Repair. Rest. Repeat.

Nov 20, 2025

On a crisp Tuesday afternoon, students gathered in the Steuben Courtyard. The tables were covered in colorful fabrics, beads, needles, threads, scissors, buttons, and reference materials about how to mend tears, rips, and stains in clothing.

The idea for Mending Circle started in February 2024 with Assistant Professor of Fashion Design Brooke Garner, who wanted to carve out a space for students to slow down, be with community, and explore reparative practices. Garner collected donated mending materials and tea, and began holding mending sessions twice a month. This fall, the group was registered as an official student-led organization, with Gianna Breinig, BFA Fashion Design ’27, taking on the role as President.

Like many people, when Breinig thought of mending, she thought of undoing damage, returning a garment back to its original state, so that the change is unnoticeable. But since being part of the Mending Circle, her idea of mending has expanded to include what’s called “visible mending.” “I’ve definitely grown to embrace the actual evidence of human hand and touch actually making the garments,” she said. “It’s an aesthetic choice, but it’s also bringing awareness to that idea of like, let’s embrace the flaws or things that we can fix.”

A group of people engages in a crafting activity around a brightly colored table covered with materials. One person with glasses and an orange sweater is smiling while holding a piece of fabric with a polka dot design. Another person, wearing a black jacket, is working on a project with green pants in the background. Various yarns and crafting supplies are scattered on the table. — Gianna Breinig, BFA Fashion Design ’27, is the president of Pratt’s Mending Circle.

As a fashion student, she has some experience with hand stitching, including an internship last summer doing alterations at a tailoring shop, Robinson Brooklyn. But Mending Circle is not just for those with experience in sewing; all members of the Pratt community are welcome to join, share knowledge, and get support on their projects. When the weather permits, they meet outside on campus, sharing materials and ideas as they mend, chat, drink tea, and listen to music.

Breinig connects mending to the rise of thrifting and an increasing demand for eco-conscious fashion practices. “I think people of our generation are definitely more aware of the consumer habits of fashions that are just really bad for our environment,” she said. “People are talking about it. It’s in all of our classes about sustainable practices, how to extend the lifespan of things. And that’s exactly what the mending is.”

It’s in all of our classes about sustainable practices, how to extend the lifespan of things. And that’s exactly what the mending is.”
—Gianna Breinig, BFA Fashion Design ’27

Two people are engaged in a crafting activity at a table covered with various supplies. One person, wearing a blue patterned headscarf, holds a colorful knitted piece, while the other, dressed in an orange top, hands over a piece of fabric. The table features a variety of yarns, buttons, and crafting materials against a bright plaid cloth. A third person is seen in the background, also participating in the crafting. — Fashion faculty member Brooke Garner provides guidance to students at Mending Circle

A person wearing an orange sweater and glasses smiles as she works on a craft project, while a young person in a gray hoodie focuses on a similar task nearby. They are seated at a table covered with various colorful materials and tools, in a well-lit indoor space with large windows in the background. — Fashion faculty member Brooke Garner provides guidance to students at Mending Circle

The emergence of Mending Circle is one of the latest examples of a growing interest in sustainable practices and recording overlooked practices of maintenance, care, and material histories. Garner’s research explores sustainable and reparative making practices grounded in community care and connection. Visiting Assistant Professor of History of Art and Design Kate Sekules wrote a book called Mend! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto. Pratt’s Fashion Design department also places an emphasis on sustainability; the new Fashion Collection + Communication MFA encourages students to “engage in radical care-filled practices” during their studies.

A person with dark, shoulder-length hair is sitting at a table, looking down at their clothing. They are pulling a red string attached to a fastener near their shoulder. The background features exposed brick walls and a soft light, creating a cozy atmosphere. The individual is wearing a black top with long sleeves. — Camilla Terreros, Fashion Design ’27, mending the shirt they were wearing

A person wearing a gray hoodie stands in a courtyard, looking down at oversized, ripped jeans that they are holding up. The jeans appear to be much larger than necessary, with several patches and tears. In the background, there are green outdoor chairs and a table. The setting is well-lit and has large windows. — Camilla Terreros, Fashion Design ’27, mending the shirt they were wearing

During the semester, Breinig also works in Pratt’s Textile Dye Garden, so she’s been incorporating her knowledge about natural dyeing into her mending, bringing leftover textiles and sample swatches to be used as patches at Mending Circle. “It’s a fun collaboration or crossover of those more sustainable practices,” she said.

A person is sitting at a table, meticulously threading a needle with a piece of string. They are wearing a dark jacket over a blue shirt and have long hair pulled back. Various colorful fabric pieces are spread out on the table, and a brick wall can be seen in the background. The setting appears to be indoors with soft lighting. — Alma Rosado, Fashion Design ’27, mends and embellishes a jacket sleeve with blue thread.

Alma Rosado, Fashion Design ’27, mends and embellishes a jacket sleeve with blue thread.

“There’s a beauty in taking something old that you used over the years, whether you fall off your bike and you cause a hole, or something happens to cause a tear in your clothing, and then adding your own twist to it, whether it’s from color, beading, or another fabric swatch, and then making it brand new so you don’t have to buy something new,” said Alma Rosado, BFA Fashion Design ’27. “So that’s the whole purpose of this club, is to just learn how to take what you have and make it new.”

Coming up…

Now that the club is officially established, Breinig and Garner are focused on expanding it to other departments and forging new avenues for collaboration. “I think most creative processes are inherently collaborative . . . If you talk it out with someone, you usually can learn something new,” said Breinig. “If we collaborate, then we can cover more ground because we’re introducing a lot more knowledge and from different perspectives.”

So far, they’ve worked with Sam Rose, BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design) ’27, to create their posters, and Kat Thompson, BFA Industrial Design ’26, to create the club’s sandwich board.

Outside of scheduled mending sessions, they are planning to host events, clothing swaps, mending workshops, demonstrations on specific mending techniques, and even gallery exhibitions of mended works. Breinig encourages all community members to join.“I’ve felt so fulfilled being a part of this,” she said.