Tricia

Today I have been gardening, accompanied by at least one robin who was very pleased with my weeding. I’m guessing it/they are feeding youngsters nearby. For #MeMadeMay2026 I am wearing what I wear, no plan or aim, just real life. Today that’s my refashioned jeans denim pinafore with added pockets, mended Gap top, hand me up mum knit jumper, mended gilet, darned socks and hand me up shoes. You could swipe for the sixteen previous days, including yesterday’s unrecorded outfit which included today’s tops worn with my refashioned Liberty dress. I was out in Corsham yesterday attending their Food Festival (both adults wearing a garment I had made for them), but spent the evening sewing, whilst binge watching The Other Bennet Sister (again, though last time I watched in real time). #SewOver50 #So50Reworn

#FashionOnTheSofaFriday finds me having a quiet day in #So50Reworn. You could swipe to get a taste of the #MeMadeMay2026 days I haven’t documented: the cord pinafore has been a staple, with a variety of me made or old rtw tops underneath, my much mended and decades old gillet, refashioned jeans jacket and last purchase 2018 rain jacket as additional layers in various combinations. The weather seems to have returned to autumn! There should have been an afternoon at a NT property on Tuesday, but we got stuck in traffic on the M5 and only made our destination in time for a short walk before supper. Wednesday was all about a walk regardless of the interesting weather. And Thursday became an opportunity to visit a 93 year old relative in Lancaster while we were “so near”. The weather driving back south was challenging - at least with an electric car you have to take breaks, so although we were late home it wasn’t completely foolish. My apologies for missing the end of @SlowFashionChallenge , though you will see I did wear upcycled jeans on day 13 of #SFCChallenge, and I would argue my wardrobe is made up of sustainable stories 😉 #SewOver50

#MeMadeMay2026 finds me in a denim pinafore over an (10 year?) old rtw top with darned socks. My mother knitted the ten stitch blanket for my daughter to take to university, today it hides a dragon 😳 Swipe to see that I finished the gloves I was mending last week, and also re stitched a seam in the runner’s shorts: #MondayMending ✔️ My style for @SlowFashionChallenge ’s #SFCChallenge2026 has been on show all month: layered, me made, mended, wearing and rewearing what I own. You could swipe through to see that my most recent make is being worn, the dragon disappeared under a textile container, and we met our 9th and 10th peacocks on our walk around town. #SewOver50

Day 10 of @SozoBlog ’s #MeMadeMay2026 sees me in a dyed, hand me up jumper layered over a mended Darling Ranges dress, a mended top, and hand me up boots. You could swipe to see that the dress is patched with scraps, today’s prompt from @SlowFashionChallenge . Further swiping will show that scraps are used for visible mending, become labels, are pieced for garment making, are turned into handmade cards, made into Advent calendars, and currently being used to make little pouches in varying designs thanks to @ZenStitching ’s Making Zen online retreat. #SewOver50 #SFCChallenge2026 #ItsNotWasteUntilYouWasteIt

It is day 9 of #MeMadeMay2026 and #SFCChallenge2026 and I am rewearing my refashioned jeans pinafore over a mended top, with my refashioned jeans Ilford jacket. We went out to the village plant sale this morning so I have enjoyed the rest of the day gardening - without need of the jacket. For me, slow fashion is about wearing and valuing what I have, and reusing/using what I have to make “new”. Thanks to @SlowFashionChallenge for the prompt. I have not been sewing today, but you could swipe to see the imperfect Unwritten Folded Treasure Pouch I made along with @SelinaAm05 , as part of the Making Zen online retreat. Selina does the most beautiful perfect sewing, whether she’s making or mending; but I have used what I had to hand, experimenting with thread and method and made something I love anyway 😂 The first thread I tried for the worms was too thin, the second too hairy and the third better… but obviously I’m not wasting them by unpicking… nor worrying that worms can’t count 😉 #SewOver50 #ItsNotWasteUntilYouWasteIt

A gardening break for #FashionOnTheSofaFriday in my most recent refashioned jeans pinafore, yesterday’s top and another repaired gilet, hand me up socks and boots. It’s #MeMadeMay2026 day 8 with thanks to @SozoBlog . For me this space has always been about community: connecting me with fellow sewists through @SewOver50 , menders through @MendingMayhem and now @MendsAndFriends , and with some of those people, and more through such initiatives as @SlowFashionChallenge and their #SFCChallenge2026. I love seeing what everyone else is up to, it inspires my sewing practice and encourages my rewearing! I mended a pair of the allotmenteers gloves while watching @LizHaywood3754 , part of @ZenStitching ’s retreat. I’m not having much luck with printing, but have enjoyed watching a number of sessions and have lots of inspiration for a variety of different projects. #SewOver50

