10. Darning on knitwear : Examining the ‘Wabi-sabi-ness’ of it

~ Clothing is so personal and the act of repairing is the smallest gesture loaded with such love” ~ Celia Pym 54

Darning on knitwear - Examining the ‘Wabi-sabi-ness’ of it:

What is it about yarn that is so appealing? Within contemporary society, there is a need for sensual experiences that can only be quenched by handle. But we are all so hungry for the visual that tactility has been pushed back. Texture helps one understand the world and knitting is an emotional journey, a voyage of sentimentalities and processes that can be interpreted as a ‘material culture’ process. 55 It is a transformation marked not only by object to object, but also of a moving (both literally and figuratively) relationship between maker, making and the made product.

Figure 7. An Ode to the Imperfect: A darning sample by Bridget Harvey, displayed as part of the Open Studio in Sackler Centre, V & A Museum ,London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.

We are programmed to gauge the world through touch, our fingers never unmoving: caressing, fiddling, playing. Likewise, the elements of knitting; its tactility, repetition and rhythm have been classified as examples of sensory practices that offer a connectedness between people and things. To dissociate knitting from the domestic and from the restrictions of leisure, craftspeople have started to see its potential for industrial collaboration, as a means of challenging the constraints of materials, forms and uses.

The renewal of the ever-quickening pace of fast fashion, has stirred consumers out of the bubble of ignorance they were trapped in. Due to the alarming rate at which clothes are bought impulsively and discarded, we are now aware of the consequences as we see them in front of our own eyes. This has lead to make-do-and-mend techniques and is one of the main reasons for mending to make a comeback in the last decade. Mending is a means of expression and personal creative choice.

54 Jo Hall, 'Hole Hearted’, Embroidery The Textile Art Magazine, 13(2018):12.

55 Why do I say this? I state this term from an unabashedly biased view point: As a knitter, I feel knitting is an underrated tool that depicts the relationship between people and their belongings.

Darning is philosophically in opposition to fast fashion, in regards to the part where apparel is discarded due to tiny defects. In his interview for Embroidery magazine Tom Van Deijnen, an entirely self-taught textile maker states:

“I learnt how to knit socks with a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and then they got holes in them, so I thought I needed to learn how to do the repairing, which I did.” 56

Tom is interested in the darning process as much as if not more than, the completed garment, and he undertakes thorough research into technique and pattern. 57

Like Tom Van, Celia Pym and Bridget Harvey are two other textile designers who serve as my muse; not so much for their techniques, but for their ideologies and their empathy for fellow people who are either knitters already or who are keen to learn. Their understanding of fabric surfaces and their approach towards mending workshops are inspiring.

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56 Hattie Gordon, ‘Profound acts of repair', Embroidery The Textile Art Magazine, 7 (2017): 36.