Repair Café seeks students of all ages

Expert stitcher Tissy Baatelan sews a button on a nightie at the Winter Wonderfest event run by Repair Café Whanganui volunteers in August.

International Repair Day is on October 19, and Repair Café Whanganui is celebrating along with thousands of others.

If you can thread a needle and sew on a button, Repair Café Whanganui wants to hear from you, especially if you are male, says Repair Café Whanganui project lead Margi Keys.

“Our enquiries to date show many men in our community don’t know how to sew a button on,” said Keys. “We want to change that.”

Repair Café Whanganui volunteer stitchers are reaching out to market-goers on Saturday with buttons, needles and thread.

“We’ll be in the Sustainable Whanganui gazebo from 8.30am,” said Keys.

“We want to teach everyone who doesn’t know the basic skill of sewing on buttons, that includes children.”

The initiative was inspired by Raumati South Repair Café which recently ran 10-minute workshops for school-aged students at the request of Kapiti Youth Council. Those workshops included hemming and backstitching.

“But this market session will just be about sewing on buttons,” said Keys.

Buttons saved from garments over the last few generations are available if people need replacements.

“It’s very satisfying to bring new life to clothes so they can be worn again,” says volunteer stitcher Pat Livesley. “And sometimes you can repurpose garments, making them into bags.”

Keys says Pat has made quirky lined denim handbags from pairs of op shop jeans, complete with the original pockets. Repair Cafes around the world exist to help people learn to fix things.