There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it’s up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.

Today, we’d like to share some of the most inspiring posts from the r/Visiblemending community. Members of this group share brilliant methods for repairing clothing and other items, giving them a second life. Some individuals seek advice from more experienced crafty members by posting photos of their damaged items to initiate discussions and discover the best ways to repair them.

Bored Panda decided to reach out to Ekaterina Haak, who shares “The magic of visible mending” on her Instagram profile. Scroll down to find out what we learned about the craft of mending from the expert in this field.

#1 Problem Solved Thanks To Some Little Soot Sprite Friends!

Image credits: gah-bah

#2 My 10 Year Old Mended My Jeans For Me

Image credits: LetoTheTyrant

#3 You Guys Inspired Me!

Before and after of one of my favorite dresses that had a small stain that bothered me so much that i stopped wearing it. I rose this simple dress from the ashes to make a statement piece I love even more.

Image credits: Master_Tinyface

The massive fashion industry shows no signs of slowing down, with clothing production exceeding the actual needs of consumers. It appears that the power to effect change is in our hands, and we should begin with small steps, such as finding ways to minimize the quantity of clothing we purchase. It’s essential to resist the allure of tempting offers that encourage acquiring new items at a low cost, even when there’s no real need for them.

Why buy new, if very often a small repair is enough to extend the lifetime of our favorite piece of clothing? This seems to be the main motto of Ekaterina Haak, who finds mending solutions for herself and her clients. We have asked her to share with us the inspiration behind starting her profile and her journey into the world of visible mending. We found out that: “Fresh out of communication design studies, with a focus on illustration, I was inspired by the embroidery work I had seen online. The idea of creating art with threads fascinated me, even though I had neither prior experience nor embroidery tools.”

#4 Mom Patched A Quilt. Pup Has Been Gone A Couple Years Now, But This Lives On

Image credits: Final_Meaning_2030

#5 Owl Lost An Eye. My 7yo Asked Me To Make An Eyepatch. Owl Is Now Ready For A New Career As A Pirate

Image credits: rvodenh

#6 Thank You To Whichever User Suggested This Cat Scratch Patching. Love It So Much!

Image credits: Kootenay85

The artist continued: “I ventured into embroidery and decided to experiment by stitching on my own stained t-shirts first. I figured they were already damaged, so I couldn’t make them any worse. What can I say? I fell in love with the slow, meditative process. Replacing those stains with tiny cherries and avocados, for instance, transformed what was once a blemish into something delightful. I began sharing my journey on social media, and it wasn’t until later that I discovered the term for this art form – visible mending.

Gradually, I started exploring various mending techniques, mending not only my own clothes but everything around the house. The practice extended to include my family, friends, and beyond, driven by the growing demand. Ultimately, it inspired me to establish a mending business.”

#7 Patched And Covered A Rip Next To My Jeans’ Pocket! It’s My First Big Attempt At Decorative Embroidery

Image credits: VampireSprite

#8 It Was Either This Or Thousands Of Dollars To Replace The Whole Floor, They Don’t Make Tile Like That Anymore

Image credits: ProjectDirectory

#9 He Didn’t Want To Throw This Rug Away Because It Belonged To His Grandmother

Image credits: Lions-not-sheep

Next, we wanted to know what Ekaterina believes the key benefits of visible mending are, both from a creative and sustainability perspective. Haak explained: “Visible mending has revolutionized my perspective on both creativity and sustainability. At the outset, I was unaware of the potential to revive cherished yet damaged clothing. Mending wasn’t a tradition in my family, which made this realization both enlightening and tinged with regret for the beloved garments I had discarded in ignorance.

One of the key benefits of visible mending is its forgiving nature. When dealing with traditional mending techniques aimed at, for example, making moth-eaten holes disappear invisibly, it often demands a high level of skill, extensive experience, and access to specialized yarn or materials. Achieving seamless, invisible repairs can be a daunting task, even for seasoned crafters!

In contrast, visible mending presents a refreshing and accessible alternative, open to everyone willing to pick up a needle and thread. This accessibility makes visible mending not only an environmentally conscious choice but also a truly joyful and fulfilling one.”

