Visible Mending

Born from the Japanese art of sashiko, visible mending enables crafters to eschew fast fashion and make mistakes beautiful.

Miho Takeuchi, a traditional sashiko instructor and designer born in Japan and based in the United States, tells me via email that sashiko, which developed in poor communities in Japan’s Edo period, “was born from the necessity of mending and patching garments, beddings and household items. In ancient days, clothing and bedding were made from homespun fabrics woven from native fibrous plants such as wisteria and hemp and necessity demanded that this clothing be recycled for as long as possible.” It was only later, she tells me, that the technique evolved to include the elaborate surface-level designs and intricate patterns popular with visible menders today.

By Meghan Racklin  Mar 25, 2019, 8:00am EDT

Link to read full article: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/25/18274743/visible-mending-sashiko-mending-fast-fashion-movement?fbclid=IwAR2rfFVdJenaz4-FjlxE5LvDKQzBBZV3whx_nJZV4xiMwqGHYa0mSlaxXgU

Jessica Marquez, https://www.instagram.com/miniaturerhino/

Marquez makes sure to emphasize this history in her teaching as well. “I talk a lot about sashiko as a Japanese technique, and I talk about how it was developed,” she explains. “It’s a resourceful technique; it’s birthed out of necessity and thrift, and we have everything.” Whereas mending was once the province of those who could not afford new clothes, today’s visible mending is the province, primarily, of those who can afford the time and attention it takes to make one’s clothes into a statement.

More To See

Search 

#visiblemending 

and 

#sashiko

on Instagram.