This series explores mending as both a practical skill and a thoughtful act of care, encouraging creative expression, environmental consciousness, and gratitude for the garments that hold meaning in our lives. Students will learn technical approaches to repairing a wide range of textiles from practicing artists and teachers, while exploring increasingly specialized mending techniques. Stitchers of all experience levels are welcome to join for part or all of the series.

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Hand Sewing Foundations for Repair

with  Joy Mao

Every sewer seems to have their own arsenal of stitches and tricks—collected over a lifetime of both practice and study. Over the course of her career in fashion and textile art (as well as her own personal mending projects), Joy Mao has identified a selection of hand-sewing stitches that have proved most useful for common cases of mending: patching up holes, taking up hems, replacing or reinforcing threadbare areas. This class aims to provide a foundational overview of hand-sewing techniques that will inspire and empower students to tackle all their mending projects to come.

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Mending Quilts and Quilted Mending

with Katrina Rodabaugh

We’ll combine two favorite techniques—quilting and mending—to add beauty, utility, and value to existing textiles. We’ll cover the particular requirements of mending classic, three-layer quilts and why this offers such a unique possibility for repairs. We’ll also explore how quilt squares, new or antique, create beautiful opportunities for patchwork mending. Quilts can be mended with low contrast to keep the focus on the original textile or quilt squares can feature prominently as patches on other textiles—garments or homewares—though we’ll cover options for visible and less-visible mending.

Bring your favorite quilt which needs to be repaired or a beautiful quilt square you want to use as patching, applique, and/or embellishment. We will cover favorite stitches, knots, fabrics, and important design elements for working with quilts and mending. If you want to use a quilt square as a patch, bring a textile to use as the base—the back of a denim jacket, knee on cotton pants, or a favorite pillow cover are all great choices though the opportunities are limitless. (Try to match the fiber content and weight of your textile to your patches or quilt squares—denim jeans should be patched with denim, thick cotton, or canvas quilt squares while soft, cotton vintage quilts will benefit from soft quilting cottons or similar weight cotton patches.) If you don’t have a quilt square but want to use one as inspiration, check out Tatter’s quilt square kits or look for vintage squares online or in local shops. Let’s mend quilts and quilt our mending!

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Mending with Weaving Patterns

with Dante Gonzalez

Join Dante Gonzalez for a unique mending class where you’ll learn to transform worn-out clothing into bespoke works of art. Dante will guide students through the process of using various weaving patterns to mend fabrics, adding decorative and durable repairs. Discover how to create beautiful, intricate designs while extending the lives of your favorite garments.

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Dates

Hand Sewing Foundations for Repair – Sunday, October 4th, 2026

Mending Quilts and Quilted Mending – Thursday, October 8th, 2026

Mending with Weaving Patterns – Saturday, October 18th, 2026

Cost

$75 per class or $200 for full series

Recording

All Mending Series sessions will be recorded. A link to each recording will be emailed to all registrants following the live session. Each link is live for three months after the live session.