darning – KDD & Co

mend

We celebrate the new edition of Wheesht with this essay exploring the creative work of mending and Celia Pym’s inspiring practice

make / mend: Collingwood-Norris

Kate talks to Flora Collingwood-Norris about mending, Scottish islands, and how colour makes you feel

One of the things I’ve been really struck by, as I reach the end of the process of writing our People Make Glasgow book, is just how many thriving enterprises in this city are led by brilliant young women. I’ve found learning more about the innovative work of makers, artist and designers like Rachel E…

mending inspiration

By: Kate Davies Designs April 23, 2020April 23, 2020

darning, makingcollection, darning, darning sampler, mending, Museum, Rijksmuseum, stoplap, stoppen, textiles38 Comments

Yesterday afternoon I took a break from grading a cardigan (a task that makes my eyes spin round) and spent a happy hour (as I often do) poking about the Rijksmuseum – which is one of those wonderful institutions who have digitised and made publicly available large portions of their collection. If you have an…

A chat with Tom of Holland

I am sure that many of you may be familiar with the work of my good friend and woolly comrade Tom van Deijnen, also known as Tom of Holland. Tom is perhaps best known for his expertise in, and celebration of, darning, which he puts into practice in his classes and workshops, as well as…

worn

The best things in my wardrobe are made of wool. Some of these are ‘vintage’ items that have worn incredibly well. I thought I’d show you one of my favourites today. I picked up this hand-knitted cardigan second-hand. From its shape, patterns, buttons, and the kind of worsted- spun Shetland wool that was used to…

another feature

By: Kate Davies Designs January 15, 2011January 17, 2011

History, textiles, writingdarning, Kate Davies, knitting, make do and mend, mending, Rowan, Rowan 49, rowan magazine, Rowan no 49, stitching34 Comments

The new Rowan Magazine has just come out, and I have a feature in it, exploring the history of mending, darning, and ‘plain work’. I really enjoyed researching and writing this piece, and working on it became quite important to me during some difficult times over the Summer. In many respects, it is a very…

racy mending

By: Kate Davies Designs August 6, 2010August 6, 2010

feminism, photography, sewing, textiles, writingdarning, early photography, feminism, gender, History, mending, sewing, stitching, women25 Comments

I have been playing around with ideas about mending and darning for a forthcoming article, and have been turning up some interesting tangential things in various digital collections. Pictured above are “Chicago’s top models for 1922” who have been co-opted to advertise the novel innovation of the seam ripper. The caption reads “Ripping is a…

out with the old

You may remember that a year ago I decided to stop buying clothes for the duration of 2008. My decision to do this was sparked by a couple of things. I had been reading a bit about darning and mending and wanted to think about what repairing and caring for one’s clothes meant. Also, since…

mended

By: Kate Davies Designs January 15, 2008January 11, 2009

injustice, sewingAlex Martin, brown dress project, darning, make do and mend, sewing, tesco, thrift, wardrobe refashion8 Comments

Mr B knew there was something funny going on when I brightened up at the prospect of darning and patching the arse of his jeans. “I’ve seen you,” he said, “looking at those books. You just want to do some elaborate darning, like the stuff you saw in there.” I rolled my eyes and told…