Mending Life

A Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts

Montenegro Nina, Montenegro Sonya

Not for sale in selected countries!

"Mending Life" is a beautifully illustrated, practical tool kit for repairing the clothes and belongings we love. It is also an exploration of how mending can be a gently healing practice in our daily lives and a small act of rebellion in a world where many things are discarded without thought.

"Mending Life" encourages us to cherish our things by repairing them rather than discarding them. It also encourages us to change our consumption habits so that with small mends here and there, we extend the life of our garments and other household items. This handbook is for beginners but also offers more advanced techniques to those with some experience in mending.

You'll learn basic techniques such as patching, but will have options to take it a step further with decorative sashiko stitching; you'll also learn how to darn socks and mend sweaters, as well as things like a tear in a bedsheet or down jacket. And along the way, the authors share heartfelt stories about the powerful act of mending, which strengthens not only the object we are repairing, but ourselves as well. Vibrant, full-color illustrations are woven throughout the handbook.

"Mending Life" is a timeless, practical guide to cherishing and caring for our belongings.

About the Author

Sisters Nina and Sonya Montenegro are illustrators, printmakers, menders, quilters, beekeepers, and gardeners. In 2013, they founded The Far Woods, a creative collaboration making artwork that seeks to contribute to a cultural shift in which there is a land ethic, reverence for nature, rejection of the dominant throw-away mentality, and direct connection to where our food and the things we use come from. Many of their artworks serve as educational tools, and their practice crosses disciplines to work toward an ecologically viable and socially just future. Their studio is situated on an organic farm just outside of Portland, Oregon.

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