On the 10th of September, residents from St Albans District joined Our Planet Our Future for an interesting and informative talk about mending objects with traditional and cutting-edge visible techniques. During the talk, Susheel Rao of Sustainable St Albans and the team at Hertfordshire Library Services tackled how to mend various tricky items, ranging from garments and ceramics to creating missing boardgame pieces and even shelving brackets.
At the end of this blogpost you’ll find a list of resources and workshops to help you on your mending journey.
Going for gold: kintsugi
Susheel took to the stage first, sharing how she has used kintsugi and sashiko techniques to visibly mend objects in a way that celebrates the repair rather than hides it away.
Kintsugi is a Japanese technique for piecing back together broken ceramics with a ‘gold’ lacquer, breathing new life back into something broken by you (or your cat). The lacquer can be made with araldite glue and gold powder (mica). Although gold, silver and platinum are traditional, you could add your own touch by adding colour.
The results are impressive. Susheel said she always assumed kintsugi would be beyond her until she tried it, successfully mending a favourite mug that fell victim to her playful cat. Her sister encouraged her to try, having used kintsugi herself – when their mother’s beloved vase was knocked over by her lively nephew, she put it back together piece-by-piece, just like a 3D jigsaw. With its beautiful gold lacquer, this well-loved vase is now just as valuable as before – and has a story to tell.
A word of caution – you’ll need to check the glue is food-safe if you want to use the items for eating or drinking.
A stitch in time: sashiko
Sashiko is another Japanese mending technique and uses geometric stitches to mend rips in clothing. Menders will typically reinforce the area by adding fabric behind the rip and then sew over it with a series of stitches to add extra reinforcement and a unique, decorative touch.
Interested in seeing sashiko in practice? Check out this video.
Although geometric, white stitches are traditional, Susheel used colourful threads to stitch a sun, clouds and rain onto ripped jeans, and it’s a great method to have fun with. All you need is a needle, sashiko or embroidery darn, and an embroidery hoop.
Susheel also showed us a cashmere jumper where she had covered the holes with bees and a jumper mended with felt elbow patches.
Sonya from Jefferson Eco CIC chipped in to tell us about speed weavers, a tool that can help you darn socks, jumpers or other items. This tiny loom can darn a pair of socks in ten minutes and you can even do it on the bus!
Creating space for repair
Next up was Richard Marpole, Manager of Harpenden Library and the team at St Albans library.
St Albans library is home to the Creator Space, an area featuring cutting-edge tech and other machines to help Hertfordshire’s residents get creative and repair their belongings. The team took us through the machines on offer.
First up was a 3D printer which you can use to create objects out of PLA, a biodegradable, non-toxic natural plastic. You can browse from thousands of premade digital products to print, use Tinkercad to design your own or bring in a design you have created a home on a memory stick. The team showed us examples ranging from very useful (a shelf bracket) to adorably fun (an articulated octopus toy) and game-saving chess pieces and dice).
As well as sewing machines, the library is also home to a digital embroidery machine. You can use this to create appliques or patches for visible mending.
A digital paper cutter allows you to create professional-looking, consistent papercut designs with little effort.
The libraries are also home to artists in residency. The new artist in residence from September is Mandy Johnson, who uses naïve, colourful and ‘childish’ techniques in her art and is on a mission to make us happier. She’ll be hosting a range of events, including a Midautumn festival workshop at Harpenden library and a Diwali workshop at St Albans library.
The final take-home message from this fascinating evening? The library is the ultimate sustainable resource. Typically a library book has a lifespan of 50 borrows. So what better reason to use that library card? Look out for a series of special events in 2025 celebrating the centenary of Hertfordshire Libraries.
Our next event
Brimming with ideas about how we can reach net zero faster? Want to inspire activism in the local community? Or simply curious about what others have to say about climate issues?
Join us at 7:30 pm on Tuesday the 12th of November for our inspiring open mic event. Book your free spot here.
About Our Planet Our Future
Our Planet Our Future is Sustainable St Alban’s landmark series of talks and events to help you live a more sustainable life.
Resources
Kintsugi
- St Albans Upholstery School is running a Kintsugi workshop in November.
- You can also buy kintsugi kits online.
Sashiko
- You can find more information about sashiko and buy kits from Japan Crafts.
Speedweaving
- Jefferson Eco is running a speed weaving workshop in October. You can also find speed weavers at the Jefferson Eco shop or at their stall at the Harpenden Sustainable Market.
- Jefferson Eco runs a variety of workshops, including how to mend jean crotches, knitting, crochet and social crafting sessions. Keep an eye on their events page.
The CreatorSpace
- You can hire the machines at the CreatorSpace. You’ll need to book a taster session before you begin using each machine (even if you have used one before as models vary). These cost £15 and last 1.5 hours, during which you’ll have one-to-one support. After that, you can hire a machine for £3.50 an hour.
- You can find a list of all library crafts and sustainability events here.
Other meaningful resources
- The Repair Shed runs repair sessions and a sewing café at St Luke’s church in Redbourn.
- The Repair Fair returns to St Peter’s Church in St Albans on the 21st of September (the location alternates between various locations around St Albans and villages ). You can book a slot to repair your electricals and household fabrics here.
- You can find scrap materials and art supplies at WRAP scrapstore in Watford. These are supplied by businesses that would have otherwise thrown them away.
- A list of scrapstores across the country can be found here.