This is the first episode in a mini series I’ve made about a topic that fascinates me: the Make Do And Mend campaign of the 1940s. ‘‘Make do and mend’ is a phrase often used today to refer to the ethos of repairing something over throwing it away. Sometimes it’s used in direct reference to the campaign that took place during the second world war, when materials were scarce and repair was essential. But as time passes and we move further away from that era, it often gets used more generally: a phrase to suggest that there’s a wider reason, movement or philosophy behind an act of repair. I thought it’d be interesting to look into the original source of the term. In this episode we look at the historical and social context of the campaign, along with the clothes rationing scheme that made MDAM so essential. 

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The resources used for researching this episode are:

Make Do And Mend: Keeping Family and Home Afloat on War Rations - forward by Jill Norman 

Published by Michael O’Mara Books Ltd. 2007

Fashion on the Ration: Style in The Second World War - Julie Summers

Published by Profile Books Ltd. 2015

Nella Last’s War: The Second World War Diaries of ‘Housewife, 49’ - Nella Last

Published by Profile Books Ltd. 2006

Imperial War Museum website HERE. 

A clip of the TV advert mentioned with the animated clothes HERE.

Make Do and Mend specific information HERE. 

Clothes Rationing specific information HERE. 

A guide for making a skirt from men’s trousers:

A guide for using parachute silk to make underwear and blouses: