Beautiful Embroidery Ideas For Visible Mending

Learn simple embroidery techniques to mend well-loved and worn clothing that are both practical and beautiful! With a beginner-friendly running stitch, we’ll explore three visible mending techniques, including sashiko mending, appliqué mending and patchwork-inspired mending. These playful mending skills use Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread and Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss.

Appliqué mending uses fabric patches to cover a hole or imperfection in your garment. Inspired by these techniques, we will use a running stitch and fabric scraps to create fun, playful designs on your garments.

Patch up your denim using sashiko mending. This Japanese mending technique, with its complex and mesmerizing geometric patterns, uses a running stitch to durably and stylishly mend garments. We will start with a simple pattern to learn this technique.

Supplies

• Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss
• Susan Bates® 5" Weaving Needle
• Anchor® Tapestry Needle #24
• Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread
• Anchor® Sparkles Embroidery Hoop & Frame
• Scissors
• Heat erasable pen or chalk
• Fabric scraps
• Ruler
• Garments to mend
• Pins

1.Start by cleaning up the worn area on your denim. I cut the torn area on my jeans into a rectangle and then folded under the raw edge to create a clean edge. This isn’t necessary, but creates a tidy, professional result and makes it easier to see the guidelines we will be drawing on later.

2. Cut a piece of denim (or thick cotton the same weight as your denim) that is 1” larger than your hole. I like using a contrasting shade to highlight the hole, but the fabric and shade you use is up to you!

3. Use Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread and a running stitch to secure the patch to your jeans. The Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread will be removed later so I like to use a bright, contrasting thread color so it is clearly visible.

4. Next we create a grid we can follow so our stitches are neat, equal and straight. I made a ¼” grid using a ruler and an erasable pen.

5. Starting with vertical stitches, weave your Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss up and down through the denim. With this running stitch you are following the vertical lines of the grid you made, skipping every other row. Take your time to make the stitches as accurate as possible. Typically sashiko mending uses a long needle so you can load your needle with stitches and then pull them through together—an Anchor® 5" Weaving Needle is perfect for this!

6. Next, work the horizontal rows with a running stitch to create beautiful, durable embroidery. These weft-like stitches create tension in the fabric and do a wonderful job of holding the patch in place.

7. Remove the running stitches of Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread you made at the beginning.

8. Then erase your grid lines.

1. Gather your fabric scraps and Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss. I had red and green fabric scraps so I decided to make tomatoes. Maybe you have orange and green so you can make pumpkins, carrots or oranges.

2. Cut your fabric scraps into simple shapes.

3. Use Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss and a running stitch to attach your shapes to your garment. An Anchor® Sparkles Embroidery Hoop & Frame can help keep everything stable as you are creating these stitches.

1. Gather your fabric scraps and cut into circles. To create perfect circles, you can trace different sized cups or bowls.

2. Pin your patches in place.

3. To attach your patches, use a zigzag stitch and Dual Duty XP All Purpose Thread on your sewing machine. A hand-stitched whipstitch will also work wonderfully!

4. Draw straight lines across your patch using an erasable pencil or chalk.

5. With Coats & Clark Embroidery Floss follow your lines weaving up and down through your garment and the patches. These stitches look great and reinforce the worn area.

Once you have decided on your design, pick the colors of Coat & Clark Embroidery Floss you would like to use.