How to mend a Primark shirt

Well, what a busy few weeks. I can barely believe it’s August, and suddenly we’re halfway through. D started as an F1 at the end of July, so we took things to be dry-cleaned, bought new shoes, packed and repacked, made lists, mended, shopped, washed and ironed, and generally did some of the things you do to prepare for moving house and starting a new job all in the space of two days. The last week of my summer job coincided with the week before an inspection, so I started early and finished late, working as designated proof-reader, photocopier, printer and general minion. I did fit in a tiny bit of knitting, by the photocopier! - but it was only more rounds on the stripy scarf which is eating yarn at a rate far beyond my wildest calculations. A skinny little scarf for cycling to work may end up being the most expensive project ever.

I came home to stay with my parents last weekend and have been visiting family, running errands, and helping my mum with filing, collecting materials and taking tools to the menders for her work. Today is the first day I’ve spent at home and I’ve been watching the Olympics (who knew track cycling could be so exciting?!) and mending. Mending new clothes!

I start clinics in three – no two! – weeks, so in between fretting about what I don’t know and trying to read Cheese and Onion, I’ve been worrying about what to wear. I found a sweet little shirt in Primark, and as they were £3 each I bought two. They needed a bit of work of course, snipping off loose threads, darning in ends, sewing up little gaps here and there where a seam hadn’t quite caught. The two little piles of ends are from a blouse each, the first rolled up into a ball.

Looking for new trousers and shirts in the sales, as summer draws to a close and it's time to start gathering books, feels disconcertingly like buying school uniform. I almost feel I should start sewing in name-tapes...