer on night duty...it helps keep my mending pile down as well as starting conversations with my colleagues about mending!

Erin is very responsive and engaged in her Facebook Group, "Modern Mending Club", and is always available to offer tips, tricks and advice on specific mending projects.

Modern Mending is by far the favourite book I own...it's never on the shelf, but rather always open, as any great book should be!

A big thank you to Erin for producing this little wonder and creating such a beautiful online mending community. And of course, a huge congratulations on recent accolades!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been requesting all the mending books in my library system, hoping to find one worth owning for future reference. This has been the best one so far. The book begins with materials needed as well as general principles. The bulk of the book covers, in detailed steps, the main methods for mending clothes as well as variations for each. This is followed by a couple dozen mended examples, which provide inspiration as well as guidance on pairing mending methods with real life garments. While most of the examples are “visible” mends, aesthetically they tend to read as design elements or embellishments. Also, the mending methods should work just as well with materials that match or blend with the original garment.
Bonus: the author states how long to expect a technique to take based on how much tea one should make before beginning!

[Irene Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource on mending with clear and inspirational photographic illustrations.

I've mended for years and still found new information - using pilling to needle-felt over holes in jumpers is one I'll be using in future for invisible mending. The hemmed patch photos also show how that looks when finished - it's an old techniques and I've read instructions on how to do that many times but now I understand them.

The projects showing (mostly) visible mending are lovely. No need to throw your favourite clothes away ever again.

[Sarah Bräunling · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the very best 30 quid I've ever spent. I'd recommend it to anyone, not only are the techniques useful but it's written and illustrated well, very informative, has lots of inspiration in it and has already made me fix my favourite pair of 10 year old jeans. I can't wait to learn more and hopefully share with more people for maximum effect - I reckon this book can inspire anyone to get into mending

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. It is beautiful, clear and full of excellent technique and examples. It is both inspiring and practical, as well as helping keep things from landfill by making them better than before. Really keen to get cracking on actually mending after reading this book.

[Rosemary Eddowes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great source of techniques needed to breathe new life into needy garments. Techniques well explained with many inspiring examples. Opens the door to many possibilities to resuscitate and invigorate fabrics.
Easy to follow, creative and fun!

[Megan Hobza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been poring over this book like a teenager with her first Vogue magazine.

It had never occurred to me that mending could be creative or stylish.

I'm a little sad for the garments that didn't "make it". I'm excited for the ones I couldn't bear to throw away but didn't know how to rescue. Mama's coming, babies.

[mezza ezza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply the best mending book I’ve found. Combines inspiration with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. Written with great charm but without extraneous fluff. This is the book I return to when I need inspiration for a project or I want to brush-up on a technique.

[Sue Langston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no hesitation in giving this book a 5/5 rating.
I borrowed it three times before purchasing.
You will need no other mending manual.
Erin’s conversational style throughout makes it hard to put down.
It has inspired me and helped me mend for my myself, family, friends and local op shop with more confidence and increasing skills.
Lots of before and after photos of her mends and step by step instructions.
Susan Langston Australia

[Georgia-Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

IM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! this book is accessible, sentimental, and inspiring.

[dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need this forever on my bookshelf what an incredibly helpful resource for those who wish to mend their own clothes

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Modern Mending! I found it by accident on the new books shelf at the library while away on holidays. My son picked it up and plans to get a copy of his own, and I'm hoping for one for Mothers' Day. I took it to my first Book Group meeting this year, along with the collection of fiction I'd been reading over the holidays and declared it my favourite!

It's a great Australian, but also international, book with inspiring ideas, excellent photos and illustrations, lots of "how to" advice, and places to look for more information or to buy supplies. I love the creative approach of visible mending - I've been an invisible mender for years, but some things just can't be done invisibly and this just extends the possibilities immensely. I'm especially looking forward to felting up holes in knitwear and trying some Sashiko stitching!

I'm not a big reader of "how to" books, but this one is a joy, either to dip into, or read through. Thoroughly recommended!

[Rob Magus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have sewn for many years but never considered mending because I always believed that the point was to make things look like new again. This book introduced me to the idea of visible mending, and expressing myself creatively through mending, and suddenly mending was accessible to me! Not just accessible but fun and a way to express myself.

