Here’s the thing… a hole in a garment isn’t a failure, it’s an invitation. And if you’ve spent any time with Aurifil Designers Shannon Roudhán and Jason Bowlsby, you already know this to be true.
Their new book, Mending Handbook (Stash Books/C+T Publishing), is the fullest expression of that idea yet. It’s a complete guide to reclaiming the clothes you love— 50 embroidery and mending stitches, a deep dive into techniques like sashiko and boro, creative reinforcements with lace and crochet, no-sew emergency fixes, and the kind of practical advice that actually changes how you look at a worn-out favorite. The whole thing is built around a simple premise: mending isn’t a chore. It’s a craft. And once you learn to do it well, you’ll never see a fraying hem or a stressed seam the same way again.
The Mending Handbook Companion Palette created exclusively for Shop Aurifil is the physical companion to that practice. It features eight spools, hand-selected by Shannon and Jason to cover every technique in the book. The weights are deliberate: two spools of 12wt for the structural work— think sashiko stitching, denim reinforcement, the building blocks of any serious repair; four spools of Aurifloss for texture, color, and the decorative depth that turns a patch into something you want people to notice; two spools of 50wt for the clean finish, the thread that holds everything together without announcing itself.
Everything arrives in an Aurifil-branded grid vinyl zip pouch— small enough for a project bag, sturdy enough to become a permanent fixture in your kit. And if you’re not sure where to start, the insert inside has a QR code that unlocks the free Wildflower Patch pattern: Shannon and Jason’s signature introduction to the Mending Handbook world, and a perfect first project whether you’re brand new to mending or just new to doing it with intention.
Shannon and Jason will often refer to a Japanese concept called Mottainai— a kind of grief over waste, and a commitment not to let things go needlessly. They have built their whole practice around it. The idea that the clothes in your closet already have a story, and that the repair is just the next chapter. This set is built for that philosophy. Not just pretty thread, but the right tools, in the right weights, to do the work that actually matters.
In the West, mending is often framed through the lens of “making do” or, more recently, as a trend. But through the lens of Mottainai, mending is an act of deep respect. When we use sashiko to reinforce a thinning knee or a frayed cuff, we aren’t just “fixing a hole.” We are practicing Wardrobe Architecture.
— The Architecture of Respect: Why We Reclaim by Shannon & Jason via Auribuzz
So here’s the real invitation: pull out that shirt you’ve been avoiding. The jeans with the blown-out knee. The linen jacket that snagged on something two summers ago and has been sitting in a pile ever since. Look at them differently — not as casualties, but as the beginning of something. Maybe it’s a few rows of sashiko turning a stress point into a feature. Maybe it’s a wildflower blooming over a stubborn stain. Maybe it’s just a quiet Saturday afternoon with good thread and a project that asks nothing of you except your attention. Mending has a way of giving that back — a sense of agency over the things you own, and a small, satisfying act of defiance against a world that would rather you just buy something new. Shannon and Jason have been living this for years. This collection is their way of handing you the tools to try it for yourself.
Shop the Mending Handbook Companion Palette at Shop Aurifil. Mending Handbook by Shannon Roudhán & Jason Bowlsby is available now via shannonandjason.com.