Make Do and Mend: Why Repair Matters

A lot of effort goes into making the clothes we wear.

From the raw materials to the skilled hands of garment workers stitching each seam, clothing carries a huge amount of time, energy and craft. That’s why we think our garments deserve to be loved, cherished and given a second chance.

It’s hard not to feel a bit heartbroken when you realise how quickly many clothes are discarded. In the UK alone, 300,000 tonnes of clothinggo into landfill every year, and around 95% of that could actually be reused or recycled. It even costs the UK government around £82 million a year to deal with textile waste.

Often, the difference between a garment being worn again or thrown away is surprisingly small; a loose seam, a missing button, a tiny hole.

A quick repair can bring something back to life.

At Make Mee Studio, helping people rediscover those skills is a big part of what we do. For the past eight years we’ve been running sewing classes and community events across Lewisham, supporting people to learn practical skills and feel more confident looking after their clothes.

One of our favourite ways to do this is through our free Worn Out mending sessions.

These free drop-in workshops focus purely on repair and upcycling. Bring along something that needs a little love (a moth-nibbled jumper, jeans coming undone at the seams, or a jacket that deserves another chapter) and we’ll help you figure out how to mend it.

They run twice a month across Lewisham, are open to everyone, and operate on a simple first-come, first-served basis.

Because sometimes all it takes is a needle, a bit of thread and a friendly table full of people to realise: repairing your clothes isn’t difficult and it feels pretty great too!