The beautiful warmth, softness and lustre of merino wool from which a Woolaby rugby jumper is created makes you want to hold on to it forever.
When holes inevitably appear over time, the life of a natural fibre garment such as this can be extended by mending the holes – in this case using woollen hearts cut from another beyond-repair jumper.
Reconsidering ways to reuse and revive resources is the subject of David Sherlock’s dramatic Think Before You Throw art sculpture from reject stuff at the Coolah waste transfer station. A trip to the tip to see this and other sculptures from the Waste to Art project overseen by my leadership colleague Ele Cook was the highlight of my morning!
Meanwhile, Sew 132 is the mending of a wool jumper. We cut out about 20 heart-shaped wool patches, pinned them in place and then sewed then down using zigzag stitch to extend the life of a lovely wool jumper.
Sew 132
Do you still mend woolaby jumpers?
Hi James
Last year I did the Sew it Again project as a way of demonstrating how people can repair, restyle, refashion, repurpose natural-fibre clothing. The purpose was to raise awareness of valuable natural fibres, sewing as a life skill and being sustainable by upcycling.
The Woolaby jumper I repaired belonged to a NSW friend Ele Cook and featured as Sew 132 (of 365!).
It is not my business to provide mending services to others – I’m more interested in leadership around the issue.
Hoping this answers your question.
If you have a Woolaby that needs mending, darning is not that hard – there are great youtube tutorials available via google.
All the best, Jane