Nifty

Posted on Sep 9, 2023

15 People Who Said "Screw You, Landfill" And Accomplished The Most Clever Repairs I've Ever Seen

"Check out my fishy floors. It was either this or thousands of dollars to replace the whole floor because they don't make tile like that anymore. I don't know about you, but like this solution better!"

by Sarah Aspler

BuzzFeed Staff, Canada

I recently came upon the trend of "visible mending" on TikTok and find it SO fascinating. It's basically an ornamental approach to repairing an item. So instead of trying to hide the area where the item was damaged, the purpose is to highlight these imperfections in a surprising way. I also really love it because it helps save our special possessions from ending up in a landfill somewhere. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Without further ado, here are some of the best mends I found on the r/visiblemending subreddit:

1. "My dog got a hold of my favorite dress so I tried visible mending for the first time."

2. "Check out my fishy floors. It was either this or thousands of dollars to replace the whole floor because they don't make tile like that anymore. I don't know about you, but I like this solution better!"

pond and fish scene painted into missing tiles on the floor

3. "I mended a couple of split laundry baskets."

4. "Patched a small tear in my jacket with a small felt 'Band-Aid' that I made."

5. "My headphone pad fell off so I crocheted it back on!"

6. "The cats clawed up the side of the chair. I really like how my mom patched it up."

geometric pattern sewn into the armchair

7. "I stitched a doily and then used it to patch a large hole in my favorite overalls today"

8. "I fixed my lamp using the stained glass soldering technique."

9. "The front fell off of my old cabinet so I replaced it with crochet granny squares."

10. "I got this free tote bag but I hate wearing logos, so I did a simple embroidery over it."

u/ilanathegreat / Via reddit.com

—u/ilanathegreat

"It’s such a cool minimalist look, way better than a logo anyways!"

—u/Mrs_Pacman_Pants

"I like this idea. I'm sure this isn't that original but I think it would be fun to block out certain letters so it spells a different word. For example you could leave just the N,O,P, and E. As in saying 'nope' to brand names."

—u/snoozecrooze

11. "Owl lost an eye. My seven year old asked me to make an eyepatch. Owl is now ready for a new career as a pirate."

12. "This patch might bite you in the...rear pocket of the vintage jeans I patched. Scrap of stretchy fabric and sashiko thread."

shark and stitches made to look like waves on a jean pocket

13. "Saw this precious workaround in a booth at a favorite restaurant."

14. "My Snoopy shirt had a hole so I added a little Woodstock."

And finally...

15. "I spotted this and admired it today. Great use of zip-ties."

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