Återbruk och reparation

The first in-depth exploration of maintenance—and a powerful argument for its civilizational importance—from the author of How Buildings Learn and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.Maintenance is what keeps everything going. It’s what keeps life going. Yet it’s also easy to shirk or defer—until the thing breaks, the system falters, and everything stops. The apparent paradox is profound: Maintenance is absolutely necessary and maintenance is optional. The first in a multi-volume work, Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One offers a comprehensive overview of the civilizational importance of maintenance. The book begins with a dramatic contest of maintenance styles under life-critical conditions: the Golden Globe around-the-world solo sailboat race of 1968. It goes on to explore the insights that can be gleaned from vehicle maintenance, from the zeal of motorcycle maintainers to the maintenance philosophies that fought for dominance of the auto industry to the state of electric vehicle manufacturing today, with absorbing detours into the evolution of precision in manufacturing, the enduring importance of manuals, sustainment in the military, and the never-ending battle against corrosion.Maintenance: Of Everything is a wide-ranging and provocative call to expand what we mean by “maintenance”—not just the tiresome preventative tasks but the whole grand process of keeping a thing going. It invites us to understand not only the profound impact maintenance has on our daily lives but also why taking responsibility for maintaining something—whether a motorcycle, a monument, or our very planet—can be a radical act.“No one else but Stewart Brand is talking about the art and science of maintenance and how to do it well. This will be an instant classic.”—Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist“A deliciously good book.”—Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired

The Sunday Times bestseller - Welcome to the wonderful world of Anya the Garden FairyBeat the rising cost of living and transform your garden on a budget with Anya Lautenbach.The Money-Saving Gardener reveals the tips and tricks to keeping costs down without compromising on style or impact. Learn how to repurpose what you have, make the most of so-called garden "waste", and boost your plant collection for next to nothing with seed-saving and propagation hacks.Revealing the plants that will give you the best long-term value for money, cost-cutting tips for every season, and projects for making the most of your propagated cuttings and seedlings, The Money-Saving Gardener proves that a stunning garden doesn't need to cost the earth or break the bank.This title was The Sunday Times bestseller in February 2024.

Threads is a comprehensive guide to transforming clothing through the timeless art of hand embroidery, infused with a contemporary flair.Artist and Textile Embroider, Madeleine Kemsley will demystify this versatile craft as she shows readers how to draw inspiration from their surroundings and confidently personalise their clothing to reflect their style.Packed with stunning photography from the Cornish coastline, this book hopes to inspire the sustainable movement as it encourages readers to reimagine and rework their wardrobe to create clothing they will love for years to come.Inside, you'll find sections on sourcing inspiration, selecting good garments for embroidery, and determining the best placement for your designs. Detailed, illustrated guides will teach a variety of hand embroidery stitch techniques, and 20 step-by-step projects to test out your new skills.Threads offers a fresh, contemporary approach to the medium of hand embroidery making it accessible to crafters of different skill levels.

Sashiko has become a popular buzzword in the fashion and craft world, often oversimplified in its mainstream adoption. Japanese Sashiko Artisan Atsushi Futatsuya seeks to restore its true essence in Sashiko: The Untold Story. This book offers a rich history and philosophy of Sashiko, exploring its stitches, traditions and proper application.Celebrating this historical technique, this book delves into its origins and addresses the cultural appreciation of this craft. Through captivating location photography, decorative illustrations, and personal stories, Atsushi reveals the wisdom, mindset, and techniques behind Sashiko. More than just a skill or style, Sashiko embodies a deeper essence found in the spaces between the stitches.Join Atsushi on a journey with Sashiko artisans, discovering the unseen aspect and intricacies of this ancient craft. This thoughtfully crafted guide is a must-have for all hand stitchers eager to delve into the art of Sashiko.

In this easy-to-follow guide, learn how to create more than 20 joyful DIY sewing projects out of repurposed materials.Known for her playful sense of style, Sue-Ching's projects will bring a smile to your face, whether it is her famous tea towel dress, a bandana cap or a prawn plush made out of scraps. This book is all about having fun, embracing the making process and creating unique, joyful garments that make you feel happy.In Making Happy Things Sue-Ching shares her passion for sustainability, repurposing and upcycling, encouraging us to reuse materials found at thrift stores or the linens at the back of your closet. This is your opportunity to breathe new life into old materials and gain practical insights into the art of re-purposing, guided by Sue-Ching's ingenious tips and ideas. Sue-Ching outlines the tools and materials you need, the core process to follow and sewing tips. Each project includes step-by-step instructions, and you can see each piece styled within the book.Making Happy Things will inspire you to be playful, inventive, and create a garment that you can wear with pride, confidence and authenticity – a true expression of your wonderful self!

