the stories of broken things & why we choose to repair // the repair series (ep 1)

[@Gittemary]

What is your best repair-story? 🌿👀

[@katp4782]

A couple of years ago my sunglasses lost the tiny screw that attaches the sort of "side bit" to the "front bit". At first I thought of repairing it myself, but that would require getting a special tiny screwdriver and the special tiny screw itself. Those things are so specialised it was impossible to borrow or thrift them. To buy them, I'd have to get a whole set of screwdrivers and a pack of like a hundred tiny screws and that seemed wasteful in of itself. So I figured, whatever, I'll ask at an opticians if they can fix it for me even if they charge me through the nose. I went to a completely random optician shop, I showed a person who worked there the glasses, he took them to the back and emerged like a minute later with them all fixed. I asked "how mcuh" and he just said "don't worry about it". And it's the best repair story, because it's also a human kindness story!

[@kalayaanlinus]

i am sixteen years old and actually yesterday i learned myself how to sew my (1-month old) glove which was broken. my parents just told me to throw it away but i refused to. now its perfectly good :)

[@kalayaanlinus]

@@katp4782 omg so valid!!! for real youre so blazing and mindful

[@WrongEraSara]

I spent my 30th birthday at KZbin University learning to rewire an antique lamp that my roommate had broken. Saved the lamp, tossed the roommate.

[@CreativeRedundancy]

Earlier in 2024 I repaired and mended a truck upholstery for a friend with reclaimed thread 🧵 sew it can go longer❤

[@sarahhamer98]

I think hand in hand with repairing things should go maintaining things. If you look after the things you have then they are much less likely to break. My dad was so good at this and just having a go at repairing things and maintaining things. I learnt so much from him. I've fixed many things over the years because of his attitude of just having a go. Including rewiring part of an old car just using a manual. I have to remind myself now to just have a go and see how it goes. Even easier now with KZbin as there are so many helpful videos. We've just had a new pop-up free repair cafe open up near us which I am so pleased to see. I'm really excited about your new series!

[@dunesebilleau8826]

Repairs make for great gifts! Ever christmas, I give my mom a piece of clothing that I love, and she offers it back to me mended on christmas day.

[@enidan_]

That's amazing!

[@caseydavis57]

This is a great idea!!! I’m going to ask around to see if I can do this for any of my loved ones. Thank you!

[@darlenelombari1105]

I love this

[@rubyerickson9964]

I love this series! I really hope that we can shift towards a circular economy, where repair artisans (like cobblers, tailors, smiths) will make a true comeback. It always shocks me how few of these businesses are around any more, and it seems like a no brainer both in terms of providing jobs/supporting small businesses and benefiting the planet!

[@LittleRedTeaCake]

I try my best to repair things. I have a bin (or two) of things that need to be repaired/re-dyed/some kind of fixing for it to be functional again, and part of the reason it's been growing is just a lack of time that I currently have, but I see it staring at me all the time. One of my favorite things is that I am the go to clothes fixer in my current friend group. I'm decent at repairing, but I have had one friend bring me her favorite leggings (and another on the way) to fix, ones that she has had for 5+ years and a seam has come undone. I have another friend who asked if I can make a blanket into a hoodie for his daughter, because she keeps stealing his. I like being able to use my hobby skills to help my friends.

[@copper_wire]

I recently braved my fear of tinkering with anything electricity related and fixed a vacuum cleaner by rewiring the plug (thank you KZbin University!). I've been repairing ripped clothes and missing buttons for as long as I can remember (never getting very good at it, but that's a separate thing), but this was a new level for me, and I felt like MacGyver for days! I think I even hate vaccuuming a little less now...

[@Gittemary]

This is so inspirational 😍

[@TheShellemilyCrayon]

i love mending my socks. i have sensory issues and get attached to the really comfy ones. i got a darning loom for about £5 which makes weaving a nice neat patch over the holes so quick and fun. wearing a pair with a visible mend feels so whimsical to me.

