SOCKS: Imaginative Mending is a new book by artist and teacher Celia Pym that celebrates the everyday act of mending socks through darning through an illustrated account of what happens when you teach a whole primary school how to darn a sock. Central to the book is a vibrant, colourful library of 488 socks, each stitched and darned by the Surrey Square Primary School community in Southwark using industry ‘warehouse’ waste socks. Children, staff and families of the school, learned and practised their darning and stitching skills on socks during a series of 26 workshops facilitated by Pym in early 2024. The progression of the work from nursery to year 6-aged children to the headteacher, beautifully demonstrates the dexterity and creativity of the children and how that changes over time, highlighting the importance of practical education for cognitive development. SOCKS also includes Celia Pym’s own work mending socks for friends and family.She exhibits and teaches internationally and her London workshops sell out within minutes. Her previous book On Mending: Stories of damage and repair is one of the best selling titles at craft and making publisher Quickthorn.