Now in paperback, this beautiful modern sewing and mending guide with vibrant, full-color illustrations woven throughout encourages us to break free from the fast fashion industry by repairing our clothes rather than discarding them. Along with DIY and how-to illustrations and tutorials, you’ll find heartfelt stories by authors Nina and Sonya Montenegro (creators of the popular @TheFarWoods) that encourage you to change your consumption habits, celebrate a sustainable, intentional lifestyle, demonstrate mending as a powerful act that not only strengthens the object we are repairing, but ourselves as well. Beginners and Seasoned Sewers will find: Basic Mending Skills - how to thread a needle, how to tie knots, and basic stitchesSashiko - a striking Japanese hand-sewing technique for reinforcement and decorationDarning - plain weave, swiss weave, crocheted patch, knitted patch, and needle-felted patch Patching - the best three ways to patch holes how-to guideMending Tutorials by Item - down jackets, shirt cuffs, and linenOther Common Repairs - snags, buttons, belt loops, leggings, pant pockets, and moreSewing Beyond Mending - hemming pants, taking garments in, and adding pocketsExtend the life of your favourite clothes and beloved household items with mending with this timeless and practical guide to cherishing and caring for our belongings. This paperback edition includes French flaps which function as built-in bookmarks!

This is your ultimate guide to reclaiming your favorite clothes with a modern take on traditional mending techniques.Explore expert tips for tricky fabrics, creative fixes, and no-sew solutions, ensuring you're ready for any repair. With detailed instructions and 50 embroidery and mending stitches, this book turns mending into a modern, stylish art form.Learn the difference between darning and mending, find out how to patch with style, tackle techniques like sashiko and boro, and explore creative reinforcements with lace, crochet, and more.Master 50 mending stitches to refresh and renew your favorite clothes, saving money and reducing wasteDiscover how to make stylish repairs using darning, patches, reinforcements, eye-catching sashiko and boro stitches, and more to bring new life to your clothesLearn how to easily fix your garments using buttons, hems, emergency repairs, and no-sew tricks—these practical solutions will have your clothes looking their best in no time!

The Handmade Home is a modern guide to the art of crafting a home for less with 20 projects for homewares.Brimming with ideas from the pretty to the practical, The Handmade Home contains 20 unique projects for every room in your home using repurposed materials, helping you save money and the planet.Arounna will show you how to craft confidently to make modern, stylish homewares using traditional techniques and natural materials. Discover how to make a quilt and pillow from scrap fabrics, a blanket made from old sweaters, a rug made from rags and more.All the projects are beginner-friendly and include clear step-by-step instructions plus stunning lifestyle photography. The projects are also adaptable, allowing you to make them as simple or complex as you like.Having a beautiful home doesn’t need to cost a lot – or the earth. The Handmade Home will show you how to accessorise your home to make it feel cosy and feel your own with what you have.

A beautiful, inspirational guide to keeping a sustainable home. Are you ready to create a sanctuary of sustainability? In a world overflowing with consumerism, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But Kate Jones (founder of The Natural Living Shop and creator of @my_plastic_free_home), is here to whisk away your climate worries with the ultimate toolkit for reducing your environmental impact, without sacrificing convenience.Packed with tips, fresh ideas and attainable steps for reducing plastic waste in the home, this is the perfect guide for anyone looking to live lighter on the planet while creating a nurturing, natural haven. Discover: Simple, nutritious snack recipes perfect for busy days.DIY cleaning products that are safe for your home and the environment.Low-waste play ideas to spark creativity for kids—without the clutter.Quick and easy guides to making your own plant-based milk.Eco-friendly seasonal decorations to celebrate sustainably all year round.

Dreaming of a beautifully decorated home, but never been taught the practical skills to execute your plans? Laura Deller of @houseprojectuk teaches you everything you need to know in this handy step-by-step guide, for house projects big and small, in any space. Say goodbye to DIY disasters and hello to a relaxing home that reflects your personal style and your amazing new skills. With Laura’s expert, easy-to-follow instructions, you’ll learn how to finally hang those frames with confidence, pick the perfect kid-friendly paint, and impress visitors with your DIY shelves.The projects are super budget-friendly and doable, covering everything from upcycling to flat-pack hacks. Learn how to apply caulk, fill holes in the wall, sand a surface and wallpaper around a socket. Laura’s projects include no-fuss bookshelves, different styles of panelling, and a simple but gorgeous no-sew bench cushion.Large DIY stores can be overwhelming with their endless aisles and jargon-laden signage, but Laura reimagines tools as a ‘capsule collection’, with key staples and nice-but-not-necessary additions. Each project features a Toolbox so you can easily identify which tools are needed for each project.Every activity also comes with a time estimate, from quick tweaks to a weekend-long renovation, so you can fit everything in and make each project a success.Laura’s genius tips are accompanied throughout by gorgeous, helpful illustrations. With her know-how in hand, you’ll feel calm, secure and empowered to pick up your toolkit and know exactly what you’re doing!

