Teach Mending and Sewing

We run a free, monthly event to teach fellow Capitol Hill residents how to mend or modify their fabric belongings. Join our team so that we can host this event more frequently and help community members build these skills!

Overview

The Capitol Hill Tool Library is an all-volunteer organization that empowers our neighborhood to build DIY skills and improve sustainability, by offering tool borrowing, workspace, and free classes. Our borrow-able tools include eight sewing machines, a serger, and many other mending supplies.

At our "mending circle" events, anyone can bring in their torn or broken fabric items (or learn using our sample materials) and our volunteer team will teach them the skills they need. This event has been so well-attended in recent months that we’d love to grow the volunteer team and offer mending circle twice per month (or more!).

What you’ll do

For one or two two-hour shifts per month, you’ll come in and - alongside other volunteers - teach folks how to repair their items. You’ll do this by demoing or helping them get started; we’re not here to fix items for guests, but rather to teach them how to do so themselves.

Why you’ll be excited

Lots of people have no exposure to sewing, and attendees often come in really unconfident. By mentoring them for a few minutes and giving them the tools they need, our attendees totally change their outlook; they leave mending circle not only having solved their current project, but being able to fix their fabric belongings for the rest of their life.

We feel extremely rewarded and excited to see this empowerment in action, and to interact so closely with our neighbors. It also feels great to play a small part in slowing overconsumption and decreasing how much gets thrown away. Additionally, we get to work as a fun, tight volunteer team during each shift.

What skills you’ll need

You’ll need to have some experience with fabric repair skills, and feel comfortable teaching others the basics. If you know hand sewing techniques, how to use use a sewing machine, how to work with knitted garments, or any other similar skills, you’ll fit right in and be a huge help to our community!