Spent the Easter weekend clearing out the only way I know keeps me engaged: work work work, find fun thing and play with it, work work work, play as needed, work…and repeat.

The great thing about this is I got so much mending done over the four days. I finished like five WIPs and did all my super gluing – that’s a long time coming.

Large-scale tidying feels very stressful and overwhelming to me, but embracing my side-quests as part of the process worked pretty well this time.

I’m also finding that five months on Venlafaxine has helped with my attention and awareness quite a bit, so I’m focusing on what needs to be done more clearly. What an outcome! 

Finally finished the goddamned blue mini skirt

I didn’t like how I’d finished the waistband so I turned the binding in to strengthen it and cover the zip ends more neatly. So cute, so short.

Strengthened some 40s tap pants

These are made of silk crepe and it had shredded in some places. I backed those areas with matching cotton and also took in the waist to fit. Had them YEARS and now they’re in my wardrobe.

Mended the strap of a dress I’d never worn

Like six stitches. Honestly, the shit I leave to accumulate in boxes.

Replaced the zip on this mini

I made this last summer from a 1960s little girl’s dress. It matches my 90s Pucci mules perfectly.

Its intended purpose was a hen party but I ended up zipping the zipper all the way off – heartbreaking. I’ve now replaced it with another vintage turquoise zip (always buy them!) and finished the waistband in a much more sensible fashion.

She’s so cvnty, we love her.

Another Edwardian-style wrapper

Found this in the charity shop and thought it made a very fine approximation of an Edwardian day wrapper, which was a casual sort of house dress.

I added a thick band of broderie anglaise to the hem and sleeves, and took it in a touch with two darts.

Mended a 1950s day dress

This beauty had several major rips because the sleeves restrict your arms, so I can picture the last owner hearing that terrible sound as she tried to get it off over her head.

Took me about 10 minutes to stitch them up, so I wore it to the beach the next day.

Took the crazy rigid cups out of a 70s Kittiwake bikini

I’ve got nothing against pointy vintage boobs, but these were utterly mental. Snipped out the lining containing said plastic and it now fits great, where it was a touch too small before.

Need to take in the matching shorts a tad, but otherwise that’s a lovely bikini into rotation for the summer.

Finally finished a dress-turned-mini and top

Loved this Hawaiian print but it was a long, shapeless dress. I chopped it in half and finished the hem of the top last summer. This month, I at last finished the waistband (badly, of course) ready to wear.

Slashed a vintage nightdress

I don’t know if I did this in a feverish state or had just never noticed it, but SOME idiot had cut a great chunk out of the hem on this vintage nightdress living in my mending pile.

I was intending to cut it into a camisole but thought I’d see how it looked as a minidress first. Kinda liked it, but then I realised we could actually turn this into a step-in. That’s cool af.

Lengthened dungaree straps

I bought some vintage boys’ dungarees from my local vintage shop last summer but couldn’t comfortably get into them – and the straps were crazy short.

This year, the dungaroons (intended to be baggy) were but snug when I tried them on, so I lengthened the straps with them still on my body, intent on leaving the house within five minutes. I fashioned extensions from the button placket of a man’s denim shirt so they have finished-ish edges and cool buttonholes.

Sewing on dungarees you’re wearing is…character building.

Turned a shirt dress into a blouse and mini

I’d had this dress maybe eight years or something stupid like that. It was a lot too long so I hemmed it (properly! invisibly!) and made a belt/hair tie from the offcut.

Glove bag

A while ago I bought three pairs of antique kid gloves, I think from Oxfam. They had been for a particular idea but that flight of fancy had passed by the time they arrived, so I squirreled them away, as I always do. Came across them while tidying and had a great – different – idea.

Glove bag. 

I had just put a grommet puncher thing in the top right drawer of my desk. I knew where the never-used gold grommets were. I’d just used fabric glue. The gloves were right in front of me. Stars aligned and I made a bag right there and then.

For its first outing I used whatever I laid my hands on for a strap: brown and white parcel string. But later, after trimming the hem of a viscose step-in (as you do), I swapped that out for wispy, silky ribbons.

It fits my phone in one glove and everything else in the other. Parfait.

Just normal things, as normal!