Transform small spaces to make a big difference.Join activist Tayshan Hayden-Smith on his mission to turn grey, concrete jungles into green sanctuaries – planting seeds not only in the ground but also in minds to bring joy to people, places, and planet.Small Space Revolution shares the amazing work of individuals and organizations around the world to inspire you to:RECONNECT with community and the natural worldRETHINK how we teach the next generation and ourselvesREGENERATE the complex ecosystem beneath our feetREWILD urban spaces and make way for nature to thriveREPURPOSE materials for a waste-free worldRECHARGE to tune in to yourself, others, and your surroundingsREVOLUTIONIZE the way we live – action the change you want to seePacked with simple ideas and practical projects – from choosing climbers for cover to repurposing plastics to build a greenhouse – discover how you can take action to transform your own personal or community space.

In this fascinating book, Eleanor Tucker sets out a bold vision of how sustainable sharing can save us money, and lead to a happier future.What is the Sharing Economy? How can it help us live more affordable, more sustainable, and ultimately more fulfilling lives?  What would happen if for one year a family pledged to share as much as they possibly can? Instead of owning more and more stuff, what it’s like to stop owning things and borrow, lend, rent and swap instead?These are big questions, but features writer Eleanor Tucker sets out to answer them in this thoroughly absorbing and entertaining guide to sustainable sharing, or as it is also known, 'collaborative consumption'.In this engrossing study, Eleanor straps us into on her year-long experiment along with her somewhat reluctant family. Over the course of the year, with the aid of various sharing apps, they will pledge to buy as few new things as possible, instead relying on the power of sharing, lending, renting and borrowing to supply their needs.Each chapter introduces a different type of sharing into her day to day life, from the little ‘things' (food, clothes) to the bigger ’things' (cars, furniture, the space around us), and shows how the growth of tech has revolutionized an age-old practice. The book contains best-for recommendations based around different types of sharing, to create an easily accessible shortcut into sharing.Written with warm and relatable humour as well as a deeply-researched knowledge of the history of sharing, this unmissable guide could truly change the way you consume.

Transform your wardrobe and elevate your style sustainably—no experience needed! Learn step by step how to personalize clothes and accessories with beautiful, beginner-friendly designs.Easy Embroidery Embellishment is the ultimate guide for transforming your wardrobe with simple, stylish embroidery stitches. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to expand your skills, this book by renowned embroidery artist Jenny Billingham (@flynn_and_mabel) will teach you how to upcycle clothing and accessories with beautiful, personalized designs. The book is thoughtfully organized to guide you every step of the way, from the basics of embroidery to more intricate designs. It starts with a comprehensive stitch guide, introducing essential techniques like the backstitch, satin stitch, French knots, and more. From there, you’ll move on to a collection of more than 30 embroidery projects, each with step-by-step photos and instructions to ensure success.Embroidery Basics: Learn the foundational stitches and techniques to get started, even if you’ve never picked up a needle.Floral and Nature-Inspired Designs: Bring jeans, jackets, and tote bags to life with delicate flowers, leaves, and whimsical motifs.Customizing Accessories: Add flowers to a hat, monograms to your favorite hoodie, or a playful pattern to your sneakers.Upcycling & Mending Ideas: Revamp your old clothes with eco-friendly embroidery projects, reducing waste while staying fashionable.Bonus Mini Motifs: Get creative with a collection of charming mini motifs that can be used anywhere and everywhere for one-of-a-kind style. Jenny’s expertise, backed by her huge Instagram following, ensures that every project is approachable yet stylish, making it ideal for beginners and experienced crafters alike. With stunning photography and detailed tutorials, Easy Embroidery Embellishment provides all the inspiration you need to create your own wearable art.

