Darning and Mending: Make Do and Mend in the 1940s
Direct answer. Make Do and Mend was a 1943 British Board of Trade campaign that taught households to repair clothes during wartime rationing. Darning weaves new thread across a hole. Patching covers worn fabric with a separate piece. Both skills still extend the life of knitwear and everyday garments with nothing more than needle, thread, and practice.
What did "make do and mend" actually teach?
What was Make Do and Mend?
During the Second World War, clothing was rationed and new garments were hard to replace. In 1943 the British Board of Trade published Make Do and Mend, prepared by the Ministry of Information, to teach households how to get the last ounce of wear from clothes and household textiles. Tips were tested by the Make Do and Mend Advisory Panel, described as practical people, most of them women. "Mrs. Sew-and-Sew" appeared in leaflets to make repair feel like shared effort rather than private failure.
Darning thread was widely available and, unlike clothing, was not rationed. That made darning and patching the campaign's core skills, alongside moth prevention and gentler washing habits.
What changed
Rationing ended, and cheap ready-to-wear clothing made replacement easier than repair for many households. Machine washing and synthetic fabrics changed how clothes wear and how repairs behave in the laundry. What did not change is the fabric logic: a small hole is easier to fix than a large one, and early repair still beats late replacement. Visible mending later turned wartime necessity into a deliberate style choice, but the stitches themselves are the same woven darn and secured patch.
Historical Notes
To darn a sock or worn elbow, use a needle, yarn close to the garment's weight, and a rounded surface such as a darning mushroom, smooth ball, or light bulb. Lay parallel threads across the hole, then weave a second set at right angles, over and under, to rebuild the cloth. For a patch, choose fabric of similar weight and washability, and secure all sides so it does not lift in the wash. Repair early, when fabric is thin rather than open. One evening on a garment you were ready to discard is enough to learn a basic darn.
Sources
- Imperial War Museums. Historical material on the "Make Do and Mend" campaign and the 1943 Board of Trade pamphlet.
- Make Do and Mend (Board of Trade, prepared by the Ministry of Information, 1943). Guidance on darning, patching, moth prevention, and laundering; tips tested by the Make Do and Mend Advisory Panel. Reissued in facsimile by the Imperial War Museums.