It says something about where we are with our wardrobes right now that one of this summer’s hottest trends isn’t an item but an activity: mending. Repairing your own clothes increasingly feels like a no-brainer and a badge of honour, neatly combining the beauty and self-satisfaction of craft with the benefits of cost-saving and a sustainable approach to getting dressed.

No wonder, then, that a growing number of stylish women – and yes, men too – are taking matters quite literally into their own hands. Which begs the question: how handy are you with a needle and thread?

While most of us can sew on a button and perhaps reattach a hem that’s coming loose, tackling anything more challenging can feel intimidating. That’s why it’s good news that, alongside a rise in workshops and a wealth of how-to videos on YouTube and TikTok, expectations around what a repair should look like have subtly shifted, so perfection is no longer a requirement.

Skye Pennant, founder of Slow Stitch Club, believes visible mending turns clothes into personal, wearable scrapbooks of memories - Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

Invisible mending, an art that requires impressive skill, is still crucial when fixing precious luxury pieces or anything that needs to be pristine. But visible mending – repairing pesky moth holes or rips in much-loved jeans with heavily overlaid or intersecting lines of colourful stitches – is a far more creative and liberating approach that’s easy to DIY, turning the flaws that might have landed something in landfill into a talking point, a part of its history, and a work of art, no matter how wonky the stitches are.

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Skye Pennant, founder of the Slow Stitch Club, has been running online and in-person workshops in visible mending since 2020 and loves the freeing and forgiving nature of the techniques. She finds that investing care into beautifully mending something makes it feel much more precious.

“I always say, think about your clothes as a wearable scrapbook of your memories”, she says.

“I’ve got a mended denim jacket, and I can tell you where I was and what I was doing when each rip happened because I spent time fixing it rather than just buying a new one. That feeling is really powerful.”

Pennant’s colourful stitches transform old jumpers and jeans, often highlighting messages like the 42 million tonnes of fashion waste each year (above)

Denim jeans and shorts, both repaired by Skye Pennant - Clara Molden

Having spent years championing learning to sew as one of the best ways to connect with the clothes you wear and shop more mindfully, Andrea Cheong, author of Why Don’t I Have Anything To Wear?, started running mending classes for her followers last year when content around her own repairs took off. She believes that visible mending satisfies a craving people have for a more personal touch in their wardrobes.

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“We’re always trying to articulate who we are through our clothes, and so much of our wardrobe is mass-produced”, she says. “What easier and more unique way to say, this is who I am?”

You’ll be pleased to know that rejuvenating your existing clothes can also give you the dopamine rush of buying something new, without actually doing so, a perk consultant and journalist Emily Zak can testify to. A self-described former shopping addict, Zak spent 2024 on a spending hiatus, instead repairing the things she already owned but had tucked away once they were too damaged to wear. Many of her pieces needed professional mending, but she also upped her own sewing skills, taking lessons at her local dry cleaners.

“The biggest surprise was how I felt about it”, she says of her year in repair. “I thought going in that it was going to be very difficult, that I would be holding myself back and would feel deprived of something I took – and still do take – a lot of joy from, but it was the opposite.”

Pennant repairs a moth hole in the sleeve of a cashmere jumper - Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

Six months on, she’s still shopping far less, while her love of fashion remains undimmed. Time to get that needle and thread ready, then. Perhaps those moths are doing us all a favour after all.

Skye Pennant’s guide to getting started

Practice on an old tea towel or a holey sock for a low-stakes way to get the hang of the techniques.

A regular needle will work, but a tapestry darning needle, with its larger eye and blunt end, is best for knits, while a sashiko needle suits wovens like denim and cotton.

Look for embroidery thread in charity shops; there always seems to be a good supply.

Embroidery thread is made up of six individual strands twisted together. Depending on the weight of the fabric you’re working with, you can separate them to make the thread go further.