Darning: Repair, Make, Mend (Crafts and family Activities)

This is a slim powerful book. IT shows you the 9 Basic techniques, with suggestions on how/where to use on what materials under what circumstances. Then it shows several pages of projects on different materials and suggestions on how to combine to get the effect you want under what circumstances. After this it adds 3 more slightly more advances techniques and again shows real world examples including recombining the new techniques with the original 9 basic ones again on various materials. After this are what I think of as reference pages on choosing the right yarn/thread and their features (so you cam be informed on matching with the correct material to be repaired),7folowed by several pages of photos of samplers on knits and woven fabrics with examples of the techniques using various repair materials all with page references to which technique(s0 used and what material on what surface. All pictures are of excellent quality and of such good resolution I have looked with a magnifying glass to get better detail when I have had questions because I did not understand the directions which were obviously written for the metric system before the addition of standard measurements, and after all it was translated from the original Japanese anyway so this is to be expected. There is one error in a measurement conversion but the pictures not the text is correct, and it obvious when you are doing the technique. Its in the first 3rd of the techniques, but I cant even find it now, one of the problems with my rare variant of dyslexia, I have trouble finding this kind of thing because my brain is subbing in the correct measurement. Don't fret because you will just make a bigger darned area than needed/suggested so it not like it will weaken anything.Rarely can you find such a comprehensive and distinctly concise yet comprehensive instructional book. I have read other reviews that recommend other books and look down on this one because ti so short and the others are much thicker. I was lucky enough to be able to get those other books from my local library and they are a joke. Like a certain segment of instructional manuals they just repeat the same technique several times with slight minuscule variation that anyone with any creativity doesn't need. One books with Repair and mend in the title is only two techniques repeated for the entire book and presented as if different projects are themselves different techniques an is an inch thick book of repeats of these same two technique.I prefer a book like this one that give you the tools and assumes you are intelligent enough to realize that once shown a technique for lets say oven fabric applies to all woven fabrics, and you don;t need to be shown a project on light, mid and heavyweight fabrics to know if it works on woven, it will work on all well, woven fabrics. There is no wasted space, and everything has some of the best descriptions and associated instructional color pictures I have even seen, to the point that I could understand and use each technique the first time even if my execution got better (more even and consistently sizes stitches)each time I do it.I have dome everyh6ing from weaving to beading to sewing and glass-working and enameling (cloisonne) either as part of my applied arts minor in college or the historical educational group I volunteer at to things I was just curious about., and well I read alot. This is perhaps my favorite instructional manual bar one (my first origami book that had less than 5% text including basic info and introduction) that was one of the first published in English in the 1980's and I just luckily picked up on a trip to San Francisco with my parents at the Japanese cultural Center.I can;t see how you would ever regret buying this book if you are interesting on fixing textile things via what we call darning rater than just summarily throwing them out. My only addition is that I would guess the author learned shasko brfoe learning darning so she recommends a coin and ring thimble and as a westerner taught my by mom some hand sewing in childhood, I find a thimble that covers my finger more useful. Maybe because I have had some basic leather working classes, but I don't find it hard to get the needle through just wiggle it a bit done force it though material or the material or thread/yarn might break, or occasionally the needle so wear safety glasses under those circumstances! I am waiting for a leather thimble without the metal piece as I am finding irritations from use on the tip of my middle finger from pulling the needles, as well as my assortment of needle/yarn threaders because you will be threading a lo t of threads/yarn if only to tidy up the thread/yarn and reweaving it back into the darn rather than tying knots....like the best embroidery.I just love this little exquisitely succinct book and see why it so popular in the original Japanese version. I can;t see how it could be better.

Ideas are inspiring. Steps are easy to follow. Packed with info. Lovely illustrations. Great reference. Great gift idea for yourself or someone else. Glad I have it.

Shows great detail on how to mend every type of wear or hole in your favorite duds. Her way of teaching is lovely. I was so inspired I got one of her mushrooms to mend with. I like my Sundays Holy but not my shirts.

