Second-Hand & Sewing in St Giles Hospice Charity Shop

I'm regularly saying that you can sit and sew virtually anywhere, I've stitched on trains, beaches, street corners and just about anywhere it's possible to hold a needle and thread. It was however, the first time I'd been able to sew in a charity shop and what better place when it offers so many possibilities for repair, repurpose and reusing second-hand clothing.

The team at St Giles put the offer to me a few weeks ago as it coincided with Charity Shop Fashion Week as well as Sustainable Fashion Week. The shop itself is positioned in the centre of Tamworth, opposite St Editha's Church so easy to find and a popular location to shop. I was positioned in the front shop window so had a great view of what was going on outside - and them of me! A few curious passers by did wander in to find out more but on the whole, the shop was busy with people looking for a second-hand treasure and there were lots on offer.

It's a large shop and so accommodates clothing, homewares, furniture, books and lots more. The range of clothing is growing though and was definitely the most popular attraction in store. Most shoppers seemed to have a set idea of what they wanted but several more simply came in to browse.

I was frequently questioned about what I was doing which in turn led to conversations about who already repaired their clothing and if not, why not. On the whole the responses were positive with the older generation enjoying recalling their makes and mends. One gentleman told me about learning to sew in the army where their sewing kit was known as the Housewife - not something that could be used now! Others recalled having to use bedlinen and curtains to make clothing and learning to darn as children which it was agreed should be a skill taught today.

I did encounter some resistance, one lady told me she generally threw away clothing past its best as it was so cheap to buy. No amount of persuasion would convince her otherwise as she said 'she'd rather clean her toilet than use a needle and thread!' It shows that sometimes no amount of education will change the habits of a lifetime for some people. I prefer to show and tell rather than quote statistics to those who doubt the benefit of clothing repair but it can be a tough barrier to break through.

Of course, I did have a wander around the shop myself and came away with a jigsaw for the grandkids and a bold floral waterproof jacket for myself, just in time for the biblical downpours we've been having!

Thanks to the St Giles staff for making me feel so welcome, I often pop in but had never before seen the scale of the donations they receive. Learning just how much goes to rag and the ridiculously low cost this demands makes the job of clothing restoration even more important. The more we save, the less goes into landfill as, to quote one startling statistic; a loaded bin lorry heads to landfill every single second!