Make-Do and Mend

Do your most comfortable pair of jeans have a hole? Has your favourite knit cardigan got some snagged threads or frayed buttonholes? Don't chuck it out, learn how to repair it and make the garment unique!

Presented as part of Sydney Craft Week 2020, Make-Do and Mend celebrates the age old art of mending our own clothes. In a world of excessive fast fashion waste, be the change you want to see – learn how to repair and preserve your most loved garments. Please bring up to 3 items in need of mending to learn techniques for patching, mending knits, button hole repair and hems. 

Make-Do and Mend is taught by designer, seamstress and patternmaker, Joucelen Gabriel who is also The Social Outfit’s Production Manager extraordinaire. Starting at The Social Outfit in February this year, Joucelen or Joss as she is more commonly known, guides our sewing technicians to further develop their skills, while managing The Social Outfit’s sewing school and volunteers. Joucelen has a passion for the environment that drives her to repair and reuse as much as possible, getting the maximum life out of garments. She believes "why chuck it out when you can repair or reuse it?" and we at The Social Outfit, absolutely agree.

ABOUT THE SOCIAL OUTFIT- The Social Outfit is a fashion label with a difference. A social enterprise whose purpose is to employ and train people from refugee and new migrant communities, our store and workshop are located on bustling King St, Newtown. In fitting with Sydney Craft Week’s theme, change makers, The Social Outfit works from the pre-existing strengths of our diverse community to build-up lasting skills which lead to empowerment and social inclusion.

The fee for classes in Sydney Craft Week go towards supporting The Social Outfit’s not-for-profit activities, including our community training programs in sewing and retail. These initiatives provide opportunities for creativity and collaboration as well as bring our diverse community together.

The class is taught in our manufacturing room, upstairs from our retail store on King Street Newtown, so feel free to come early to browse the store and treat yourself with a spot of ethical shopping.