The Art of Repair

'Part how-to guide, part manifesto - a gentle exhortation that encourages us to reconnect with our damaged belongings and ourselves.' TOAST magazine

For Molly Martin, it all started with a pair of socks. Her favourite pair. When the heels became threadbare, her mother got out her darning mushroom and showed her how to reinforce the thinning stitches and bring them back to life. She has been stitching and darning ever since.

In The Art of Repair, Molly explores the humble origins of repair and how the act of mending a cherished item carefully by hand offers not just a practical solution but nourishment for the soul. Using her own beautiful illustrations, she guides us through the basics of the craft - from piecing and patching to the ancient Japanese art of Sashiko.

This book will stay with you long after you put down your needle and thread. It offers an antidote to our increasingly disposable lifestyle, encouraging us to reconnect not just with the everyday objects in our environment but also with ourselves.

“Part how-to guide, part manifesto - a gentle exhortation that encourages us to reconnect with our damaged belongings and ourselves.”

Toast magazine
A beautiful, honest, fascinating book, which celebrates slow living and the real worth of things. -- Lindsay Duncan
Molly's beautifully simple and thoughtful work with garments imbues a love and respect for the things we wear. The Vendeur
'This is the book we all need... Beautifully illustrated. Truly wonderful.' The Frost magazine
Written with the same care Martin takes to restore people's beloved possessions, each passage has such a special way of evoking that same sentimentally felt for these mended wares that it's inevitable you'll find yourself digging out those holey, old garms for some much-needed attention. With various types of repairs covered in the book along with her go-to techniques, get ready to be hooked on the art of repair. With Molly Martin's charming illustrations, beautiful photographs and concise instructions, this book will help you to develop a skill to last a lifetime. Hole & Corner magazine
A wonderful combination of techniques and illustrated garment stories and real garmology material. Well Dressed Dad blog

Molly Martin is an artist, illustrator and professional textile repairer, specialising in delicate fabric restoration and traditional Japanese Sashiko repair. Molly also works for the slow fashion company Toast and has collaborated with them on a number of workshop 'repair' tours.

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