[@smilingleoz]

I feel very lucky to live in Spain where clothing and shoe repair shops are still everywhere and affordable. But recently I was away on holiday when the seam on a pair of my leggings became undone! So I bought a basic sewing kit from a souvenir shop and sewed it up however I could. It survived the holiday and is still going strong 😂🪡💪

[@Katie-q5l]

The most popular home service provider in the area insisted that our broken furnace had to be replaced which would be a huge amount of money. It is an older furnace but we decided to research and found an independent handyman. He fixed it for $125 in less than an hour and was not surprised we were told it couldn’t be fixed by that company. Also we learned he was a Gene Simmons impersonator on the side which was just a delightful addition to the interaction. :)

[@szczurek_z_kawka]

Absolutly great idea! Few day ago, I found girl on instagram which said, that she doesn't wash socks, she prefer buying new 🤯🤯🤯 (and it wasn't even rage baiting). In comments she said, that mending is PASSE AND CRINGE. So, I'm really glad, that you are showing for young people how to fix thinks

[@luvzdogz]

I've always been pretty handy but I've been even more diligent lately about trying to fix and repair. Most recently, I fixed the vacuum cleaner as the plastic wheels both popped off! LOL It won't make it last forever but has definitely extended its life. And, I can't tell you how many "cosmetic surgeries" I've performed on our dog's stuffed toys! LOL Pop that stuffing back in and sew it up! 😋

[@socksandsandalsASMR]

I also mend clothes with contrasting colors. I sew like it’s a scar and sometimes add a few sequins. It’s a metafor for our selves. We accumulate scars, age, wound… we keep going.

[@clairecooke6268]

I never thought of it like that, but it’s a beautiful metaphor 🙏 Thanks for sharing.

[@theresalwayssomethingtobui944]

First! By chance :D Best thing we repaired this year was my sewing machine! Slowly but steadily. It worked! It's from the 1980s and non-electronic. Because I can repair it, without having to deal with electronics, I will NEVER give it away. great series!

[@chicboutique9186]

Awesome series! Repair is always my first choice when something breaks. My shoemaker closed up shop this past summer, and I'm afraid they're a dying breed. I've repaired A LOT of things in my life, but these are my most recent and interesting repairs: 😂I patched a sheet. A plain, white fitted sheet - and it's still going strong! 😎 One of the arms on my sunglasses cracked, so I swapped them for the arms from another pair that were an old prescription and of no use to me anymore. BOOM! Two unusable pairs of sunglasses became one usable pair! 💃Yesterday, I found an amazing vintage coat at Danmission, but it had some issues. Some of the faux-fur trim was loose, it had two rows of buttons on the front but two were missing, and one of the inside buttons had come off and was in the pocket. I bought it anyway, secured the trim, sewed the inner button back on, and removed the second row of buttons leaving one complete row and two spares. It's amazing - definitely one of the top 3 coats I've owned in my life!

[@deepbluetree]

I recently tried to fix my leaking kitchen faucet. I found out from YT that the problem is most likely the plastic seals inside that are old and need to be replaced. I called IKEA to ask for replacement parts, but sadly they had none and no instructions to take the faucet apart, just on how to change out the whole damn faucet! Not cool... But I found replacements online and fixed it myself! The feeling of fixing something in a field you had previously no knowledge in is amazing 😍

[@korwynze6288]

recently i had a breakthrough with this. i was adding a velcro strip to a trolley so that the top would close, and i noticed it was getting crooked. i got upset, and i was about to try and cut the thread, when i stopped myself and said to myself out loud "it doesnt need to be perfect. it just needs to work. perfect is the enemy of good." and somehow, i just felt much better about it, and i finished it up. it works fine by the way ^^

[@RoseFire6]

I have a fun repair. My first year out of college, I couldn't afford a couch, so I made a gaint flour pillow. Years later, it has become a dog bed, and she has chewed several holes. There isn't enough of the original fabric, so I compared it to several other fabric remance in my stach. The fabric I choose is a completely different pattern that does even have the same colors; however, the color tone matches the original. You can't even see the mends if you aren't looking. It is hilarious.😂

[@ChronicVillainy]

Excited about this series! I'm very new to repairing myself ('replacing it' was always the fist go-to when I grew up) and I try to teach myself these skills. I still own some anime figures and dragon knickknacks I collected in the past and I glued/repaired some of them when something broke or snapped off. I repaired cat beds, cat toys, plushies, and some tshirts. I glued the flap on a phone case that started to peel and a tacky fridge magnet I got on a trip to Scotland that fell on the floor. I have yet to try tech or electronic things, but I did call a mechanic to fix my washing machine when it still had warranty. My dad repaired a part of the cat tree for me. I always look if there are parts I can still use for something else if something breaks. I'm saving old, unwearable clothing to practice sewing and see if I can upcycle them. They'll be tossed when I donate them so might as well use them for practice. It feels so good to do this, and like you said, it shows character!