There’s not many books that change you after you’ve read them but that’s what this book did for me. My mindset is very different now, I’ve gone from thinking about all the things I’ll need to replace, to thinking about how long I can make things last!

You’ve got nothing to lose by buying this book, you’ll save the cover price after a few mends!

[Ariel Achtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the first edition of this book and love the way it both encourages and entices me to mend. Of the four mending books I have read, this one has the best balance of inspiration and comprehensive, clear instructions. Reading this book is like having Erin standing next to you and encouraging you to embrace the creativity of personalising your clothes and homewares. Suddenly, the mending pile is no longer just a chore, but also a source of opportunities to express yourself. In addition to the more dramatic visible mending advice, there are plenty of instructions on how to make unobtrusive mends. Every household should have access to this book.

[Bridget B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern Mending is amazing! A great ‘how to’ guidebook full of creative mending techniques and approaches with something for novice menders as well as mender extraordinaires, from basic darning techniques to needle felting and sashiko stitching. One of the best sustainable fashion books out there that not only provides step by step instructions, but essential tips like having a pot of tea on hand for every mending session and useful guidance on how to measure the ideal length of thread (one of my fav pages!). Grab this book, brew yourself a pot of tea and get mending!

[Jacqueline Cleverley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful to look at and written so well, you'll wish you had a pile of mending. Imaginative, yet straight-forward, with illustrations worthy of a picture frame. I was overjoyed to find a hole in a jumper having bought this book. Erin shows us the thrill and pleasure in wearing clothes that will last longer because of her creative ideas. You don't need to be a seamstress - this book will guide you in a light-hearted way through the process of improving your favourite clothes rather than sending them to landfill or the back of the cupboard.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a beginning sewist/hand-sewer, or an experienced one, if you want to start doing mending on damaged clothes either to save a favorite item or try to keep stuff out of the landfill or just because it's a skill you want to learn....
YOU WANT THIS BOOK.
If you want to be able to creatively turn mending into an improvisational, clothing upgrading art form,
YOU NEED THIS BOOK.

Lewis-Fitzgerald, who is definitely not just an expert mender (she takes commissions) but a creative one, gives you :
a great overview of sewing tools;
another of fabric types and threads & needles that go with them;
an introduction to hand-stitching, including how hand-stitches look and how to perform them;
detailed explanations and coaching on patching, darning (3 different kinds), needle felting, machine darning, and fixing buttons, zippers, ladders, snags and shoes.

All of these instructions are incredibly clear (I've always struggled with understanding how darning works, but now I feel like I could do it), illustrated with photographs, and with a DON'T PANIC attitude. Each section includes safety warnings, a little q&a section on "what could go wrong," "Pro tips," and suggestions for "experimend"-ing (things to experiment with to creativize the mending process).

But then we get the case studies, items that Erin has been commissioned with mending or just chosen to mend, showing how she mended things in a way that snazzed them up! There's also a section on 'modern menders' with profiles of other people's creative mending.

Her tone is absolutely the best, encouraging, supportive, and with lots of tea (did I say that? Yes I did).

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to discover that Modern Mending was going to be released in a UK edition, which benefits from the extra content that Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald has added since the first (Australian) edition. A book where instructions tell you to make a cup (or mug, or pot) of tea before getting started is going to get a thumbs up from me! The whole book has a beautiful layout, and this is particularly handy for the photo instructions, which are really clear. At the end of the book there are a series of case studies showing how the techniques have been used on real mends. Overall, this book really opened my eyes, and imagination, to what might be possible (and also regrets around past garments sent to textile recycling, whereas what they needed was someone to nudge me to explore their mending potential). I really like the aesthetic of the mends, which show that mended clothes can still be smart and stylish, as well as fun and whimsical.

I put some of the ideas into practice on a pair of old pyjama bottoms with a split in a seam, a couple of small holes and fraying ribbon in the waistband. The book gave me lots of options to consider, and I tried out various techniques: fishbone stitch and satin stitch on the seam; classic darning on the holes; and buttonhole stitches to finish newly trimmed ends on the ribbon. ELF makes it look easy - I definitely need some more practice! Luckily I’ve other items that could do with some TLC, and this is a book that will get a lot of use as a source of practical tips and inspiration.