Mending is not that simple. What set of competencies can enable mending practices and how can we learn them?

In the past, mending was taught in schools. Today, despite an upsurge of mending practices, this learning mainly occurs in the setting of participatory workshops, which have sporadic nature and are primarily focused on the expressive dimension of clothing repair. Yet, mending practices are complex. They encompass different dimensions of clothing repair and require a vast set of competencies. This paper argues that one of the answers to how we can reduce the impact of our wardrobes in the use phase resides in reintroducing the practices of clothing care and sewing into the educational system. Our paper draws upon the analysis of three case studies of Design School Kolding (DSKD) students who have chosen to work with mending in their design projects at BA, MA, and PhD levels. The findings of our research demonstrate the dependence of mending on other maintenance, craft and design practices and indicate the alternative pathways of reintroducing mending into educational system. We conclude that more research on mending within an educational context is needed since how mending was and is taught in various educational and social contexts is underexplored.