[@asiashar9076]

I loved this video! I got a special box called "fix this shit" i put things w should be fixed and random spare parts I find around a house)

[@KTCoope]

I’ve gotten into sashiko (a form of Japanese embroidery intended to extend the longevity, strength and warmth of fabric that has also been taken into the visible mending movement) and knowing that I can turn fabric even from an old bedsheet into something fairly strong and durable for its next incarnation is pretty powerful. I think as well as repair skills being lost, a lot of us have lost the preventative skills too, how to maintain our stuff before it becomes unusable without a fix. I used to not be able to sew at all but if you’d like a really good intro to hand stitching, I found Bernadette Banner’s skillshare course really helpful, it isn’t too long and it covers most of the stuff that will be really helpful in making your repairs really last. You’re right that you don’t need to be great at sewing to fix things, but a couple of basic bits go a long way and also unlocks new ways to transform garments that can’t be fixed into something new.

[@thegadflysnemesis4102]

the thrill of accomplishment I felt when I was able to perfectly, invisibly darn the pinholes in my fancy wool skirt was incomparable. I was on top of the world. I also love using visible embroidery to repair things - most recently I embroidered flowers over the holes in my friend's nice knit dress, so now she's got an embellished dress with a new lease on life! also the longest-lasting family in-joke is the time my aunt tried to repair my parents' toaster with a fork, over 20 years ago. that poor toaster didnt deserve what was done to it 😔 its guts were sproinging around everywhere but! we remember it fondly by giving each other toaster themed gifts

[@helenvwalker7919]

Great new series! I love repairing/re-using things but am frightened of repairing electric/ it stuff.

[@rochelle2758]

I've loved mending since I was a little girl, and my favorite repair story in terms of inventiveness is definitely plastic laundry baskets, which always fail at the points where the handles join the body (very planned obsolescence). I bore a few holes along the edges of the cracks with a thick metal paper clip heated in a candle flame, and then use the paper clip to suture the crack together. It works fantastically! (And this method also works for flip flops that break at the toe join, though in that case I use twist ties as the "thread".)

[@hegedusmarianna]

Can we send in mended/fixed stuff? It would be so cool to feature these at the end of the video, kind of like when art youtubers show viewers recreations of their art.

[@Gittemary]

ABSOLUTELY - send me pics via dms on IG 🎉🎉

[@clairecooke6268]

Love this new series Gittemarie 👌💜 I am part of a group in Australia that is working to set up a local repair cafe 🗜️🛠️🧵One example of a repair on my own life I’d like to share is my food processor. When I bought it 6 years ago I intentionally purchased the best quality food processor I could afford rather than something of lesser quality. Over the last few years some components have broken, but I found a website with spare parts for sale and have been able to replace the component rather than buying a replacement food processor. It may work out more expensive & I recognise my privilege in being able to afford to repair this device, but it’s worth it to me to keep using a device that suits my needs and defer its ultimate end of life. I also love to visibly mend my clothes!

[@deersakamoto2167]

For phone repair, there's a great channel called PBKReviews that shows exactly how to disassemble phones and gives a Repairability Score. If you are considering getting a new phone, AT LEAST check BEFOREHAND whether the battery is easy to replace (if not, get a different model). For laptops, never get a consumer laptop. Get a business laptop (like refurbished Thinkpad) that is built to last & easy to repair

[@user-rg7vu5el2t]

The repair camps are SUCH an excellent idea, where were these when I was a child? I'm very grateful my Grandma taught me sewing and knitting basics but I'm nowhere near her standard. Gittemarie you are so incredible and inspiring please keep doing what you're doing. Love to see these videos! ❤🎉

[@janetbeall4882]

This is a much needed series, so, thank you! My dad was born in 1924 and lived through the Depression in the states. He would always be upset about our “throw away society”. Thank you for demonstrating and saying that things don’t have to be perfect, only functional. And that beauty comes from the uniqueness and love that went into caring for that item ❤

[@francaaaaaaa]

Very excited about this series!

