How the Victorians Mended Their Clothes: A Lesson in Darning

Hello everyone and welcome to a new video! This video is very kindly sponsored by Serious Readers and their Serious Lights. You can use the offer code SR212 to receive a free Compact Light and free international shipping with the with any purchase in the Serious Lights range (High Definition, Alex Light, Classic Light). https://try.seriousreaders.com/pages/sr212/ My interest in mending and darning really took off when I purchased a beautiful Victorian shawl online. It was greatly discounted because it had some severe moth damage, the extent of which I had not realised until I saw it in person! It's pretty bad. However, the quality of wool fabric, the fine embroidery and beading I think make it a worthwhile long term project to slowly fix it, so that hopefully I may one day wear it with my historical costume. It's a great length, I think approximately two meters, which makes me think it might be mid-to-late Victorian (perhaps 1860s, as shawls were cut long to drape over crinolined skirts?). I did, however, want to learn the proper way to darn, so that I could treat this relic with all due respect, and so here we are! The book 'Needlework for Student Teachers' has been in my collection for a while, and it has good comprehensive instructions which I talk through in this video of how to do plain darning for reinforcing and mending purposes, as well as how to darn over a hole, and how to mend or darn a cut or tear. The other book, Make Do and Mend, is a really cute and interest