Home Skills & DIY

Mending and Sewing Repairs by Hand

Meets Wednesdays · 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM · on Zoom Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

This class is for anyone who owns a needle and has never quite trusted themselves to use it. We fix real things. Buttons that came off, hems that fell, holes in the knee, a shirt you've been meaning to deal with for a year. Bring it.

You do not need to be good at sewing to save your clothes. The bar is low and I mean that kindly. A slightly crooked button that stays on beats a shirt in the landfill.

We work by hand, not by machine, and here's why: you can feel the fabric, and a repair is more precise when you can. By the end you'll have mended at least one real garment. Not a practice square. Sunday best. 🌷

What you'll learn

Assemble a basic mending kit without overbuying
Sew a secure button with a proper thread shank
Tie knots that actually hold in fabric
Repair tears and thin spots using ladder stitch and reinforcement
Darn socks and patch holes with visible or hidden patches

Lessons

Getting Comfortable With the Needle
We meet the tools, thread a needle without a fight, and settle the fear before we sew a single stitch.
Buttons
The most useful repair anyone owns, done so it stays on through the wash.
Hems
Turning a fallen hem back under so it disappears, or holds honest and strong.
- Pin it, then look, THEN sew20 min
- The slip stitch (the invisible one)25 min
- When a machine is the wrong tool and when it isn't15 min
- Fixing a hem you already messed up18 min
Small Holes and Tears
Closing up rips and worn spots before they get bigger.
- Why holes grow and where to stop them15 min
- The ladder stitch for a clean seam tear22 min
- Reinforcing a thin spot before it opens18 min
- Darning a sock, trailhead-style25 min
Patches
Covering a hole with a patch you can see, or one you can't.
Finishing Your Real Repair
We take a garment you actually own from start to finished, to a Sunday best standard.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.