It’s an #UpholsteryThursday and I have been cleaning the wood of my latest upholstery project with “mixture” using wire wool. Swipe through to unwind reusing the original seat pad by fixing it in place with linen scrim (leftover scraps from previous projects stitched together). The next slide is the upholsterer in a typical work outfit, day 7 of @SozoBlog ’s #MeMadeMay2026: yesterday’s mended gilet, over a 2017 toaster sweater and refashioned denim dress, with my favourite visibly mended jeans and second hand socks. @SlowFashionChallenge are asking ‘how to start’, and my answer is with what you’ve got! Rewear, launder and mend when necessary, and wear it again. I started mending these jeans in 2014 and I have just kept going, mending these jeans mending as well as any new damage. They are unique to me, and definitely my favourite pair. #SFCChallenge2026 #SewOver50

An example of a versatile piece for @SlowFashionChallenge , today’s prompt for #SFCChallenge2026. This is my Liberty print #ZWGatherDress, a favourite me made that I wear all year round, not just for #MeMadeMay2026. And it’s #MendsDay so you will find evidence that I mended a mum made dishcloth again this evening while meeting @MendsAndFriends on their monthly Team meeting, and a shirt dress that I stitched back together for a friend. Today’s outfit includes a second hand top, a hand me up mum knit jumper, darned socks, mended 20 year old walking boots and an equally old jacket from Hennes. The latter has zip off sleeves and hood so is immensely useful, and it’s been mended, largely invisibly, over the years. #SewOver50

It’s a #SewingTuesday so this is my students’ work: a peg bag has been cut out and made for a friend who admired the one made a few weeks ago; the #S8014 #SewingLeftovers dress now has buttonholes, both sleeves and finishing decisions made; the zero waste gather dress hack has returned on the student, who is cutting out a denim pair of @StyleArc woven pants. You could swipe through to see that I am wearing the refashioned denim pinafore on day 5 of @SoZoBlog ’s #MeMadeMay2026 - with an old rtw cardigan, second hand top, darned socks, and mended boots and laces. #SewOver50

Two bits of #MondayMending: I have mended the pinafore I talked about yesterday. It was made in 2020 from a pair of 100% cotton Lee jeans donated to my stash (the owner won’t wear mended jeans 😳) for the @sewcialists denim challenge. And it now has pieced together patch pockets which have replaced the in seam ones: much better for phones 😉 As you swipe through you will also see that I repaired two little holes (puppy claws) in a young friend’s jeans. Simple but effective. #MeMadeMay2026 finds me #So50Reworn in a me made #DarlingRanges cotton dress, over a refashioned cotton top. Not seen is a mum knit hand me up cotton jumper, and second hand socks and shoes. They’ve all appeared recently already, and will probably turn up again. I like my makes to be made from natural fibres @SlowFashionChallenge , but it’s more important to me that I use what I have and value every item by caring for it. It’s also #MendItMay with @Fash_Rev , and maybe an entry for @SlowFashionMovement ’s @upcyclers_ depending on your view of these pockets!

For day 3 of @SlowFashionChallenge ’s #SFCChallenge2026 we are asked about our favourite slow fashion activity. While I love mending, it is refashioning that I really enjoy: the puzzle, the decisions, the thrill of using something no longer loved to make something new! Today @SoZoBlog ’s #MeMadeMay2026 sees me in two tops, refashioned into one and now much mended, worn with bits of old jeans, hand me up shoes and darned socks. I also got my old refashioned jeans pinafore out of the cupboard. I don’t wear it very often, and while this is partly because it is so faded it doesn’t feel right in colder months, it’s the lack of really useful pockets that is the killer… so I am playing with scraps to make some patch pockets to replace the in seam ones that don’t hold much except hands 😉 #SewOver50 #ItsNotWasteUntilYouWasteIt

Day 2 of the @SlowFashionChallenge #SFCChallenge2026 and the prompt is new to me. Today’s #MeMadeMay2026 includes my zero waste Liberty print gather dress with a second hand top underneath and a hand me up jumper on top. They were new to me once! I have spent my day with my little visitor playing with a variety of toys that are new to him: the Barbie stuff and marble run belonged to his mother and aunt, the Lego to his grandparents, the hat belonged to his aunt, and his Granny made sweatshirt was made from sewing leftovers. I expect his shorts are second hand, and the mended t-shirt underneath too! #SewOver50 @sozoblog #NotBuyingNew