[@Gittemary]

🥹🫶

[@lauracanna2201]

The thing I have been repairing the most seems to be my wooly home socks. Most of them keep breaking and have holes, so I became an expert in fixing them 😅

[@PetWessman]

I’ve lived alone for next to 10 years at this point, and have a firm belief that there’s a kit of things everyone needs in order to keep their quality things looking and performing well. On the very top of this list is a sewing kit (needles, thread, pins), but also a tool kit (screws, screwdrivers, tongs, etc.), sets of glue (wood, super, kintsu), clothes/shoes maintenance things (de-pilling tool, shoe cream, stain remover, shoe brush), electrical tape, and a good portion of audacity. I no longer consider a shirt with a missing button, a wobbly piece of furniture, or a pilling jumper ”broken”, but rather as items on my to do-list. As a person’s age and income (hopefully) increases, a list of service providers is also a great thing to accumulate. I have a go-to cobbler who’s done my shoes for years, and recently bought a 2nd hand sofa (200 USD) and had it professionally deep cleaned (150 USD). It’s incredibly freeing to look at items that others might consider an issue (worn down sole, used sofa, pilling jumper) and instead see solutions.

[@liekewouters9332]

Excited about this series! Where I live, we have a cupboard where people leave the stuff they don't want anymore to share with others. Someone hung a jumper (of an expensive brand) there with huge holes in them. After my anger passed that someone had the guts to leave it there, I figured I could salvage it. It's a long term project, but I'm fixing it one patch at a time. I was wondering, will you be delving into how mending was regarded in the past? I know people who connect it with shame, as mending was related to poverty in the past.

[@hollyroyle]

This is so important. Thank you for highlighting it in your content. I frequently fix clothes, etc., including a 'vintage' bag my mum bought to use when she had me. I've been sharing tips with my mum, and she recently repaired a handbag that previously would have been thrown away. I'm also trying to teach myself how to view objects differently- as in how to use items for repairs (especially items already in the house) that might not typically be used but actually can work perfectly well.

[@itsjustlenneke]

My mom is trained as a seamstress, so I always used to ask her to repair my clothes. But this year I've started learning myself because I want to be able to do simple repairs! I'm not good at it by any means, but every extra wear I get out of something is a win. I'd always leave fixing electronics to a professional though. I actually had my laptop battery replaced earlier this year, and I was really grateful that I looked into the repairability before buying it years ago. The right to repair is so important!

[@PepperSaltCurlz]

Yes!!!!! So excited about this series!!!! Whohoo!! I just started sewing and dying the clothes I have. I want to learn how to sew elastic in linen pants at the belt area, or even take in a shirt. Thank you in advance.

[@tinameiling3646]

I love it! I also fix some of our stuff. I have to learn, that it is ok to see that something was fixed. It hasn´t to look perferct. Thank´s for that input!!

[@LeahLoscarMusic]

Love this! I too have been trying to repair more. I have one of those crappy fake leather desk chairs, and the fabric ripped and was peeling off everywhere. I recently reupholstered it with a crushed velvet and it turned out so good! A few of my tacking stitches have popped out, but I'm going to try restitching those areas and hope to at least get another year or two out of it. Excited for the next episode of this series!

[@IamArctic]

Oh my gosh, I feel I was waiting for such a type of content on YT! Mending your own stuff still seems to have an unfavorable image in the modern society, but you do it smart and use the social media to let it become a new trend - and why actually not? Why should only shopping, make-up and other consumer behaviors become trends? Why not repairing our loved and often used stuff? Since I was six years old I always tried to fix my clothes and other stuff (i.e. toys), but thanks to you I´ve got the inspiration to invent a method to even repair socks (which are not broken yet, but pretty worn through), especially at the spots under the foot, at the heel and mostly at the big toe. Now I enjoy my "new" improved socks :-) And the best repair story was before I moved out of my old appartement: I wanted to sell a nice and good working dishwasher, but at the last moment it reported an error. So I asked for help in my neighborhood, met a new nice person and together we could fix the problem.

