We asked Elisabeth Hegerat, self-described textile hobbyist, to tell us how textiles fit into her life.
Walking the Talk: 5 Questions with Elisabeth Hegerat
Tell me how mending/upcycling/making textiles fits into your life? First off, I am not an expert, someone who does a ton of sewing outside of mending things, like a quilter, or someone who makes their own clothes. I’m just a self-taught hobbyist. But if I can put a button back on a shirt, and sew a slightly wonky patch on a worn out pair of jeans, and darn a sock, so can most of you! I do try to mend my clothes and other textiles when they start to wear out. I like being able to extend the life of something I love, and adding coloured stitching or an overlapping patch personalizes a piece of clothing and makes me more likely to keep wearing it. I also appreciate the sense of connection I feel to history. Anyone who’s ever worn socks has had to deal with holes in the toes or heels, and I love finding historical techniques to try out.
I’m also a member of the Lethbridge Weavers Guild, and have had the opportunity make a few rag rugs as part of guild projects over the last couple of years, out of old clothing and sheets. When it comes to weaving, a project with new material doesn’t necessarily have the same immediate enviromental impact as repurposing existing material, but learning how to first knit then weave has taught me a whole other level of appreciation for everything that goes into creating a piece of fabric.
How and why did you get started? Like so many others, the Weavers’ Guild got me hooked with a Taste of Weaving class, and I joined four years ago. The collaboration and shared knowledge is amazing, as is the studio space at Casa, and there are so many talented and incredibly technically skilled people involved who love to share their passion. I came across visible mending online as a concept a few years ago, around the same time I started seeing people using the Japanese sashiko boro method. It’s a historical technique from a time when fabric was much harder to produce, and involves layering patches on worn fabric with a simple running stitch. I wanted to try it but wasn’t confident in my sewing skills, and then was looking at a gallery of historical artefacts online. Some of them were gorgeous, but one futon cover in particular was less polished, and had stitches that were a little bit crooked, which really made me think about it as an everyday, functional skill that didn’t need to be perfect. I started out fixing the knee on a pair of jeans, and just started asking myelf, when something wore out or broke, but what if you fixed that?
What has been your biggest challenge? Any time you learn a new skill or pick up a new craft or hobby, there’s a gap between what you want to accomplish, and what you’re able to do as a beginner. I’m getting closer to being able to match what’s in my head to what I can do with a needle and thread, but there’s still a lot of trial and error and good-enough fixes. I fully maintain that it’s a valuable life skill to embrace being a beginner and bad at something to start with! I do most of my mending by hand-sewing, and find it relaxing to have something to do with my hands while I’m watching TV or chatting with a friend, but it also means that I’m a bit slow sometimes, and the pile of mending is ever-evolving and never finished.
What’s your best tip for someone who might want to start mending their clothing or making textiles for the first time? Especially when it comes to mending, don’t be afraid to try it out! It is highly unlikely that piece of clothing is going to get any MORE broken, and if it doesn’t go the way you want it to, it’s usually easy enough to pick out stitches again. You’ll be slow and awkward at first, but it will get easier with practice.
What’s one wish you have for Lethbridge when it comes to textile waste? It would be great if there were more options for recycling textiles, but I also would love it if we used less and more clothing was made to last longer. That’s an issue that stretches much larger than Lethbridge, though. Both Casa and SAAG have been running things like sewing classes and remake and refashion workshops. And if you want a whole new appreciation for where your fabric comes from, you can always come join me at the weavers’ guild!