This week, as we near the end of 2025, the writers and editors of KQED Arts & Culture are reflecting on One Beautiful Thing from the year. ou’re entering your homemaker era,” my mother said earlier ...

Unlike vintage rock tees, perfectly worn-in jeans, and dresses made of a thousand feathers, darned socks are rarely the subject of fashion fantasies. Darning used to be an essential part of caring for ...

One dusty family photo album in my attic holds black-and-white snapshots of my mother and grandmother darning their socks in the early 1950s. “We used burnt-out light bulbs to hold them while we ...

Mending worn pieces of clothing evokes “happy memories and a sense of pleasure in the passing of time,” writes stylist Misumi (Joyful Mending) in her clever how-to. One chapter is dedicated to mending ...

So, you ripped a hole in your favorite pair of jeans. (Or worse: your kid ripped a hole in their favorite pair of jeans.) Don’t drop $100 on new Levi’s. Fix them up – with flair. Patching, darning and ...

Mended gloves for Ana. Left hand by Sam Bennett and right hand by Rachel Meade Smith of Repair Shop (all images © Repair Shop 2022) When I was home in early January ...