[@ellepicauly205]

My favourite repair story is from a dress I had found second hand. It had a broken zipper but was also way too small for me (and I think for most people exept young teenagers) I don't know how to sow, but I looked up how to do a basic stitch, and took the dress apart completely and then stitched it back together by hand (there was extra fabric on the inside, I think someone once made this dress themselves at home) I bought a new zipper and put it in. It is now really dear to my heart as the cabric is a traditional indonesian fabric, but the style is more so like a strapless 60s dress. Me be half indonesian and half western it resembles me so well ❤

[@danamatsukawa4762]

I think repairs of all kinds are wonderful and I love this as video topic! It is difficult find places to repair things where I live and my success is limited to to mending. My daughter is hosting a mending party at her home this month. This type of repair is pretty easy to learn and fun to do.

[@undefined6251]

I love repairing my clothes. I get great satisfaction from restoring them, mostly sewing up seams and buttons! I also am able to replace the lights in my car. My next repair skill to learn is knitted and crocheted garments. If there is a repair camp for adults I'm in!

[@amberthest]

Love this so much! I am currently, and have been for a long while now, on the journey of repairing a pair of shoes, but I'm stubborn and only use secondhand materials. I've got a very experimental mend on them right now (I'll probably make a video about them one of these days...)

[@viivi4196]

great series! I'm just about to fix my mittens and I even got the yarn to fix them from my friend who had it leftover :)

[@randomanimeinu]

I just paid $130 for geeksquad to simply LOOK at my tv and tell me the fix would be nearly $650 on top of that so it honestly is hard to repair things. I am getting a new tv and now have no idea how to even recycle my old tv because they charge $50 to dump it off at a place that I'm pretty sure is just trash not recycling but there's no transparency so....yeah. Not great here in America...

[@irenero8932]

I have sent to repair my hair dryer twice. It was a expensive repair wach time ( I could have chosen to buy one new and skip the second repair) but I knew after the repair It would work ok and I have chosen to avoid waste ❤.

[@thinkingbout]

I have a pillow that I use for sleep since I can think. For some time I recognized it loosing feathers and then saw that it had holes that were getting bigger with time, but because I like the pillow I mended those holes (several times) and now I have some more time left to use it. Sometime in the future I'll probably have to swap it out/ change out the lining of the pillow but for now it still works out fine. :)

[@elinaleu1009]

Yeeeeyyy I'm very excited for this series!! Very cool idea🤩

[@angelamatthews8190]

I do love to try and mend things. I taught my teen to sew a button on their coat recently. They often go through the knees and elbows of their clothes, in the past I have patched them, but then the patch ends up tearing as the whole fabric is so thin, so now i turn them into cleaning clothes or material for sewing projects instead.

[@mw9093]

I found an abandoned high end 37" Sharp HD TV from 2007 in 2017. When I tried displaying pictures the colors were completely wrong so I knew why it was abandoned. Couldn't fix it through the normal settings but I found out about a hidden factory menu where I reset some values and that completely fixed the thing. Since I didn't have the space for it I gifted it to my mom who still uses it to this day with no complaints. Somebody threw it out after paying thousands for it just 10 years earlier.

[@flychickadee]

I love this series already!!

[@darlenelombari1105]

I have jadeite plates and bowls , some i have collected, some were my Mom's. One of the plates broke, so I glued it back together. It is no longer food safe, but I can use it for display or something else. I also have repaired sweaters, not perfectly, but good enough. And they were thrifted, so no real emotional attachment, just I don't want to get rid of it if I can fix it.

[@roadtoantiquity]

Great idea for a series!

[@sillypotato9453]

I put a new plug on a second hand lamp. My dad made a new weight for the foot. The thing was only 10 euro and not very special. Alltogether we probably put more money into it than the initial costs, but that was not the point. That is a low of metal and electrical waste to just discard (it is a big lamp).

[@amandaladouceur3011]

I noticed my mini-backpack with my favorite Disney Princess(Rapunzel) had a missing tooth on the zipper. I use to be the person that would buy a new bag but instead I looked for a small business to see if they could replace the tooth. $9 and a week of waiting I have the backpack looking as if nothing happened. I felt so good doing the $9 repair then a new loungefly which can be $75. Also my wallet is one i had for years and the fake leather peeled off years ago but it still holds my cards and money with no issue. With tech I try to get repair and if not possible then a refurbished.

