The McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention Research & Education (MCVP), in collaboration with the Fiber Arts Club, hosted the “Mending & Mending” event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026 at the A. Ray Olpin Student Union West Ballroom. Attendees could utilize sashiko, while having discussions on mending and repair personally and socially. Sashiko is a Japanese traditional visible stitching and embroidery technique that results in visibly mended clothes.
Elle Menges and Meadow Stewart are both MCVP student staff members who worked together to facilitate and organize this event, along with Fiber Arts Club President Lucy Engar. Menges is a junior majoring in health, society & policy with a minor in strategic communication. In an interview with The Daily Utah Chronicle, she said they wanted “Mending & Mending” to be a safe environment where people can discuss mending relationships and learn how to repair clothes.
Sashiko
According to Menges, restoring things that one already has was a part of their focus with mending relationships and clothes. Sashiko was the mending technique that they decided on because it is visible, compared to other techniques that hide the rip or tear, she said. “It’s just part of the process of restoring things you already have.”
Sashiko is an embroidery technique that Japanese farmers and fishermen use to repair and reinforce their clothing, Menges said. She said the color of the stitching is different from the clothes’ color. Since sashiko is a visible mending technique, it isn’t about it looking beautiful, she said. Menges added that it’s about being able to keep the clothing after repairing it. There isn’t a need to worry about it being perfect, Menges said. She also said “to not worry about what it actually looks like, but have fun with you being able to see your fun color of stitching on whatever rip or hole that you have.”…