Textile Care & Repair Workshops at Newfield Public Library - Fall 2026
Join us at the Newfield Public Library for a “Mend Your Closet Series” in October & November! This program is FREE and requires no pre-registration, thanks to a generous Neighborhood Mini-Grant from Sustainable Finger Lakes
10/17 - 2026 Mend Your Closet - Leather Care & Conditioning
Participants will be introduced to the basic materials needed for leather care (saddle soap, horsehair brush, leather conditioner, wax thread). When cared for correctly, leather items can last decades. The items needed for leather care are affordable, and the process easy to do at home. Please note that this workshop does include use of water and soap, dress accordingly.
Please bring 1-2 clothing items from your own closet for repair. This workshop is specifically for “glove tanned leather” (the shiny leather) regularly used for handbags, belts, bracelets, sandals, and boots, we will not be covering how to care for fur or suede in this program. This is ONLY for 100% leather, the processes used to preserve leather cannot be used on “pleather” or other plastic-based substitutes. If you aren’t sure if your item would work for this program, please contact zvannostrand@gmail.com beforehand and share pictures of your item.
11/7 - 2026 Mend Your Closet - Felting for Sweater Repair
Do your woven wool sweaters have holes in them? Minor holes, if not addressed can unravel larger portions of the garment. Wool can be mended in a number of ways, through patching, re-weaving, and felting. Felting is the easiest method and requires the least amount of skill or practice. Participants learn how to use felting as a visible mending option for fixing your sweaters!
Participants are invited to bring 2-3 items from your own closet for repair. Please note that felting ONLY WORKS on woven wool. It will not be as effective on knitted or crocheted pieces, and does not work as well on acrylic textiles. Blended wool sweaters should also work well.
11/21 - 2026 Mend Your Closet - Sashiko Patches & Mending
We all have that favorite item in our closet that has gotten a bit too "holey" to wear out of the house. Come learn about the visible mending movement, and how to add artistic and visible patches to mend your own wardrobe with the Japanese practice of sashiko stitching! This is a beginner friendly course, we'll be using running stitch and blanket stitch to secure our patches and add a bit of mended beauty to each item. This program will be an introduction to sashiko stitching, and only exploring starter-level patterns.
Participants are invited to bring 1-2 clothing items from their own closet for repair. Recommended items are woven textiles with little to no stretch, and nothing knitted or crocheted for this style of repair. Items made from linen/cotton/denim with with holes, rips, or threadbare areas of under 5 inches would be a great fit for this project! Most novice sewists can complete at least one full repair during this program.
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Accessibility Notes: Open to ages 14-114. Presented in English. ADA accessible room. Requires manual dexterity, and ability to sit for 1 1/2 hours.
Workshops led by Zoë Van Nostrand a.k.a. @sustainablespinster (Instagram). Zoë is an amateur, somewhat self taught, hand sewer and textile artivist from Mecklenburg NY.She has been mending her clothes (and her loved ones) for over 20 years. She considers mending a radical act against fast fashion and the global impacts of the textile industry, and a message of respect and reciprocity to the textile workers around the globe who make our clothes.