Upcycle newspapers, advertising flyers, brochures, and other waste paper into decorative and functional baskets, cushions, organizers, and more. Find the creative potential in every pile of old newspaper. Dorothea Schmidt teaches you the techniques for recycling and upcycling waste paper into household items that are not only practical and sustainable, but beautiful as well. Learn to use various sizes and lengths of rolls of newspaper, advertising flyers, brochures, and junk mail to create • large and small baskets• desk organizers• trays and bowls• seat cushions• napkin holders• hanging candleholders• tote bags• and more! Whether you've ever woven a basket before or not, the easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and clear photos for each project will guide your through this fun—and addictive—paper craft. Using only rolled scrap paper and minimal additional materials and tools, you can make all of the 13 stylish and refined projects in this book. You'll also explore various finishing techniques, including varnishing, dyeing, stenciling, and applying buttons and other decorations. Then use the techniques to make your own unique woven creations with whatever scrap paper you have piled up in your home—or any paper that is delivered to your doorstep or appears in your mailbox. Put your junk mail and other paper waste to good use. Decorate your home and enhance your life with woven paper—don't throw it away!

A beginner’s guide to making candles of all types, featuring bold curves and unusual shapes. Learn the basics of candle making, then use your skills to color outside the proverbial lines. This clear, colorful guide focuses on ways to add eye-catching visual movement to candles. Author Anna Dykhoff, who also designs interiors and film sets, explains how her set-planning needs led to her passion for wax: The opportunities for creative variation are endless!  First, learn in-depth candle-making basics. Next, master 5 techniques: dipping, casting, building, shaping, and dyeing. The 23 projects encourage you to shape your candles in unexpected ways. Twisted, spiraled, angling in striking directions? It’s all up to you. This handbook is perfect for crafters who love bending the rules to express their own style. • The 23 projects allow candles to shine with curves, twists, sculpture, and other ways to level up and personalize this craft. Projects include a candle crown; candles that are twisted balls, multiple branch, spiraling, color-marbleized, and more; even wax vases and handmade birthday candles. Some take less than 10 minutes to complete; others are more advanced. • A fresh design aesthetic for today’s makers. The author’s innovative, whimsical designs transform this craft into an ultra-contemporary, expressive new favorite. • Focuses on natural, sustainable materials. Anna explains ways to source your wax and wicks wisely, and their environmental impact inside and outside the home. The projects use beeswax or stearin wax (a vegan option), plus cotton wicks. • Repurposes everyday materials that readers probably have lying around the home, such as glass jars, toilet paper rolls, and crayon wax. • Teaches dyeing and coloring methods using either purchased wax pigments or crayons: dyeing wax, dip painting in a water bath, and marbleizing.

From zero embroidery skills to stunning custom footwear, discover the viral trend taking social media by storm!If you love adding a handmade touch to everything you do, stitching eye-catching embroidery on your shoes is your next creative obsession! It's easy to get started with just a few simple supplies like needle and thread, and with the instructions in this beginner's guide, you can start embellishing your shoes today.Packed with tips, techniques, and over a dozen beautiful step-by-step projects, you’ll learn how to transform sneakers, boots, and bridal shoes into one-of-a-kind masterpieces. From playful bumblebees and floral patterns to custom pet portraits and scenic landscapes, this book invites you to explore embroidery in a fresh, functional way.With guidance on designing your own motifs, preserving your work, and even photographing your finished pieces, this is more than a how-to – it’s a reference book you'll refer to long after you've mastered the basics.Learn easy to advanced embroidery from Hannah Mitchell (@hanembroiders on Instagram)14 embroidery designs for shoes including a variety of flowers and leaves, hearts, bumblebees, lettering, wheat, mountains, trees, cats, and dogsLearn to how to choose the right shoes for embroidery and all the supplies you needIncludes instructions on basic embroidery stitches for beginners like the straight stitch, the backstitch, and the satin stitch, so you can get started with no experience neededAlso learn slightly more advanced stitches like the lazy daisy stitch, the French knot, the couch stitch, and the woven wheel stitch to expand your skillsAdd beaded pearls, rhinestones, sequins, lace, and appliques for even more varietyFrom everyday shoes to bridal sneakers, make everyday pop with handmade beautyLearn how to care for your completed shoes and photograph them beautifully for social media or just to share with friendsMake beautiful gifts for your loved ones for birthdays, weddings, Christmas, or just becauseWritten and designed by humans, for humans!

