WHY I DO ALTERATIONS

Honestly, altering my own clothes used to drive me mad. Pinning something on yourself, trying to see what needs taking in while you're twisted around in a mirror — it's a nightmare, and for a long time I just avoided it.

But I'd done a few alterations for my mum and actually enjoyed those, and between that and how much I liked making clothes back at fashion school, there was clearly something in it for me. I just hadn't put it together as its own thing yet.

Then someone posted on a local Facebook page asking if anyone could hem a couple of dresses, and I thought, I can actually do that. That's genuinely where it started — not some grand plan, just a Facebook post and a "yeah, I can help with that."

Since then it's turned into hems, taking in waistbands, sewing up pockets, taking in or letting out trousers and dresses, mother-of-the-bride alterations, even resewing fifty tiny bows back onto a jumper after a seatbelt snag (more on that one separately). Most of it isn't glamorous. Some of it is genuinely fiddly. But there's something satisfying about taking a piece someone already owns and loves and just making it actually work for them.

What I enjoy most about it is how quiet the whole thing is. There's no dramatic before-and-after moment — just someone putting on something they already own and suddenly it just feels right.