Book Review: Mend It, Wear It, Love It!

Mend It, Wear It, Love It! by Zoe Edwards is a useful introduction to the world of mending and slow fashion. It is divided into three parts: "Mend Your Clothes," about mending clothes, "Wear Your Clothes," about altering clothes for a better fit or stylistic look, and "Love Your Clothes," about clothing storage, laundering, and dyeing and using embroidery to cover stains. It also contains an introduction and a few informative pages about fast fashion (the inexpensive and short-lived clothes that are produced in ways that harm people and the planet), plus a section on the basics of sewing. The techniques the book teaches can all be sewn by hand, although some of them could also be sewn by machine. They are supplemented by illustrations that are helpful and fairly easy to understand. The book is useful for people without prior sewing experience; the techniques are fairly basic, but it's still worth a read even if you're a seasoned sewist. Topics covered include mending holes in wovens and knitwear, repairing split seams, reinforcing areas of garments, troubleshooting zippers, fixing collars and cuffs with bias tape, repairing visible topstitching, shortening and lengthening hems, adding pockets, making garments smaller at seams and with darts, enlarging garments, removing sleeves, storing clothes, laundering garments, removing stains, dyeing, and basic embroidery. If you're thinking about entering the world of slow fashion, then this book will be a wonderful guide.

Mend It, Wear It, Love It! by Zoe Edwards was published by Dorling Kindersley in 2021.