Visible mending: Learn to darn using blanket stitch

Learn to darn with blanket stitch

Sunday 23 August from 10am-1pm
64 Clyde St, Thornbury (Span Community Centre, Lyrebird Room)

$25

Darning uses yarn or thread to magically make new fabric in place of a hole, and strengthen threadbare clothing to make it last longer.

Our facilitator for this workshop is local mending guru Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald (ELF) – repair artist, mending teacher, author and photographer of Modern Mending the book, and shopkeeper at modernmending.com

Erin will teach you how to mend your worn-out woollens and make them more wonderful with two darning methods that use blanket stitch as the building block: honeycomb darning and scotch darning.

Blanket-stitch darning is more fun than traditional woven darning; once you try it, you won’t want to stop! Blanket-stitch darning is ideal for threadbare socks and other items, but can be used to repair holes as well, in both knit and woven fabrics.

Students will be asked to bring their own sharp scissors and some material (socks, a tea towel, a tote bag, or fabric scraps) for darning practice.

Each student will receive darning needles, yarn/thread for practice and a copy of Modern Mending the book at the workshop.

Additional mending supplies will also be available for purchase on the day.

Please send a msg to Jo via emaildhrh@gmail.com if you're not in a position to pay that amount as we have some heavily discounted places.

Getting to the venue

• If driving, there is street parking in Clyde Street.

• There are a number of public transport options.

Bus Services (Closest access)

• Buses provide the closest drop-off points to Span Community House, dropping you within a short 2 to 5-minute walk.

• Route 250 & 251 (City – La Trobe University / Northland SC): Both of these routes travel along Victoria Road. You can disembark at the Clyde St/Victoria Rd bus stop, which is just a 2-minute walk from the front doors. These routes operate standard Sunday morning timetables.

• Route 552 (North East Reservoir – Northcote Plaza): This route also services the Clyde St/Victoria Rd stop. Sunday morning services begin running past 8:00 AM, making it a convenient option if you are connecting from the Northcote Plaza area or Reservoir.

• Route 510 (Essendon – Ivanhoe via Northcote): This service runs east-west along Separation Street and Ranger Street, stopping within a 5-minute walk of Clyde Street.

Train Services

• Mernda Line

• Thornbury Station or Croxton Station: You can take a Mernda line train and get off at either Thornbury or Croxton. From either station, Span Community House is approximately a 15 to 20-minute walk heading east (about 1.5 km). Alternatively, you can hop off the train at Northcote Station and connect directly to the 552 bus.

Tram Services

• Tram travel requires more walking to reach the venue.

• Route 86 (Bundoora RMIT – Waterfront City Docklands): You can take the Route 86 tram along High Street and disembark at Stop 39: Woolton Ave/High St. From High Street, it is roughly a 12 to 15-minute walk eastward down Woolton Avenue and Henderson Street to reach Clyde Street. Trams run frequently on Sunday mornings, usually every 15–20 minutes.

Supported by Darebin City Council’s Community Grants Program