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!"

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!

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A lot of the following mends also remind me of the Japanese concepts of "kintsugi" and 'wabi-sabi," which are all about embracing the beauty of the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

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."

u/ren_aine / Via reddit.com

—u/ren_aine

"That is fantastic! Nothing wrong with our clothing telling stories about the lives we've lived in them."

—u/Forward-Dog-1761

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!"

u/ProjectDirectory / Via reddit.com

—u/ProjectDirectory

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

u/kindapinkypurple / Via reddit.com

—u/kindapinkypurple

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

u/OPsych / Via reddit.com

—u/OPsych

"This is fantastic! Love the idea, can't wait to rip a hole in my clothes now so I can try it."

—u/asheeponreddit

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

u/feeling_supersonic / Via reddit.com

—u/feeling_supersonic

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

u/Mems137 / Via reddit.com

—u/Mems137

"Oh man, that's such a great match. It's harmonious with the rest of the chair, but a clear sign of the life it has lived."

—u/prinsess_bubblegum

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

u/twin_weenis / Via reddit.com

—u/twin_weenis

"Gorgeous mending! It makes me want to learn to crochet. And it also makes me want to rip holes in my perfectly-good pants."

—u/knotsazz

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

u/Shinylittlelamp / Via reddit.com

—u/Shinylittlelamp

"I like it better now. It makes me think of a leaf!"

—u/Lucky-Reporter-6460

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

u/CrochetedRockets / Via reddit.com

—u/CrochetedRockets

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."

u/rvodenh / Via reddit.com

—u/rvodenh

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

u/Art_Is_Basic / Via reddit.com

—u/Art_Is_Basic

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

u/leatherdaddy / Via reddit.com

—u/leatherdaddy

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

u/JayXFour / Via reddit.com

—u/JayXFour

"I want Woodstock on all my long sleeves now. Absolutely in love with this!"

—u/i_n_d_y

"He looks like he was there the whole time!"

—u/somenemophilist

And finally...

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

u/mettarific / Via reddit.com

—u/mettarific

Now, it your turn! Have you ever tried visible mending? Comment below!