Stitch It, Don’t Ditch It: Simple Repairs to Breathe New Life Into Your Favourite Clothes

Mastering the art of mending just requires a few simple hand-sewing techniques which can extend the life of your wardrobe and your favorite clothing.

Stitch it, Don’t Ditch It, will guide you through the fundamentals of mending, from the kit you’ll need, how to tackle different types of repairs to the core skills covering the common mends that will help you fix 90% of your clothes. Aimed at those with limited or no sewing skills, this book provides step-by-step instructions and helpful tips, including how to thread a needle, replace a button, back stitch a torn seam, rescue ladders and snags in knitwear.

Mary V Morton and Jeanna Wigger shows readers how to choose the appropriate technique for your repair, fabric terminology and the anatomy of garments, making this the ultimate guide to those who want to be less wasteful and more sustainable.

Learn to darn socks, sew on patches, hem trousers, and stop fraying with this ultimate immersive guide to mending for anyone who wants to have a more sustainable style.

Mary Morton @edinburghstreetstitchers @mvm13 is a climate concerned grandma who has been a sewing volunteer with SHRUB Coop, a zero-waste charity in Edinburgh, for the last five years. The sewing volunteers run drop-in garment repair sessions twice a week. Inspired by the global street stitching movement, started by Suzi Warren, which raises awareness of the climate and environmental reasons for reducing consumption of textiles, she set up Edinburgh Street Stitchers, a group who take their camping chairs and ’Stitch it Don’t Ditch It’ banners out to streets and parks around the city to share their sewing skills and enable people to repair what they wear.

Jeanna Wigger @thepeoplesmending is a life-long upcycler, textile enthusiast and educator. Clothing repair exists at the centre of these interests and has been part of her daily life for the past 12 years. Four years ago, she started a personal seasonal project called Winter of Care and Repair (#winterofcareandrepair), during which she mends, tends, or otherwise maintains something in her home (usually clothing) every day between the winter solstice and spring equinox. She currently co-organises a local hand sewing creative group that aims to teach others how to sew and promotes mending through community events at local farmers markets.