#10 Patched A Small Tear In My Jacket With A Small Felt Bandaid

Image credits: I-OPsych

#11 This Patch Might Bite You In The…rear Pocket Of The Vintage Jeans I Patched. Scrap Of Stretchy Fabric And Sashiko Thread

Image credits: Art_Is_Basic

#12 My Favorite Overalls Might Eventually Be More Crochet Cotton Than Denim

Image credits: twin_weenis

The artist told us more about her personal approach to this craft: “For me, visible mending is also the ideal way to express myself through wearable art. In my creative past, I made various items, but they were often lost during moves to different cities and even countries. Visible mending is different because my work is right there on the streets, in everyday life, and it doesn’t require special storage. It’s a form of art that lives on through the clothing it embellishes, offering a lasting and approachable means of expressing my creativity.”

Visible mending often involves incorporating artistic elements into repairs. We were wondering how the artist strikes a balance between functionality and aesthetics in her projects. Haak shared with us: “Balancing functionality and aesthetics in visible mending is crucial. For me, a truly functional repair must not only be aesthetic, but durable and sustainable on every level. My goal is to minimize material use, avoiding new purchases whenever possible. With the demand for commissions and a growing mending pile of my own, I’ve come to value time. Charging per hour, I aim for repairs that are both efficient and beautiful. For that, I carefully assess projects for feasibility, declining those that might be too time-consuming or resource-intensive, especially if I believe someone else can handle them more effectively.”

#13 Snoopy Shirt Had A Hole, So I Added A Little Woodstock

Image credits: JayXFour

#14 Embroidered A Little Throwback Dino To Cover A BBQ Sauce Stain

Image credits: Lovingbutdifferent

#15 My First Time Embroidering! I Hid A Bleach Stain Under A Crocodile

Image credits: HumusGoose

Ekaterina’s page showcases various projects. We were curious if the artist could share one of her favorite or most memorable mending stories. Haak said: “There are so many memorable mending stories that have graced my Instagram page!”

“Recently, I had the privilege of repairing the coziest, softest, and longest scarf I’ve ever held in my hands. As weightless as a cloud, it had become entangled in a bicycle chain and acquired some holes, which I replaced with stars. The craftsmanship that went into creating this scarf was truly admirable. However, it’s the emotional value of such items that makes the effort absolutely rewarding.

Then there are the pieces that make their way to my studio from distant places, like cashmere sweaters or vintage pieces from NYC, each with its unique story. There’s also the woolen dress from London, which marked one of my first commissions, pushing me beyond the comfort zone of mending for friends and family and into the realm of business.

A personal highlight was mending my own vintage wedding dress from the 1920s. I needed to repair the delicate lace, and to match it, I used my own hair as thread, as no other yarn was fine enough.”

#16 Embroidered On Flowers To Cover Some Paint Splatters

Image credits: spaceyblob

#17 Covered A Small Stain On My Bra

Image credits: yeilasparkles

#18 I Fixed My Lamp Using The Stained Glass Soldering Technique, I Was Told You Guys Might Like It

Image credits: Shinylittlelamp

Haak continued: “Sometimes I have the honor of reimagining mending work previously done by others. For instance, take the classic Burberry coat that had been mended by a seamstress but didn’t quite resonate with the owner. I was entrusted with replacing a not-quite-invisible patch with embroidery inspired by Paul Klee’s art, infusing a completely new character into the piece.

One of the most creative mending projects involved repairing the elbow of a sweater of a fellow female artist. I incorporated visible mending elements inspired by her own artwork, transforming a simple repair into a meaningful collaboration.”

The artist also gave us a sneak peek into the project she’s now occupied with: “One of my current commissions involves creating a field of flowers on a sweater belonging to a remarkable 94-year-old lady. Keep an eye on my Instagram for updates, and get ready to be delighted!”

#19 When We’re Not Sure A Blanket Stitch Will Be Enough, We Embroider. Overachievers Unite For Mending Glory!

Image credits: megheanne

#20 Covered Up A Bleach Stain With A French Knot Sheep!

Image credits: Baramitzvah

#21 My Mom Had A Hole In Her Jeans. Now She Has A Poppy Sticking Out Of Her Pocket

Image credits: bigbummedbaboon

#22 A Sharpie Leaked In My Scrubs Pocket And Didn’t Come Out After Several Washes. I Do Work At An Animal Shelter, So I Embroidered A Cat Over The Stain

Image credits: bahamutangel

#23 Can’t Mend His Bones So I’m Mending His Shirt

My son was in an accident where someone ran a red light and hit him on his motorcycle. three surgeries and a month later I got his personal effects including his Joyce manor shirt. I washed it up and stitched up where the EMTs cut through his clothing.

