Two Day Visible Mending for Knitwear Workshop: In Person
Two Day Visible Mending for Knitwear Workshop: In Person
Immerse yourself in a two day visible mending workshop and learn all the skills you need to confidently repair your knitwear in style!
Learn new skills, make new friends, take time out for yourself.
This in person workshop is the perfect opportunity to learn the skills you need over two days in the Scottish Borders as part of a small group of 5.
Location: My studio in Galashiels! Heatheryett Office, Heatheryett Drive, Galashiels, TD1 2JT.
Time: 10am-5pm each day.
The aim will be to learn new skills in the morning, and to practice them in the afternoon. I will not teach anything new after 4pm, so that you can leave a bit earlier if you feel like you’ve concentrated enough for the day, or stay and practice with help until 5pm.
You will learn:
Different approaches to darning: techniques creating a woven effect that you can use for creative repairs on both knitwear and other fabrics
Swiss darning: a technique that mimics knitted fabric. Great for reinforcement, pattern and repair, and the technique you need for invisible repairs
How to mend frayed and worn cuffs and edges
Suitable for beginners and improvers.
The pace of the workshop will be tailored to you and the other participants.
I hope there will also be time for you to make a start on your own mending project, and you can then have on hand support to help you.
If any other skills are helpful for your mending project, I would hope that I can show you those too. This might include darning patterns, other methods of repairing edges, or swiss darning on textured knits for example.
All materials will be provided.
Refreshments (including homemade cake) will be provided, but you will need to provide your own lunch each day.
All places reserved on this visible mending for knitwear workshop are non-refundable.
Please email me if you have a group of 5 people and would like to arrange a date.
Continue reading below for further information about the location and getting here.
Some Feedback from the first workshop:
“Thank you for the marvellous two days. I so enjoyed it and meeting Sofia, Valerie, Aline and Jan-Alice It was wonderfully inspiring. I should very much like to come again if it can be arranged” - Lesley
“I am so grateful for the last two days. It has touched my heart deeply. You and this wonderful group of nice ladies. Thank you. What a wonderful time we were able to experience” - Sofia
“You can't imagine how your workshop was a dream for me. In my life, I really appreciate the women community, learning and creating together is a genuine joy for me. Obviously, I will be there next year for the second step!” - Valerie
“Firstly, I want to thank you for a fabulous workshop. I so enjoyed it and would love to come to another workshop in September ‘26” - Jan-Alice
My studio in Galashiels is fairly small but with enough space for all of us! It’s very well lit, and has a small fridge and microwave if you need them for your lunch. It’s not near any food shops or cafes, so I recommend you bring lunch with you.
Galashiels is about an hour south of Edinburgh, and easily accessible by train, which takes 50 minutes. My studio is about a 15 minute walk from the station, and includes a fairly steep hill.
For a full train timetable, please check Scotrail or Traveline Scotland.
If you’re travelling by car, there is plenty of parking by the studio.
If you’d like to explore the area a bit while you’re here, then the Great Tapestry of Scotland is in the centre of Galashiels, again about a 15-20 minute walk from the studio, and worth a visit if you’d like to see the history of Scotland in stitched panels. There is some really wonderful stitching on display! Worth spending at least a morning looking around, and they have a cafe too.
Hawick, another Borders town steeped in textiles history is a 30 minute drive away (or slightly longer by bus). Here you can take a mill tour at Johnstons of Elgin to see how luxury knitwear is made! I highly recommend it. Check their tour times and availability first. You can also visit the Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick for more of the textile history of the area and exhibitions.
At Selkirk you can take a mill tour with Lochcarron of Scotland, one of the two main weavers of tartan fabric. Known for having the cleanest selvedges for kiltmaking! SElkirk is a 15 minute drive from Galashiels, or on the same bus route as Hawick. Selkirk as has the Borders Scrap Store, the most amazing place to find remnant fabrics, craft supplies, buttons etc at incredible prices!
Dovevot Studios in Edinburgh is also worth visiting, with fashion and textiles exhibitions- the story of Biba being the next one. It's a beautiful building with a tapestry studio, and there's a viewing gallery so you can see down into the studio with work in progress and enviable walls of yarn!
Abbotsford House is just across the river from Galashiels, and there is a lovely walk along the river there which is free. You can also pay to view the house and walled garden, and there is a cafe there too.
Melrose is about a 5 minute drive from Galashiels and has a beautiful ruined Abbey (although it’s currently covered in scaffolding), plenty of cafes and places to eat and lots of nice little independent shops.
Dryburgh and Jedburgh also have beautiful ruined abbeys.
If you’re making it a longer trip, or have a partner with you who needs something to do during the day, please just get in touch and I’ll be happy to suggest some places to visit or nice walks etc.
