Made to Mend
Work apron, patched
Twenty-three patches, in nine different blues, sewn on over thirty years.
- Made by
- Sewn by Ada Merrin
- Date
- 1930s to 1960s
- Material
- Cotton drill
- Size
- 92 cm long
- Cost new
- One and eleven
- Came from
- Dorothy Merrin’s house, 2009
On view Made to Mend, folded at the end of the case. Top floor, until 1 March 2027.
An apron for the packing room, where knives were wrapped in oiled paper. Each time it wore through, Ada sewed a patch on from whatever blue cloth was in the house: an old shirt, a pair of trousers, a curtain.
By the end there was more patch than apron. Imran counted twenty-three patches and nine different blues, and we are fairly sure one of them is a pillowcase.
More from Made to Mend.
Dinner plate, riveted
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1900Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: threepence; the mend, a penny
Brown teapot, mended lid
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1935Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: tenpence
Cobbler’s last
Unknown foundry, about 1910Made to Mend, beside the bootsCost new: two shillings
Where to see it
Made to Mend, top floor.
You’ll find it folded at the end of the case. Made to Mend is on the top floor; the lift is by the front desk.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on Thursdays.