Women & Bicycles: Mending for an Active Lifestyle

As a part of WABA’s Women and Bicycles program, this event is only open to anyone who identifies as women/trans/femme. Not you? Lots of other WABA events at waba.org/fun and DC Public Library has a mending workshop on Saturday. Know someone who should come? Please share this event with them! 

Have a favorite shirt that just started fraying on the cuffs? Your pannier not quite appreciate getting scraped across the ground? 

We will go over basic sewing machine and hand sewing techniques as they come up in problem solving at this open mending session.

Issues that can be fixed: Holes in waterproof or active gear (including jackets, panniers, rain pants), missing buttons or snaps, easy zipper issues, thinning or smaller holes in pants, patches for stains, broken seams. 

Issues that cannot be fixed: Completely shattered material, anything that is dirty, most changes to clothing size, damage that requires darning (this has to be a separate workshop).  

There is limited time – Ursula can advise on larger or more complicated projects, and has some resources for other options but we do not expect that 3 hours is enough time to learn and fix everything! We will have: two sewing machines (not industrial – all thick materials such as pannier straps and leather must be done by hand), hand sewing supplies, lots of patch fabric of various colors, weights and properties, thread, scissors, extra buttons, sweater defuzzer, some resources for hand-sewing thick materials, nylon and waterproof patching.

Additional Details: 

Know how to do some mending? Please come either to work on your projects, support others and/or learn something. If you have a sewing machine or supplies to share, we would appreciate you bringing them! Please keep in mind that what works for you may not work for everyone, and unsolicited advice can feel unwelcoming and condescending. Please come in the spirit of solidarity and communal problem solving. 

Do you have knowledge, including lived experience, that would be valuable to include in organizing or hosting this event? Please email me at ursula.sandstrom@test.waba.org – I would love to have a few folks helping to host this!  

We will have some snacks to share but feel free to bring food (either to share or just for you). 

Want to start before the workshop? Some basic mending techniques here and DC Public Library books on mending here (my favorite is Mend It Better).   

Getting to WABA HQ: The office is halfway between the Columbia Heights and Woodley Park Metro stations, and close to many bus lines. There is plenty of bicycle parking in the office. There is very limited car parking on the street. 

This event is taking place on unceded Nachotchtank land. (Learn more here.)

Need accommodations, have questions about access, something the organizer should know about you (ex: severe peanut allergy) or have questions about the event? This event will be in our back conference room which requires no stairs. Let us know if we need to turn on Google captioning – current setup is oral English.

Not sure if your item(s) are mendable? Send us an email at womenandbicycles@test.waba.org. Women & Bicycles is a WABA program formed to empower, educate, and encourage women/trans/femme identifying bicycle-riding persons in the DC, Virginia, and Maryland metro areas. Learn more at waba.org/women-bicycles.

Having trouble registering? Try this link.