For the third in my ‘How to’ mending series I’m demonstrating how a backstitch can be used to repair a seam by hand.

‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.’ Benjamin Franklin

One of the skills that I remember learning in my school textile classes was how to sew an invisible hem by hand. It’s quite possibly one of the most valuable things I learnt back then and, along with a few phrases of GCSE Italian, it’s one of the only things I actually remember from my school days. Very few of the dates and stats I ‘crammed’ during my revision have stuck - learning by doing is always the best way for me.

When you’re in need of new clothes, opting for organic can be the most ethical and sustainable choice.

GoodFest is a new annual 'creative festival for good' taking place from 19th - 20th September in Watergate Bay in Cornwall. It’ll bring together change makers from the fields of food, fashion, digital, design, music and much more, to run talks and workshops all with one common theme: ‘creativity with purpose’.  

My husband took this snap when I realised I was kitted out almost entirely in Bristol conscious fashion finds. It seemed a fitting photo to use for this blog about my research into all the wonderful wardrobe-related shops and services in the city.

I can't quite believe it but The Good Wardrobe turned five years old at the end of last month (where has the time gone?!). 'Love your clothes for longer’ has been one of our slogans from the start and long before I launched the website I’ve been celebrating and advocating for ways to make clothes look good for as long as possible. Even when I was a bit of a fast fashion addict in my teens and early 20s I still made an effort to repair my clothes.

To mark the launch of Fashion Revolution’s second bi-annual fanzine ‘Loved Clothes Last’ which is all about how to love your clothes for longer, I want to share a little customising I carried out on an old sweatshirt.

One of the biggest challenges I have with my son’s wardrobe is footwear. 99% of his clothes are second-hand but as it’s not generally recommended for children to wear hand-me-down shoes (unless they have virtually no wear), I usually buy him new shoes. That said, good quality ethically-produced children’s shoes are expensive and I cannot afford to buy more than one pair at a time.

It’s been a bit quiet on here for the last few months. I decided to crowdfund in June to expand The Good Wardrobe to Bristol (where I moved last year) and, as I only work part-time when my son is in childcare, for a couple of months it was all-consuming. Planning and running the campaign was so full on that I didn’t even have a spare moment to write a blog about it, let alone the head space to write about anything else.

One month from today, on 24th April, millions of people around the world will mark the fourth anniversary of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse when 1138 people were killed near Dhaka, Bangladesh. In April 2014 Fashion Revolution Day was founded to ‘demand greater transparency in the fashion supply chain’ and to remember those who have been injured or have lost their lives making clothes for our high street stores.