MiSustainable Holland: Ripped your favorite piece of clothing? Darn it!

HOLLAND — Tell me if this situation sounds familiar to you: Your favorite sweater snagged and now it's unwearable due to an unsightly hole. You can't bear to throw it out, but you don't know what else to do with it. Other than that little hole, it's a perfectly acceptable garment.

Or what about this? You received a thoughtful, hand-knit pair of socks, but over time, one of the heels has worn through. Maybe your child ripped their jeans again, and you’re unwilling to buy them new ones. Or maybe you purchased expensive fair-trade clothing and want to extend the lifespan of your investment.

The answering is — darn it. Longtime darners and textile artists already know this well-kept secret, but darning replaces worn-out fabric with new fabric by weaving thread or very thin yarn directly into the cloth around it.

You can get fancy with it, or simply make your favorite piece of clothing wearable again.

It's even easier to learn simple repairs like sewing on a button or patch. Not only can you preserve your favorite outfit, but you'll help reduce the 92 million tons of textile waste produced every year.

There are mending tutorials available for free on YouTube, or through CreativeBug, a crafting tutorial website that patrons of Herrick District Library can access at no cost. YouTube, in particular, can help with very basic repairs like split seams or re-hemming a T-shirt, and you can frequently find helpful videos detailing fixes that don't require the use of a sewing machine.

Darning can take a little more time to learn — and often requires extra tools.

Herrick District Library is hosting a series of darning nights on Tuesdays, running 7-8 p.m. Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 28.

We'll specifically practice different darning techniques meant to repair machine-knit or hand-knit items, but if you'd simply like a cozy place to hang out and get some work done, you can bring any project you’d like to work on with any mending method.

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An assortment of darning tools (eggs, discs, crochet hooks, and yarn) will be available to practice with, and assorted materials to practice on will also be provided. We’ll have cozy warm beverages available.

If you already know how to mend and darn, feel free to come anyway. Lend us your knowledge!

— Hannah Gingrich is a public services assistant at Herrick District Library.

About this series:

MiSustainable Holland is a collection of community voices sharing updates about local sustainability initiatives.

This Week's Sustainability Framework Theme: Community Knowledge: The collective knowledge and energy of the community is an incredible resource that must be channeled to where it's needed.