Visible Mending for Beginners | Add a Heart Patch to Your Clothes

Mending does not have to mean trying to hide the fact that something was ever damaged. Sometimes the repair can become the best part. In this video, I’m adding a simple heart-shaped decorative patch to a garment as an introduction to visible mending. Visible mending turns repairing clothes into a creative opportunity. Instead of trying to disguise a hole, worn area or stain, you can deliberately draw attention to it with patches, embroidery, contrasting thread, darning and whatever else you feel like experimenting with. You are essentially making a tiny piece of artwork on something you already own. And there really are no rules saying your patch has to look like a traditional patch. Make a heart. A flower. A star. A strange little creature. Use contrasting fabric. Add embroidery. Make the stitches part of the design. This heart patch is simply a starting point. Invisible mending can be creative too, but in a different way. There, the challenge is in the problem-solving: finding the right materials, choosing the right technique and working out how to make something whole again while leaving as little evidence of the repair as possible. With visible mending, the creativity can be almost unlimited. So the next time something gets a hole, try not to see only the damage. See the space you have just been given to do something with it. I have also created a Pinterest board filled with visible mending ideas and techniques if you would like some inspiration: https://ie.pinterest.com/ayearofmaking/something-to-mend/ This project is part of Something to Mend, Week 5 of A Year of Needlework, my series about experimenting, learning practical creative skills and becoming more confident in your ability to make, mend and work things out for yourself. The only limits are your materials and your imagination. Happy mending. #VisibleMending #VisibleMendingForBeginners #HeartPatch #ClothingRepair #Mending #CreativeMending #HandMending #DIYClothes #UpcyclingClothes #AYe