What concerns Kira as she starts repairing the robe in Gathering Blue?

Kira has been given the onerous responsibility of repairing the Singer's robe. In this dystopian society, the Singer is an artist who sings the Ruin Song at the annual Gathering, a very important event in the life of the village. During his performance, the Singer carries a staff and wears the robe that Kira must now repair.

Although Kira undoubtedly has a talent for embroidery, a talent that saved her from being thrown by the authorities to the beasts, she's somewhat lacking in confidence when it comes to taking on the job of repairing the Singer's robe.

Jamison, the man who defended Kira before the council and effectively saved her life, has now turned into a demanding bully obsessed with Kira's weaving the Singer's robe just the way he wants it. He asks Kira if the supplies she's brought for the job are adequate.

But Kira knows full well that they aren't. All she has with her is a basket of leftover threads that her mother had given her to use as her own. These threads are patently inadequate for the job at hand.

To make matters worse, Kira's not even sure that she has the requisite skill. It seems like the job of repairing the Singer's robe is just too big a job for her to handle.

In Gathering Blue, what couldn't Kira fix on the robe?

Kira is able to fix everything on the robe.

For a time, she doesn't believe she'll be able to replace the blue on the robe. She never learned how to make blue dye because her mother doesn't know. The sky on the robe is beautiful, and she thinks it would be a good contrast to the rest of the design—but she doesn't know how to make it. Eventually, though, Matty brings her blue fabric, and she is able to repair the robe entirely. Christopher and Matty bring her more blue fabric and woad so she can plant it to dye her own blue threads in the future.

Jamison and Kira sit together the night before the robe is presented to go over it. They examine every detail and find nothing lacking. He is very pleased with her work as the Robe-Threader. When it is presented the next night, people are in awe. They're very impressed with the work she did. In the future, Kira will add to the robe to tell the stories of their people on the parts that aren't yet decorated.

Jamison tells her that each year only a few threads will be damaged and require repair. Her main job will be to create new embroidery on the robe. The first year—the year the story is about—was spent with Kira doing work to restore the parts of the robe that a past Robe-Threader had created. The following years will be working with the little Singer and the Carver to create the future through their work.