The Winter of Care and Repair Challenge started on December 21 with the Winter Solstice. My latest mend for this Challenge was on a dish towel that “got too close” to one of the burners on the stove. (No fire, but it left a sizeable hole in the towel.)
 |
| My Winter of Care and Repair, December 21 2023 - March 19, 2024. |
Goals for my Winter of Care and Repair
The parameters I set for myself in the Winter of Care and Repair Challenge focus on textiles:
- mending and repairing
- upcycling/repurposing
- organizing my fabric and yarn stash (not making much progress with this goal)
- finding ways to minimize scraps.
As part of my commitment to this 3-month Challenge, I was determined to mend the burn hole in the red dish towel. I decided to use a patch rather than try a weaving mend.
 |
| A burned hole in the dish towel. |
The repair process
After brushing off the singed part, I traced the shape of the hole on a piece of paper.
 |
| The hole was almost 1.5”. |
I decided to use knit fabric for the patch instead of a woven so I didn’t have to turn under the edges.
 |
| Making a paper template for the patch. |
The patch was cut about an inch larger (all around) than the paper template (the size of the hole). The patch was pinned to the right side with another fabric scrap placed on the under side to conceal (sandwich) the hole. Five additional circle patches were added to the towel to make the appliqué circles look “intentional”—like a “design element”—rather than a single patch over a hole.
 |
| Pinning various circle patches to embellish (and repair) the towel. |
Using matching cotton embroidery floss, the patches were secured with a running stitch—starting on the outside of the circle and moving toward the center in a circular design. After stitching, the patches were trimmed closer to the stitching line.
 |
| Running stitches secured the circles to the towel. |
The matching red embroidery floss blended with the fabrics. The stitching added a textured pattern to the appliquéd circles.
 |
| Appliquéd circles embellish the repaired dish towel. |
My red dishtowel is now back in circulation! It’s shown here with three hand woven sock coasters. These coasters/trivets are made by upcycling socks with the Loopy Loom. They are quick and fun to make and address another category (upcycle/recycle) of my Care and Repair effort.
 |
| Newly repaired towel with woven sock coasters. |