This is great book to add to your library on mending and re-purpose. I bought this book based on my friend's suggestion and glad I did. It's very simple, straight-forward information...and covers all the basics, everything needed to know how to mend with darning.....I had no knowledge of darning how-to and now I do with this book. There are always so many books on the same subject and often a hit or miss as to which one will be just right......and I think this is one that is Just Right. Highly recommended.

Great book for learning to darn. Repair it, darn it and it’s good as new. There’s a charm to repairing clothes and rewearing them, rather than disposing to landfill.

I was looking for simple ideas of stitches so I could fix holes in my socks, etc. She also has a variety stitches that are more decorative, if you would choose not to have the repair blend in. There are pictures that show the stitches and the instructions are very good and easy to understand.

I really like this book on darning and mending in general. There are many easy to follow techniques shown with great photo details and good written instructions. It's become a go-to resource for me.

This is a pretty book but it's definitely something I wouldn't have purchased if I was in a store leafed through it. There are a little over twenty pages of instructions and the rest of the book is pretty pictures of mended things - including techniques not covered in the book. The twenty+ pages are useful just enough that it's not worth sending back. Could have been a pamphlet, though.

Out of three ‘visible darning’ books I chose this one because of the great reviews. I can mend and repair, but the author being Japanese, I was expecting some cultural designs, or at least some influence.There is a difference between ‘visible darning’ and a flashback to the worst of the 70s. The colours and mended shapes are amateurish, without much sense of colour understanding.By the time I reached p56, ‘repair make mend’, I decided to return the book.Apart from the square, which most people know, the photographs are great but teach you nothing.Honestly, give it a wide berth!

Whilst this book is fantastic for beginners, I think one of its greatest virtues is that it can inspire the jaded to be more flamboyant and adventurous in their mending. Having loathed mending before, I am now actually enjoying it. I am even darning socks that have no holes, in anticipation of the usual wear problems: to reinforce the heel while there is a good grounding for the stitches.I first turned to this because I missed wearing a hoodie that the dogs had attacked (took it off, forget I had had treats in the pocket). We also suffered some kind of household moth attack and several favourite t-shirts were looking too damaged even to wear to the supermarket - they look great now!Clear instructions, interesting text, beautiful photographs - now a fixture in my darning bag :)

A fabulous introduction to the art of fabric repair. Clothing, cushions, blankets, tablecloths - all repaired to look stylish and original.I was taught to make mends invisible as far as possible. Hikaru Noguchi shows you how to create your own "designer original" with visible mending techniques, using different yarns and simple stitches, all of which she explains and demonstrates. If you have very basic sewing skills, or even none at all but can follow instructions, you can learn how to repair and rescue those treasured items and make them even more desirable and enviable. Not simply for rips, tears and moth holes, visible mending can be used to cover stains which could potentially ruin a garment.Not perfect? It doesn't matter. This is visible mending! Saving your wardrobe and the planet one stitch at a time whilst showing off your skll and iaginaion.

I remember both my granny and my mum darning so it was not an alien concept to me, but theirs was more the utilitarian kind - make do and mend, coarse darning wool type of darning.This is beautiful, a work of art even and encourages your creativity to be let loose in making your clothes a new and unique kind of wonderful again. Instead of trying to hide holes, rips, stains you can repair/cover them but make a feature of them too. Now I've started, I can't stop, a cardi with a spider hole in the shoulder now has an darned/embroidered flower over it; another jumper stained by a mixed wash accident has had the stain successfully covered by a beautiful darned pattern and a long sleeved t-shirt that got caught on some barbed wire, now has feature holes made to look like stars. It is so much fun, if you buy just one book - buy this one.

This is an excellent bookIt has different darning techniques explained and gives clear instructions on how to make the various stitches.I like that the author has added their own examples.The pictures are clear and usefulI have learned several new ways to add darning due to reading this and am so glad I bought it.It is useful to have it at hand and be able to look at it as you are working.