Imagine a world in which clothing wasn't superabundant - cheap, disposable, indestructible - but perishable, threadbare and chronically scarce. Eighty years ago, when World War II ended, a textile famine loomed. What would everyone wear as uniforms were discarded and soldiers returned home, Nazi camps were liberated, and millions of uprooted people struggled to subsist? In this richly textured history, Carruthers unpicks a familiar wartime motto, 'Make Do and Mend', to reveal how central fabric was to postwar Britain. Clothes and footwear supplied a currency with which some were rewarded, while others went without. Making Do moves from Britain's demob centres to liberated Belsen - from razed German cities to refugee camps and troopships - to uncover intimate ties between Britons and others bound together in new patterns of mutual need. Filled with original research and personal stories, Making Do illuminates how lives were refashioned after the most devastating war in human history.

Darning Socks contains a collection of ideas and full step-by-step instructions for applying visible mending to socks, making them stay in use and keeping them out of landfill.This beautiful new book is translated from the Japanese book by Hikaru Noguchi and offers her usual high level of beautiful photography and inspirational ideas. Hikaru has invented a novel way to make the mends on your socks last even longer, saving you time and energy.No previous sewing experience is necessary and full instructions are included, from the easy way to thread a needle and choosing the right thread, to the inspirational use of colour and innovative materials for the experienced sewer.Author Hikaru Noguchi is one of the leading designers and creators of darned fabrics and spear-headed the recent revival in darning. She moved to England from Japan in 1989 to study constructed textiles and after completing her studies at Middlesex University she developed new and innovative textiles with designers including Tom Dixon, Top Shop and projects for Barneys, Browns, Paul Smith women, Takashimaya New York and many others. Hikaru has participated in many shows and exhibitions all over the world, and her knitwear designs are sold in boutiques and department stores in London, Paris, New York and Tokyo. Her other publications include Beyond Darning, Darning: Repair, make, mend, Creative Mending and Made in France: Knitting.

Celia Pym is an artist darner and her new book, SOCKS imaginative mending, is based on the exhibition commissioned by NOW Gallery, Greenwich Socks: The Art of Care and Repair.SOCKS celebrates the everyday act of mending socks through darning. Central to the book is a vibrant, colourful library of 488 socks, each stitched and darned by the Surrey Square Primary School community in Southwark using industry ‘warehouse’ waste socks. Children, staff and families of the school, learnt and practised their darning and stitching skills on socks, during a series of 26 workshops facilitated by Pym in early 2024. The progression of the work from nursery to year 6 aged children to the headteacher, beautifully demonstrates the dexterity and creativity of the children and how that changes over time, highlighting the importance of practical education for cognitive development.SOCKS also includes Pym’s own work mending socks for friends and family. Celia is a prominent artist and teacher, exhibiting and teaching internationally and her London workshops sell out within minutes. Her previous book On Mending: Stories of damage and repair is one of our best sellers. Published 2 February 2026, available to preorder, delivery in November.

From ‘shameful’ utilitarian garments to contemporary, trans­cultural fashion trend: like wabi-sabi and kintsugi before it, boro has gained worldwide recognition as a quintessential Japanese aesthetic and sustainable design practice. How has this cross-cultural reimagining shaped boro’s meaning in art and fashion? And what are we doing when we make, collect, display and wear boro today?As boro’s functional value has decreased in the contemporary context, it has acquired new layers of meaning: from antique object to vintage fashion style, sustainable design practice to contemporary art piece. Reviving Boro investigates this revival using primary materials, including a wealth of unpublished images, oral histories and archival research.Leren Li conducts a thorough examination of the process of value generation, reviewing personal and museum boro collections, emerging boro brands, and recent boro initiatives undertaken by independent fashion innovators. Investigating boro as a revived cultural phenomenon, this is a critical resource for readers wanting to understand the past, present and future of this traditional Japanese textile.

An easy way to learn the art of stitching decorative designs onto fabric Embroidery For Dummies teaches beginners of all ages and skill levels how to start creating unique and personalized designs. You’ll learn the fundamentals in an approachable way, with ideas for inspiration and a step-by-step path to get you started. Gather your tools, plan your stitches, customize your embroidery art, and create designs you can be proud of. This book walks you through the process of embroidering to embellish clothing, create accessories, home décor, and gifts. Plus, you’ll get tips for making your creations even more stunning by considering color theory while planning your projects. Discover the different styles and types of embroideryGather the needles, yarns, hoops, and frames you’ll need to get startedPractice essential embroidery techniques and get advanced design ideasTroubleshoot when you run into issues, and learn to fix common mistakesAs an accessible hobby, a way to generate income, and a cool way to make personalized gifts, hand embroidery can be enjoyed by those of all skill levels. Embroidery For Dummies is the perfect way to start creating!