[@lethalchicken1173]

I feel so triumphant when I repair damaged work pants and jeans. I feel like I've tricked the universe into letting me save money 😂

[@jessicawight7020]

I repair my clothes a lot or even my friends when needed although I am not the best seamstress. I have repairs cables either electrical tape because they are my favourite charging cables etc,

[@justynaaleksiejuk1802]

I am used to reparing things such as clothes or simple technical issues that doesn't require big skills. When I need to electronical or electric stuff (computer, dishwasher, washing machine etc.) I contact with specialist. But I had few situations that the repair man told me that I have to buy new thing and I was very sad and disappointed because I liked that item. But sometimes there some ridiculous moments when you don't know how to fix a thing (even theoretically) because you simply don't know how it actually works. For example I was in my 20s when I learnt how the fridge really works (from physical perspective) because lesson about cooling systems are only in classes with extended physics programme in high school. C'mon, it is not serious.

[@JohnHarrisIII-q6u]

Repaired my aunt and uncles lamps. Just googled it and asked an expert at a local hardware store.

[@MMHay16]

Have had to repair a lot lately having a child who loves to play rough with their plushies. The stuffing from an old couch pillow that couldn't be repaired has been salvaged in case more of the plushie brigade need some new stuffing.

[@humwengus1204]

I think it opens a whole new world when you realise you can just fix something rather than buying a solution. It saves you money, is better for the planet and adds another life to your items. Its such a shame that its become normalised to live in a throwaway culture. I think it would be interesting to do a video on how commercialisation changed the sustainability of products. For example, makeup used to be refillable, and obviously, plastic was less of a thing. One thinf I've also not heard much discourse about is the impact of containerization from shipping containers being invented and unlocking a new way to generate profit and distribute

[@bagika97]

Unfortunately, in our neighborhood, repairing things is not common. When someone does, they are looked at as if they are the poorest person in the world. However, the poorest person is the one who has no ambition to repair, throws everything away and buys it again, and this goes on and on.

[@CreativeRedundancy]

Hello I sew recom-“mend” trying to repair clothing and textile like stuff. I did repaired a cracked solar light earlier in 2024 with single use item. Repaired and reused❤

[@RealisticallySustainableDiary]

Repair your way to happiness. I need that on something

[@claimsandwarranties6121]

Look up junk dolls.... they are dolls put together by hand in anon typical way but that have historical relevance. China doll legs from 1800s and broken bisque heads added to soft teddy like bodies and hoods to make them look like bunnies or bears...They are made with old ribbons and baby blankets or velvet etc... in all sizes... History is saved but in a different way...Jennifer

[@gnine3299]

I altered a dress I wouldn’t have worn if I didn’t

[@JonathanBondu]

youtube's AI translation is really bad.

[@cassieoz1702]

Im old, so this is just how I've always lived. It's not revolutionary, not noteworthy.

[@samanthaanngraham3130]

I'm very much looking forward to this series!! i try to mend/fix as much as i can. ihave pretty basic sewing skills (thanks mom!) and also know how to use my sewing machine for easy repairs/ making things) i darn holes in my socks. I've patched worn knee holes in my scrub pants (on the floor a lot with big dogs as a veterinary technician🐾), twice with leftover scrap material from dog bandanas (rainbow Stitch😆) and a third from an old pair of underwear that matched the color of the scrubs perfectly. I've been wearing them for months with vague paranoia that my boss would have a talk with me about looking shabby, but so far so good!😂🫣 ngl, I've also mended my underwear where the elastic has pulled away from the fabric. I've repaired the soles of my shoes with shoe goo, retied broken shoe laces, and continued to wear the shoes until they are literally falling apart (which means i have a collection of "dead" shoes in my closet that I'm not sure what to do with bc i don't want to landfill them😢). I've replaced the cord on my favorite necklace at least 3 times, and when the pendant on it broke, i tried repeatedly to fix it myself with superglue (which sometimes worked for a while), but then i finally gave up and took it to a jeweler who welded it back together for $30 😊. I've also patched and repaired holes in mine and my partners jeans and pants. sorry that's long winded and off the top of my head (i know there's more!), but I'm looking forward to seeing more of this series, and reading the comments to get ideas for other repairs!