By Genevieve Chornenki
“Visible Mending” by Arounna Khounnoraj (the topic of our November 19, 2025 meeting) was an eye-opener. I’d often struggled to repair woolen goods or avoided repairs altogether because I just couldn’t make things look right. My attempts were always obvious, my stitches helter-skelter. But Arouna Khounnoraj removed my self-imposed constraints. She showed that a repair can be a deliberate patch, even an embellishment.
Visible Mending was good news. I love my slip-on felt Glerups but seem to go through a pair a year. The felt thins and open holes appear on the outside of the slippers at the front. The backs also break down from the motion of my feet going in and out. So, prompted by Arounna’s presentation, I wondered what would happen if I fixed my slippers with unapologetic patches. Take a look.
First I drew the sides of the holes and the split backs together with a needle and waxed sewing thread. Then I knit my first patch, a rectangle in woven stitch using sport-weight yarn on 2.25 mm needles. I applied that patch with needle and thread, fanning it out into a trapezoid to better cover the hole. Why not a circle next? I worked one from the centre out, increasing until it could lie flat. Hey, what about reinforcing the heels with tabs next? Oh, and why not add buttons? I saw no reason to stop there. I retrieved two pompoms unused from a child’s dress and added them as finishing touches.
What fun. I’ve now extended the use of my Glerups for at least another year.
If you missed Arounna Khounnoraj’s presentation on visible mending, it’s available on demand in our Members’ Hub (along with any other past meetings you may have missed): https://torontoknittersguild.ca/membership-hub/meeting-videos/
