04/06/2026
Saving Money and Reducing Waste, One Stitch at a Time 🪡
Managing Director Tracey Sopp recently visited the sewing room at St George’s Park, spending time with the team member who keeps this small but vital service going. This is a little known service that plays a really important role in saving money and reducing waste.
The sewing room is the last of its kind, now run by one part‑time member of staff who has worked there for an incredible 26 years. When she started, there were five sewing rooms across the organisation and staff regularly made curtains completely from scratch. While the service has reduced over time, the depth of experience and the value it provides remain clear.
During the visit, work was underway resizing curtains that had been transferred from another site so they could be reused in a new home rather than be thrown away. This skilled work and practical problem solving sits at the heart of the service. Day to day there’s a wide range of tasks to do, from shortening trousers to repairing damaged curtains. They also repair and recondition old uniforms, allowing them to be passed on again rather than replaced, saving both money and materials.
There is also a strong focus on traceability with a machine that can add labels into patient clothing, curtains and bed linen so items can be returned to the right place and stay in service for longer. Years ago, the sewing room even ran a commercial alterations service, with local people dropping off items at the hospital, and those long‑standing relationships means she still does the occasional repair at home for people she has known for decades.
There is also a patient facing element to the role as the sewing room regularly repair patient clothing, saving money and allowing them to wear their own items with comfort and dignity. Over the years they have repaired a range of patient items including those from baby and children’s wards such as repairing prams and even patching holes in well loved teddy bears. While saving resources for the organisation is a key objective the work on patient items undoubtedly gives the most satisfaction.
The sewing room is equipped with two sewing machines, alongside specialist machines for zig‑zag edging and adding labels. Though much of the equipment might feel at home in Beamish, years of hands‑on experience mean minor machine repairs can often be done in‑house, keeping everything running smoothly. Tracey was invited to have a go at the sewing machine herself and quickly realised just how skilled the work is, proving that some things really are best left to the experts.
Although much reduced from its early days, the sewing room continues to save costs, prevent usable items from going to waste, and quietly makes a real difference.
