The topics of mending (visible and invisible), maintaining and caring for our wardrobes, sustainability, and eliminating waste from fast fashion are very prevalent these days. Jeanna Wigger, @thepeoplesmending, has proposed a winter "Call to Action" to promote the idea of repairing and caring for clothes, accessories, and other items with the "Winter of Care and Repair" project. Care to give it a go?
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| Winter Care and Repair Challenge 2023 #winterofcareandrepair2023 |
How to participate in Winter Care and Repair 2023
Jeanna suggests customizing the project to your individual needs, skill level, and degree of participation. Participants can use this project as a framework for a personal Mending To-Do list. The project, or Challenge, also serves as a a good motivator as others will be participating—and there is strength (encouragement) in numbers.
I'm going to participate with a focus on textiles:
- mending and repairs,
- upcycling/repurposing,
- organizing my fabric stash, and
- finding ways to minimize scraps.
I've read other great Challenge pledges that include maintaining or repairing things beside textiles and garments, such as:
- tending a garden and prepping it for the next season's plantings,
- de-cluttering a room/house/garage,
- repurposeing or repairing (rather than disposing of) other household items,
- strengthening habits to promote personal health and mental well-being.
The timeframe: Solstice to Equinox
The Winter Care and Repair project goes from the Winter Solstice to the Spring Equinox—December 21, 2023 to March 19, 2024.
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| Mend/Repurpose prompt from Make Nine 2023 |
I'll incorporate the Winter of Care and Repair pledge into my 2024 Create Daily practice. In my past three Make Nine Challenges in 2021, 2022, and 2023, I've included prompts related to this topic so I feel I'm cognisant of this practice. (See my previous Make Nine prompt pages in this blog post.)
Do you have a mending pile?
This is is the perfect project to whittle down that mending pile! I have a few items in need of stitching and mending and there are likely others that will pop up between now and the Spring Equinox. I like that this project is also a good reminder that "loved clothes last" and a quick mend will keep them in circulation much longer.
A stitch in time saves nine,
... and keeps textiles out of landfills and the waste stream.
