This page contains information and resources for teaching children and young people how to stitch, repair and mend clothes. If you would like more information on Roisin Markham’s Empowering young people how to stitch and mend please use the contact form directly, thanks.
Even quiet work roars is a theme of work that began in 2023 but has its origins back in Roisin’s art practice 2005 – 2025. During Covid a group came together briefly highlighting activism and craftivism in climate and enviromental activism. We looked at quieter forms of activism. The Lake has no voice creative collective is a form of this work also. In the work of repair and maintance it is a revolutionary act. A quiet revolution of saying no to more, no to consumption.
More to come the page will be updated by Thursday 1st October and check back again on the 16 November, for more resources.
Why the skill and craft of repairing and mending clothes is important:
- it keeps our clothes in circulation longer
- it keeps money in our pocket
- we reduce or remove the need for fast fashion
- we are no longer adding to the existing glut of clothing that hits our landfill or incinerators
In the circular economy we aim to keep clothes, material, buttons, zips, wool in circulation, reusing, mending, maintaining for as long as we can.
Being a maintainer is the new black.
Repair is a way of thinking
Darning a sock changes your relationship with that sock. You smile when you see it coming out of the laundry. Especially if you’re using visible mending, seeing that stitching slipping into your footwear. It makes me grin and I promise it will bring a smile to your face too.
Perhaps you are already a keen darner of sock holes, a mender of fabric rips or a master stain disguise genius. If so BRAVO. I applaud you. It’s such a generous thing to do: Maybe here you will find ways to build confidence in teaching others to repair, mend and maintain. You might be interested in my Facilitators tips on stitching confidence with children and young people.
The basics
Not everyone has access to
- a needle
- thread or wool
- a scissors
So providing tools while teaching skills is a generous thing to do.
The basics – skills edition i
Start really small
- how to thread a needle
- how to anchor a stitch
- a simple running stitch
- how to anchor, sign off stitching
- PRACTICE
- safety & safe guarding
Mending is about trying.
As a facilitator, host and educator these are my approaches to building confidence with stitch:
Repair is a way of thinking
Mending is about trying
Create the conditions
Support the person not just the project.
Good enough is a real destination.
Be curious – ask what do you think? give agency back to the participants.
Do, don’t just show, learning is better through doing. Ideally in small groups.
Ask participants to teach 2-3 others what they learn.
Resources I like and use
Trying things. Experiment. Learn a new stitch, practice, try it on a mending or repair project.
This section will be next updated 10 October 2026.
