Teens ages 10+ are invited to join textile artist Elena Brotz from Rambling Repair on Saturday, May 11 from 1-5 PM in the library's Howard Room for a special workshop on mending and patching clothing. For centuries, people have been picking up a needle and thread to “make do and mend.” Simply using a needle, thread, and your own two hands makes patching, darning, and mending, accessible, creative, and satisfying crafts that allow you to keep your favorite items wearable while adding a personal creative touch. In this workshop, we will find the joy of repair together by gathering around the table to learn the basics of mending, and collaborate to fix or personalize some of your favorite clothing.

Elena Brotz loves all things to do with crafts and community. She started taking sewing classes with a few neighbors when she was 11 years old and fell in love with making “something out of nothing.” Elena is excited about taking this delight in textiles in a new direction, and sees repair and mending as an art form, helpful meditative practice, sharable skill, and solution to the prevalence of fast fashion. She is always happy to find new ways to make things with her hands, learn new skills, and see other people’s creative solutions. Elena is currently a senior at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine where she leads the club Mending Matters, and when she is back at home in Burlington, Vermont, she has done work as a contract mender for her neighbors. Rambling Repair is Elena’s senior project where she is biking from Burlington to Bar Harbor and leading textile repair workshops along the way. She will be graduating with a degree in Human Ecology this spring before heading to work on Hurricane Island for the summer.

This program is free thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Library. All materials will be provided, though participants will want to bring their own clothing items to mend or alter such as socks, sweaters, jeans, etc. If you have questions, please contact Kendall at kendall.chapman@bhpl.net or 374-5515.