Image credits: Advanced_Crab8702

#24 The Cats Clawed Up The Side Of The Chair, I Think You Guys Will Like How My Mom Fixed It Up

Image credits: Mems137

#25 My First Decorative Mend! My Partner’s Moth Eaten Cashmere Sweater Needed Some Love

Image credits: halfsewn

#26 Finished!!

These took such a while, but I’m so happy with the end result. I reinforced several thin spots and puckering areas with patches underneath then added lots of embellishments. I like to think of this as my ode to Monet’s water lillies.

Image credits: kittyissocrafty

#27 Mending Hole In Jeans With Rainbow Weave + Patching From Behind

Image credits: mirrorkeydev

#28 Mended A Couple Of Split Laundry Baskets

Image credits: kindapinkypurple

#29 Heavily Darned 1000 Year Old Tunic From Egypt

The blue and possibly the brocade are “original”, and everything else is mending. Some darns match, some don’t, and the brown in the middle is quite decorative, but it’s darning too. The museum notes indicate that something about the construction suggests this may have originally been an adult garment, which was then cut down for a child. And then mended, and mended again, most likely passed down to someone else and someone else and someone after that. This is YEARS of wear & loving mending, and on a small garment that means no one could have worn it their whole life, so we’re seeing the history of multiple people who cared about this garment, and cared for it, and kept using it. Fantastic.

Image credits: cranefly_

#30 Everywhere There Is Now A Pigeon There Once A Moth-Hole

The pigeons are needle-felted. For the holes that were larger than one or two knitted loops I used extra strong thread to sew them shut before starting the felting process.

Image credits: kautskybaby

#31 Some Mended Stairs I Came Across

Image credits: romvesn

#32 Headphone Pad Fell Off – Chrocheted It Back On!

Image credits: feeling_supersonic

#33 My Sock Had A Hole In It. My Six Year Old Removed It From My Foot And Mended It. I Think I’ll Keep It This Way

Image credits: bradmont

#34 Upcycled/Patched/Jeans & Ankara

Image credits: afrykanized

#35 My First Attempt. I Had A Rip Going Up The Entire Side Of The Pocket. I Tried Some Darning And Then Some Simple Embroidery. The Pocket Is Still Usable

Image credits: EmmaSweetTea

#36 My Favorite Hoodie Had A Huge Tear In It So I Made My First Attempt At Visible Mending

Image credits: doneitdan

#37 A Planter In Ravello, Italy

Image credits: JRiggles

#38 Mended A Small Hole In A T-Shirt With Cross Stitch

Image credits: Bluebird_pi

#39 Color Changing Thread Is My Favorite For Mending

Image credits: Substantial_Bus_130

#40 Someone Chewed A Hole In The Beautiful Quilt My Friend Made. Friend Sent Scraps, Thread And A Letter For The Offender

Image credits: pepperonipizzatarian

#41 Patched Chair

Image credits: panda_bae67

#42 Victim Of A Dog Attack Gets Reconstructive Surgery

Image credits: ta_kala

#43 Fixed The Cuffs Of A Hoodie With Hand Sewing And Crochet

Image credits: EventualLandscape

#44 This Is How I Repair My Dress

Image credits: HangChu

#45 I Got Hair Dye On My Collar. Oh Well, Mending Time!

Image credits: fancy-francy

#46 “Repaired” My Granddaughter’s Stick Unicorn

Last time she was here she kept nagging me to fix this little 2 cm. seam opening. So instead of taking the 3 seconds to just sew it back together, I backed it with blood red flannel, added some big black “stitches” over it, then a Velcro band-aid with optional removal felt pool of blood. She’ll love it.

The poor unicorn has a hard life & is used mostly as a weapon to bop her big sister, FYI.

Image credits: GrandmainWA

#47 Squishmallow First Aid

Image credits: sockphotos

#48 Doggo Got A Hold Of My Favorite Dress So I Tried Visible Mending For The First Time

Image credits: ren_aine

#49 I Salvaged Some Over-Distressed Jeans By Sewing Some Doilies In. Someone Suggested I Share Them Here

Image credits: YoureNotAGenius

#50 Had Some Rips On These Chinos, As Well As Some Stains – Covered Them Up With Leaves

Image credits: mrfabulousdesigns