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December 19, 2019May 21, 2020

How To Teach Kids To Fix Their Clothes

As a designer and maker, it won’t come as a huge surprise to you that I have let my kids play with a needle and thread from a young age. Starting at 3 years old, they had a hoop, needle & thread in hand. My job mainly consisted of reminding them to not wrap the thread around the hoop, but up and down through the fabric. I could easily write a book about teaching kids to sew and mend at every age, but today, I want to share with you my favorite tips on how to teach older kids to fix their own clothes with a simple stitching technique and some visible mending.

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November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

15 Zero Waste Gift Ideas For Kids

The holiday season is just a month away and if you’re like me, you’re just starting to think about what to gift your kids this year. Because packaging is often the main negative offset to the toys and objects we offer our kids, I decided to share with you a few zero waste gift ideas and wrapping options.

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November 7, 2019November 9, 2019

Is Retail Therapy Good For You?

You’ve heard the term I’m sure, but have you ever wondered where the practice of retail therapy comes from? And if we’re taking the term “therapy” in it’s literal sense, is this habit of going shopping for fun actually good for you, or is it one of those cheeky sayings just used to justify our love of shopping?

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October 31, 2019October 31, 2019

Quickest Way To Take In Waist Of Jeans

I think it’s a fact that stretch jeans are here to stay for a while. Although they are very comfortable to wear, a common problem I have found is that the waist is often too loose. Here’s a tutorial to show you the quickest way I have found to take in the waist of jeans.

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October 23, 2019October 24, 2019

Repairing An Old Quilt With 3 Generations Of Clothes

A few months ago, a client asked me to repair an old quilt that had been made by her paternal grandmother. As you can imagine, over the years it has lost a bit of its shine and became quite tattered. She asked if there was any way that I could repair the torn pieces and cover up the stains that had proven impossible to take out. Her intention, to gift it to her daughter for her birthday as a keepsake.

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October 9, 2019May 21, 2020

How To Repurpose Jeans Cutoffs Into Patches

Close-up of Modern Mending's Kids Biker Knee Patch

I’m so excited to introduce you to my latest patch pattern design. It’s inspiration comes from the technical protective knee padding found in motorcycle gear. Over the past few years, the biker patch look has made it’s way into the mainstream as a stylish detail on jeans and casual pants. The Biker Knee Patch is the perfect addition to not only repair an old pair of jeans, but to give it additional style. In this tutorial I will show you how easy it is to repurpose old jeans or pants cutoffs into the Biker Knee Patch.

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September 20, 2019September 25, 2019

The Added Value Of Repairing Things

Let me introduce you to my favorite bag. It’s Italian made, leather tanned with vegetable dyes and large enough to carry all my mom gear. My husband bought it for me at Winners many years ago after I had told him that I dreamed of owning a real brown leather bag. The man has an eye for clothes and accessories and when he brought it home, I fell in love with the bag at first sight. The fact that he is the one who bought it for me may have been an additional reason for the infatuation. I figured it would be the perfect investment piece that I could use for the next 10 to 20 years. Little did I know that this dream would be put to the test within a few years of use.

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August 26, 2019May 21, 2020

10 Ways To Re-purpose And Fix Kids Clothes

Boy wearing T-Shirt with Modern Mending Skull appliqué

Now that summer is, sigh, slowly coming to an end, I’m sure many parents have begun the annual task of looking through the fall kids clothes to see what needs to be replaced or added. Before you KonMari the heck out of their wardrobe and pass anything on, I would like to share with you 10 ways you can re-purpose and fix kids clothes so they have a longer life in your home.

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July 18, 2019May 21, 2020

How To Turn Jeans Into Shorts

Now that summer is in full bloom, I’ve slowly been putting away the winter clothes until the next season (I know, midsummer is well past spring cleaning!). I find it’s a good time to take stock of what is still wearable, what needs to be repaired or patched and see which well loved pants can be turned into shorts if I they are unlikely to survive another winter. As I’m getting ready to cut these H&M twill pants for my son, I thought I’d take the opportunity to write a tutorial on how I turn jeans (or pants) into shorts.

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July 12, 2019July 6, 2019

Introducing The Curved Patch Pattern

Over the years of mending and embellishing my family’s clothes, I’ve played with various different styles of patches. As much as I like the look of sashiko inspired jeans, I wanted a patch that was be quick to make, covered the entire surface of the knee and would be simple enough in shape that I could use it as a base for other forms of embellishment. This was the thinking that inspired the Curved Patch Pattern.

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