caroline wall

There has been a recent upsurge in making your own clothes. Sewing machine sales have increased this year, and the book published in 1943 'Make Do and Mend' is a sell out. Mary Jane Baxter has been travelling around the UK in order to investigate whether this new interest in make do and mend is a passing fashion or a common response to the recent economic downturn.

Watch Mary Jane Baxter's first film on Newsnight on Friday 2 October 2009 at 10.30pm on BBC Two

It does seem somewhat strange that people are returning to old-fashioned values that became prominent during the late forties and early fifties. Now, the price of clothing has become incredibly cheap therefore you would think that making your own would be out of the question. Sewing lessons are also being advertised for those who missed out on those at school and women in their 20s are attending Womens' Institute type meetings in London.